When non-marketers think of increasing their online presence, they normally think of search and social media. Whilst both are critical in growing a business organically and through paid advertising, there are other aspects of digital marketing that are of equal importance. This is where Google My Business fits in.
Google My Business is the first thing a potential customer sees when they search for your organisation. Essentially, it is your online shop window, the place where customers form their first opinion. You wouldn’t neglect the look of your physical location, so why neglect the look of your digital one?
Google My Business gives businesses the ability to list their business location on Google Search and Maps. This is particularly important for businesses whose success depends on driving people to their location.
Creating a Google My Business listing is free and must be considered essential for all businesses. Completing a GMB listing can help to improve the local SEO ranking of an organisation, whilst Google Maps integration makes it easier for potential customers to find your business location. For example, if you ran a furniture store in Sheffield, having an optimised GMB page would increase the likelihood of your business showing up when users search for ‘sofas Sheffield’ or ‘sofas near me’. Moreover, GMB provides a platform for customers to leave reviews and to contact your organisation. This helps to increase business credibility, whilst being a mechanism to engage with customers.
There are multiple ways an organisation can optimise their GMB page and you can see immediate results.
Primarily, when adding your business details to Google it is vital that there is a website link to direct as much traffic as possible, whilst having a detailed description of the organisation is also beneficial. This description should summarise what your organisation does and why the user should click through. When discussing the optimisation of a GMB, it is also important to make sure the page is regularly updated. Adding opening hours of a store or branch is crucial, as is making sure they are correct. This author recalls driving to a Sport Direct retail outlet on a Saturday morning for the advertised opening time of 9am only to find out that the store did not open until 10am on weekends. Not only do events like this result in the loss of a sale, but they can also damage a brand’s reputation.
Businesses can post regular updates on Google My Business as well as being able to add photos to their page. For example, if a bike shop was running a seasonal sale, they could post this as an update on GMB. Likewise, they may wish to add photos and videos of their store and of the bicycles they sell.
Google My Business provides a platform for organisations to promote their products or services. In context, a home improvements business could publicise their range of windows and doors which would be displayed in a carousel format.
Ultimately, showcasing the range of products a company offers gives the user a preview of the website and influences whether they click through.
Finally, having mentioned that GMB offers a platform for users to leave reviews (the more positive reviews on a GMB profile, the more trust it instils in customers) and also contact an organisation, it is imperative that the company is responsive to demonstrate and sustain a good reputation.
Having an optimised Google My Business profile can provide multiple benefits to an organisation. For instance, a verified GMB profile can help increase online exposure and SEO ranking. This is particularly beneficial to local SEO, with a report from Bright Local finding that 64% of customers surveyed have used Google My Business listings to search for and find a local organisation. This increase in online exposure signifies that GMB is a crucial platform in generating leads.
Sign up today and maximise your business’ potential, or better still, leave it to DigitalKOG to do it for you. Contact Us for assistance.
