Every small business has the ability to be seen on Google with an accurately complete Google My Business listing. While anyone can create the listing, having management capabilities is essential for a listing to work for you. By developing a business listing, small businesses can inform users, gain visibility, attract new customers, and show on Google Maps.
How?
To help your small business show up on Google, we’re going to help you understand the business listing and why you should have one today. If you already have a business listing, awesome! Keep reading for a few tips on how to optimize your listing for optimal results.
What is a Google My Business Page?
Google My Business, or GMB for short, allows you to manage your business profile that shows on Google. A business listing on Google is free and essential for any business to show on the search engine results page. Even businesses that do not have a physical location can benefit from creating a page.
Why have a Google My Business Listing?
A GMB listing can do a lot for your business! Since Google is such a strong player in the marketing game for any size business, it is great to include it in your marketing plan. Below are our top four reasons your small business should have a Google My Business page.
1. Inform Consumers
An informed customer is a happy customer! Google allows businesses to post their hours, location information, website, services, and so much more on the business listing. The more a consumer knows about your business upfront will help throughout their customer journey and trust with your company.
Google offers a ton of features within the GMB page to keep the user informed. Consider your hours… Do they vary around holidays or specific times of the year? You can easily update the listing to automatically show special holiday hours or closings.
Another fun feature of the GMB listing is the posts section. This area allows for a business to offer specials, updates, feature blog posts, or other information about their company that is relevant to the user. It is a great way to gain additional traffic to your website by offering a clear call to action. Many of our clients feature special promotions or blog post teasers in this area.
Incorrect information found across the web can create a bad experience for the user and turn into a missed opportunity. Keep your customers informed with a Google My Business listing.
2. Be Found
There is no denying that the days of searching in a phonebook have been replaced by digital search. Most consumers start their search online for products, services, and specific companies. Having an up-to-date- Google My Business account allows you to be discoverable for these consumers on Google Search and Maps.
Again, having as much information available to the customer will help create an enjoyable experience with your company. If a user is specifically searching for your business, they will easily be served your information on Google. Whether you have a physical shop or promote yourself through a website, your listing will be shown when they search for you.
Having a Google My Business account can also help your SEO efforts. When a user searches for your type of business, specific service or product, you will likely show toward the top of the results if they are listed on your account.
3. Customer Reviews
Consumers love a company they can trust and what better way to trust a company than by reading customer reviews. Google offers the ability for customers to leave honest feedback for a business on their GMB listing. These reviews are typically left by current or past consumers who have interacted with a business and have something to say about it.
Many businesses will ask for consumer reviews, especially if they had a pleasant experience, however the consumer must be the one to go onto Google and leave their response. For those who are seeking what it is like to work with a company or the quality of a product or service, Google reviews are a great place to look.
Having a Google My Business account allows you, the business owner / manager, to read and respond to all reviews. So whether or not the review is one or five stars, you get the opportunity to reply. Often, the way a company responds (especially to a negative review) will provide more detail than the review itself.
4. It Is FREE!
Marketing can be expensive and eat up a lot of a small business owner’s time. The best thing about activating a Google My Business listing is the fact that it is FREE! Paid advertising can require a large budget and a major SEO plan can take a long time to gain rank. A GMB account offers a cheaper and quicker way to gain exposure, build trust, and boost rankings.
Set-up and management of a listing is relatively simple. If you haven’t already, head over to Google now and claim your business listing. If you do have a listing, now is a good time to make sure all of our data is up to date and look into the other features GMB offers.
Ask The Experts
Google is a strong marketing tool when used correctly. Setting up and claiming a Google My Business account is not too difficult, but requires a bit of Google knowledge to do it great. If you are in need of help or have questions regarding Google and how it can help take your business to the next level, contact SharpFinn today! Our team specializes in Google My Business, Google Analytics, and Google Ads. We will professionally assess your current marketing and provide you with the best plan to be a competitive player in your industry.