What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB, formerly known as Google Places for Business) offers companies a fantastic opportunity to appear in Google search results, but the best thing about creating a Google My Business listing is that it’s free! With Google My Business you can list your business location on Google Maps and local search results.
With GMB you can display all of the key information about your business such as the opening/closing times, contact details, link to your website, reviews, etc. It also has a feature where you can post articles or upcoming events.
The listing is free but it should be regarded as a necessity by all businesses. If your business is an online business and you don’t have a physical store then you should still consider having a Google My Business page.
Improve Your Businesses Local Search Visibility
Setting up your Google My Business listing is one of the simplest and most effective of getting your business found online. More and more search queries are becoming geographically specific, and Google’s algorithms have been developed to consider user intent (i.e. not just what you search but what you want). For example if you search for “Time” one of the first things that will come up is the actual time wherever you are.
You’ve probably done a Google search for “restaurants near me” or “ATM” or something similar and got a list of locations on the map. The businesses that show up are only the businesses that have GMB accounts. Think about this in the context of your business, whatever product or service you may be selling. How can local searches benefit your business and what might you be missing out on without one?
Google My Business Benefits
1. Show up in Google Maps searches to boost sales
While a quick Google search is effective for narrowing down options 86% of people use Google Maps to locate businesses nearby. When it’s more convenient for customers to come to your business if they find you close by, you’re more likely to make that sale.
2. Google My Business helps you build trust with customers
One of the trickiest things to do is not only getting the word out about your business, but often convincing potential clients that your business is trustworthy enough for them to purchase from you.
According to Google, if a business has a Google My Business profile profile then customers are:
- 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable
- 70% more likely to visit the business
- 50% more likely to consider purchasing from the business
3. Google My Business ratings boost your appeal
90% of people read reviews before making a purchasing decision. With a Google My Business listing, customers will be able to review your business and leave feedback for others to see.
In doing this you can see feedback from your customers about what they love about you, and also things that you can improve on. Obviously, businesses showing up with higher ratings will be more likely to outperform worse-rated businesses.
4. Google My Business is essentially free advertising
Running Google or Facebook Ads campaigns are great ways to get more traffic, but sometimes it can be very expensive. The alternative is improving your SEO, but SEO takes time and knowledge or money.
A Google My Business listing, on the other hand, offers a form of fast and free advertising on Google. Google My Business gives you targeted exposure on the world’s most trusted search engine–and it costs nothing.
Get started today!
So, whether you are a brick-and-mortar business or online, you should set up a Google My Business today! Let me know and I can send you a guide on how to do it.
