Google My Business’s ability to incorporate search engine results into your marketing is a huge advantage for all local businesses. One of the first places that customers looking for your products and services online will go is a Google search. Google has reported that 46% of all searches have local intent, and that business location is the main piece of information sought by local searches. This just shows you how much your business listing can benefit by appearing on Google search.
Serving as a type of online directory, Google My Business allows businesses to manage consistent information about their company across the web, in addition to providing tools for interacting with customers (present and potential), sharing relevant updates, and analyzing data insights. Utilizing Google My Business is a no-brainer for local businesses looking to expand their audience — and ultimately, their sales.
As people rely more heavily on Google to find the answers to their most pressing questions, Google is becoming a big part of how users discover products and services in their area. You may not even realize that Google My Business (GMB) is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google. If you are a business owner, there are several benefits of using your Google My Business profile to enhance your online visibility.
1. Increase Visibility on Internet
One of the biggest benefits of creating a Google My Business listing is that it improves your business’s visibility on the web. When you search for a product or service on Google, the first three listings are usually Google Adwords advertisements, followed by a map with the Local 3-pack, then the organic results appear.Having your GMB profile appear in Local 3-Pack for search terms that are valuable to your business can mean you can tap into potential revenue since your business will be prominent in results. Creating and managing a GMB listing isn’t a one-sided effort; it’s an opportunity to build engaging, two-way relationships before you even meet customers in person. By building a thorough business listing, updating it regularly, and connecting with audiences through posts, review response, and messaging, you demonstrate not only strong customer service skills, but a genuine interest in personal connection.
2. Helps in Queries of potential customers
Google recently added a messaging feature that allows you to chat directly with potential customers who find your profile on the search results page. The feature enables you to quickly answer questions in real-time and help your current and potential customers.Google will not share your phone number to users and gives you the option to receive and respond to these messages through SMS or Google’s own messaging app, Allo. When you activate this feature, individuals visiting your Google My Business profile will see a clickable Message icon.
3. Increase Engagement
Google My Business profiles provide ample opportunities for engagement. Potential customers can access your website or call you in one tap or click. Even more beneficial is the ability to reserve a table or book an appointment directly through your listing.Claiming your Google My Business profile is the easiest first step in building your online visibility, which can make or break your company. As a small business, keeping track of the daily changes to search engine algorithms and listings can be challenging.You don’t just want audiences to find your business; you want them to connect with you. GMB provides numerous opportunities for customer interaction, like posts and messaging, and makes it easy to nurture relationships with your audiences.
4. Free Advertising on Google
There are several ways to promote your business and get it on the first page of Google. One way is to run a Google Ads campaign, but you need to have a budget. The other way is to improve your SEO, but this takes time to build your authority and ranking. A GMB listing, however, offers a faster and cheaper way to get targeted exposure on the biggest search engine. Creating, claiming, and verifying your listing does not cost you anything and you take less time to optimize your profile.Your GMB listing gives potential clients easy access to your hours of operation, phone number, website and directions with a click of a button — all at no cost to you. Your free GMB profile also gives customers an inside look at your business by giving insight into your busiest hours as well as review ratings. If you are just starting out or have a limited budget, every dollar counts, and having such a valuable resource for free can allow you to direct your resources elsewhere.
5. Ratings boosts your appearance.
With a Google My Business listing, customers will be able to review your business and leave feedback for others to see. In doing this, not only will you get honest evaluations about what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better, but you’ll also get that nifty star rating system next to your business on Google. As long as you’re delivering quality products and a quality experience, over time, you’ll start to collect more reviews and a higher overall rating (responding to reviews helps with this as well). This is especially helpful when there are competing businesses nearby and you need to gain a competitive edge. Reviews also build trust and confidence among customers. According to a local consumer survey, 88% of consumers trust online reviews and believe they carry the same weight a personal recommendation. Reviews are also a ranking factor used by Google to determine where to place your business on search results. According to a survey by Moz’s on local search ranking factors, online reviews make up 10% of how search engines determine their rankings.
6. Sharing information of your Business.
Owners can now add a business description for your business. Business owners have 750 characters to write a description to give users a brief information about your business. GMB allows you to share information about your business, including your address, contact information, and working hours. It also allows you to share news, updates, announcements, offers, and more. These posts show up on Google Search and Maps, enabling you to keep in touch with potential customers and keep them updated.
7. Get real clients/customers with Adsense.
Google My Business also gives you an option for paid promotions with Adsense, this will priorities your listing & gives you timely tracks of how much the money has been spent. Also it shows how many clients/customers have contacted you with real timings.
8. Visibility & Directions on Maps.
For modern customers, one of the biggest hurdles they have to face is that of building enough trust to confidently make a purchase. As a business owner, your job is to help them make that jump as easily as possible. To do this, one of the simplest steps you can take is that of helping potential customers see that your business has an actual location. Google My Business Heat Map insights is giving business owner more transparency through a heat map of locations where searchers are requesting directions to their business. This new insight gives owners the ability to uncover untapped geographic territories where owners can potentially expand given the demand for their service. his provides useful clues into which geographies are being attracting to your business. This, in turn, can help you plan and execute your marketing efforts more effectively. Heatmap insights can be accessed from your GMB dashboard.
9. Create Posts.
One is the ability for businesses to make Posts. Posts are a way companies can promote offers, news, events, product updates and announcements. These updates will show up on Google Search and Maps to provide businesses with even more ways to keep in touch with potential customers. Google recommends that before posting, you consider what you want to encourage customers to do. Do you want to drive customers to visit your bricks and mortar location? Do you want to raise awareness about a sale or special? Do you want to announce a new feature, service or product? Really, it’s no secret: most people are enticed by a good deal. GMB gives you a simple way to market to sale-seeking audiences with Offer Posts, through which you can publicize discounts and drum up business. A bonus: it’s free to use.
Regular updates on your GMB listing enable your page to rank higher on Google’s search results. Therefore, you can post offers, announcements, news, and new products without having to go to your GMB page. You can add call-to-actions to the posts to encourage potential customers to check out your page, site, or social profile.
10. Website Builder Tool.
Through GMB, you can create a free, customizable, mobile-friendly website with their easy-to-use builder tool. Create, edit, and publish a simple, yet professional page site that searchers can access to connect with your business. Plus, you can outfit your site with a custom domain and connect it with Adwords for simple advertising integration.
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