As an owner or employee of a business, you've likely seen an advertisement or email about a Google My Business page. It's easy to brush this off because you can easily find your business online. Your company is already listed on Google. So why should you care about another tool from Google?
Why Are Google My Business Listings Important?
Google My Business (GMB) helps you help your customers more effectively find your business and the information you want them to know about your business. It is your best chance at a great first impression with your prospects.
Think of GMB as a digital listing tool where you manage the information that Google shows to internet searchers. It's the first step to ensure that the information listed online about your business' location (physically and digitally) is correct and readily available when someone searches keywords or phrases related to your product or service. If the information isn’t accurate, you run the risk of not being found in search results.
What Should You do in GMB?
Once you login to your GMB page, you should:
- Upload photos of your logo, products, building, and employees.
- Set accurate business hours and days of the week that you are open.
- Set holiday hours and dates when you plan to be closed.
- Add proper business categories. What industry, product, or service do you offer? Your category is one of the most essential pieces of information in your GMB listing.
- Schedule "Posts." A GMB post is a quick message about your business. It can be an offer, coupon, news, event—basically anything you want to show searchers for a 7 days. Posts are an easy way to share current information with people searching topics related to your business offering.
What Can You Learn from Your GMB Listing?
One of the first insights you get from GMB is details about the terms searchers use to lead them to your GMB listing. These terms will include a mix of keywords that use your brand name and keywords that relate to your product or service. This will tell you how generic or specific your marketing efforts should be.
Next, you will see where people are finding your information listed on Google. This location info can include the organic search results page or Google Maps. It is essential to have the correct location information contained in your GMB because your Google Maps location data is used in search algorithms which aid local search results. Local search results are critical to you as a local business owner. You want to be sure your business is showing up as often as possible.
Lastly, we come to what most marketers consider to be the most informative insight—customer actions. These actions include how many people clicked on the link to your website, asked Google Maps for directions, or clicked to call your business directly from your GMB listing. This data is also a compelling reason why it is crucial to list the correct contact information for your business on your GMB listing. Many people will interact with your company directly from Google before contacting you or visiting your website. You have to make sure they get the right first impression!
What is the Next Step?
Keep it up! Visit your GMB listing weekly. Create a post, check out your insights, and make sure everything looks nice and tidy. Do it while you drink your morning cup of coffee on Friday! Or if you have too much to do to add another “thing” to your plate, you can hire a digital agency to help. There are many digital agencies out there that can work with you monthly to help you set a strategy to achieve business goals using marketing tactics. If you don’t know where to start, feel free to get in touch!