Google My Business is the best way to display detailed and accurate information about your business on the Google search engine. If you have not claimed your company file, or you do not pay enough attention to it you are missing out on potential customers.
Without this tool, your location will not appear in Google Maps listings, especially for top local queries when people search Google from their mobile phones. These are some of its advantages:
Increase SEO performance and organic searches
Updates are instantaneous, like business hours or photos.
Share photos to increase your visibility and increase conversions
You'll get analytics on how customers found your business and where those customers come from.
In short, if you invest enough resources to handle reviews, manage photos, post updates regularly, your Google My Business can become a new acquisition channel for your company or local business.
Search Intention
Google is very different compared to social media.
The search is based on intention, which actually means that the user has the will and interest to perform an action. And in some cases, like local search. In this intent-driven search environment, a business can instantly meet consumer expectations with a specific offer, product, or service and can significantly increase conversions.
And if you already have accounts and manage Facebook pages or Instagram profiles, you should do the same and start managing your Google My Business. Check out this article on how to create a google business listing in less than 1 minute.
Avoid Duplicate Accounts
When someone searches for a business, especially by its exact name, search engines like Google automatically retrieve not only the business, but information about it on the search engine page as well. This gives viewers quick and simple access to the details they are looking for. If you are not in Google My Business, Google will create it automatically, often with inaccurate results.
When claiming your business on Google, you must make sure that all the information entered exactly matches that of your website, otherwise Google could identify errors both in your business profile and in that of your company's website.
You must especially make sure that the name of your company and the address match perfectly with that of your web page, if there is some kind of spelling difference or punctuation that is different from that of your website, Google will notice it and penalize it.
Another crucial aspect is the duplicates, repeated business cards already declared in google. If your business appears multiple times, you will need to claim each existing location (if you have more than one) so that Google can properly organize and classify all of them as part of the same entity.
Best Practices of Google My Business
To really take your Google My Business profile to the next level and show your prospects and potential team members that you are a professional organization, there are a number of best practices to keep in mind. From adding images of your office and shop window to creating publications, products, services, offers ... and a whole series of tools that will help us build multiple sales strategies.
A well-designed listing adds visual interest to the list of sites on which it is displayed, and keeping it regularly updated tells Google that you are an active local business and will take into account the quality and frequency of the content generated. We will be able to configure alerts that Google will send us every two weeks to inform us of how many clicks and interactions the publications have obtained.
Optimize your website
It is absolutely necessary that your website is optimized and organized with accurate and up-to-date information. If not, you are losing leads, tempo, and even employees. Without an optimized website, updating your Google My Business can be a real headache. Taking another step, you should create landing pages or Landing Pages for each location that you show, this is something basic that you have to know if you have several locations in your company. Redirecting all customers from different locations to the same website will create confusion, the URL of your website declared in the file must include the city where its location is located. That's just another indication to Google that the locations belong to you.
Create content, be active
The next step should always be to work on content and be social, giving your customer base and audience an understanding that you will be there when they need you. The factor of being active, with updated content, will provide confidence in the client who is looking for a service of the type that your company offers. One of the easiest ways to do this is by replying to reviews on Google, Facebook, or anywhere else your customers leave comments. Customizing responses to each reviewer, including keywords, and always being friendly with good and bad comments is one of the best ways to build customer confidence.
Many companies make the mistake of ignoring negative reviews, as it can be frustrating and even disappointing to find. However, just as you would for someone who calls with a complaint, it is very important to respond politely and seek a solution to the problem. An attentive and friendly response can change a negative review and can even generate a new audience for your business and brand; People really recognize open and honest dialogue.
Make your Google My Business profile attractive
Depending on the type of business, Google photos will be one of the essential contact points for your new customers to discover your offers. In case it is a restaurant or a hotel, the photos that you will manage in your Google My Business account will be the main course, or the presidential suite of your sales opportunities to attract new diners or guests.
The goal of the photos on your listing is to make your Google My Business profile attractive and make people feel like you're there, ready to serve them. By sharing relevant photos, you will avoid comments or customer reviews confirming that the dish was "not like the photos" or that the room sizes are "smaller" than the photos you have shared.
Please note that users can post their own photos and give a real "picture" of what they have actually experienced should they find a significant difference.
Customer reviews
Reviews are one of the main indicators for Google to rank your business's location in its local listings. With the reviews posted by your customers, you can easily differentiate yourself from your competitors on local Google search.
Basically, when people search for keywords in the specific sector of your company, especially when they search on Google Maps, Google considers the average rating and the number of reviews that your company has as a priority in the ranking.
We hope this blog has helped you have a better understanding of Google My Business and its best practices. Remember the importance of updating the profile frequently to keep your customers informed of the latest news and promotions as well as any updates on the hours and holidays of your business. If you are interested in including Google My Business in your monthly package we are glad to help you maintain and update your profile.