If you own a small business, chances are you’ve heard of Google My Business (GMB). This service allows businesses to create an online presence for themselves, including a website, social media pages, reviews, photos, hours of operation, etc. GMB also provides listings on Google Maps and Search.
Many small businesses choose to list on Google Maps because it gives them access to more information about their customers, such as where they live, how far away they are, and even whether they are currently open or closed.
However, there are many benefits to having a GMB listing too. For instance, it makes it easier for potential clients to find your business when searching for local businesses on Google. Also, it helps improve your visibility on Google Maps and Search, which means more traffic to your site.
As a result, I recommend that every local business owner register their business on Google My Business. Not only will it help increase your exposure, but it’ll make life much simpler when managing your business online.
What is a Google Business Profile
To give an overview of the service, Google My Business is a free web-based service designed to enable small and medium sized companies to improve their visibility online. It allows them to manage how they appear on Google and makes their company stand out.
So, why do you need Google My Business?
Because so many people use Google, it means there’s a big potential market for your product or service. By making yourself more visible through online advertising, you’re able to reach a larger number of people than if you were just relying on traditional marketing methods.
The Two Reasons that your Business Needs a Google My Business Account
With the help of today’s technology, it has become easier than ever before to market your products and services. According to Search Engine Land, 50% of the consumers who use their smartphones for local queries visit a physical location. Given that most people use smartphones these days, can you imagine the number of sales you could generate by using organic search and GMB?
It’s important to create, verify, and optimize your Google My Business account to its fullest potential.
What else can GMBs give you? Here are some of the other benefits.
GMB Allows your Business to appear in maps and local pack listings
You may notice the highly visible Google map and the list of local business results that appear when you search for places using Google. The 2 main reasons that you should use Google’s Local Pack are:
It’s Highly Visible
The Google Local Pack occupies a large portion of the top spot of Google searches, and it’s the very first thing any Google user sees when he types in his query.
It Enables Users to See the Information They Need at a Glance
The Google Local Pack shows up when people perform searches for local businesses. It provides them with a lot of useful information including the location of the business, its phone number, opening times, and even ratings from previous visitors.
The Power of GMB Reviews
Google My Business allows people to leave reviews of your business.
You shouldn’t ever underestimate the importance of online reviews. A recent survey conducted by Moz showed that they think that online reviews account for 10 percent of how search engines rate websites.
If you’re looking to get your business seen by potential customers, then leaving positive reviews on Google My Business is one of the best ways to do so. Here are some additional reasons why you should use Google My Business.
Reviews improve local SEO by increasing the number of reviews
Most people rely on online reviews when deciding whether to buy something. In fact, as many as 93 percent of consumers might be swayed by online reviews.
These testimonials are real customer reviews written by actual consumers who were not paid by the companies to write them. This makes these reviews more credible to your audience and this will generate trust in your business.
As more and more people check out online review sites for local businesses, search engine ranking becomes increasingly important. Therefore, it is recommended to regularly analyze your Google My Business (GMB) account and perform local SEO audit to gain insight into how customers discover your business, improve your listing, and manage your local brand image.
Reviews Increase Sales
Positive customer feedback matters. It improves your search engine ranking and serves as free advertising for your business. For example, customers are more likely to buy from a company with lots of positive customer feedback than one with a large number of negative reviews.
Online review sites are just as trustworthy as personal recommendations. Positive online review sites increase your chances of generating leads and selling more products. Research shows that there’s a positive correlation among these three factors.
You should not let any negative review affect you emotionally. Remember that every customer who leaves a bad review is just trying to make his life better. So, if you ever receive a negative review, try to understand what he was saying before taking action against him. After all, no one likes being treated unfairly.
Customer reviews show what people think about your business.
Google my Business Reviews give business people a chance to learn from their customers’ experiences. They let them know what they’re doing right, what they need to change, and where they could be improved upon.
Whether they’re positive or negative, client feedback can help you understand what people think. Take them into account when making decisions.
GMB Tools
The Google My Business dashboard provides insights that give you helpful information.
GMB is a valuable tool for promoting your business. It not only promotes products and services, but it also gives you insight into the market. Google is always trying to prove its dominance.
How is this possible?
Google My Business provide tools that will give you insights into what is happening with your business. You then can plan strategies and makes decisions to benefit your business. These tools can help you determine where your visitors are located by using statistics and user information and hence gives you insight into your audience.
Google my Business Support
There are GMB help and support sites availible for people to get information on how to set up the google my business listing properly and there are also a Google my Business forum where people can ask questions and discuss issues.
Views
You can use Google My Business to see how many times people view your business page, photos, and post content. This helps you determine if your ads are effective and get the attention you want.
Summary
Many businesses create a Google business profile in order to increase their visibility on Google. If you’re one of these business owners who doesn’t know that creating a Business Profile doesn’t automatically grant you control over it, then you may be surprised to learn that managing your Business Profile isn’t enough to get it working for you as an effective lead generation and SEO resource.
Contact Pixelweb Design about Google My Business (GMB), Reviews and Local SEO.