As a business owner, you likely already know that you have to have an online presence for your business. And while that includes having a website for the business, and possibly even a blog, it also includes having a Google My Business listing. So what exactly is this type of listing? And how does having one benefit small and local business owners?
To answer the latter question, consider that every second, Google receives 40,000 search requests. That’s about 3.5 billion searches every day and 1.2 trillion searches every year around the world. That’s a lot of searching, and it just proves how many people use Google to find information they’re looking for. But it’s not just general information such as how to get stains out of carpet or how to measure carpets for windows. Many of those searches are for products and services that local businesses are selling in the very same community as the consumer.
Consumers know this, and it’s why they often turn to Google to find those products and services. Aren’t convinced? Consider the following stats regarding Google and local searches.
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Eight out of ten of those people searching are looking for local information such as the name of stores, the product they sell, their address, their business hours, and directions to that location. Between 30 to 50 percent of those searches lead to the customer arriving at a business that same day to learn more about their purchase; and 20 percent of those local searches lead to the consumer making a purchase at the same time. That’s fairly high, considering that only 5 to 7 percent of regular searches end with a purchase.
Considering that most small businesses rely on local traffic and nearby consumers, the importance of these facts cannot be ignored by many small businesses.
Read on to learn more about the many benefits a Google My Business listing could bring for your small business, how to do it, and some tips and tricks to ensure that once you have a Google My Business listing, it’s truly effective.
Benefits of Using Google My Business
If the sheer volume of consumers using Google to find companies and products isn’t enough to convince you to use Google My Business, the number of other benefits the online directory can bring to local businesses just might. Check out the biggest benefits of using this online directory before signing up for it and getting your company listed.
It’s Free!
Marketing costs money. In fact, it’s one of the biggest expenses in running any business. So why would you not use something that’s completely free to use? Any profits that are gained from using Google My Business are just that - 100 percent profit - because it’s a free service. Even business owners that aren’t sure about the effectiveness of the online directory have nothing to lose just by trying it!
Your business will be easier for customers to find
Google My Business doesn’t just tell customers that your business is somewhere nearby. It gives them the exact location along with a map making it much easier for them to find you. And in order for any business to make a profit, customers need to find them first.
Better visibility in searches
If you’ve ever searched before on Google, particularly for a business or product, you’ve likely noticed that there are three options that appear below the paid ads and above the organic (non-paid) search results. These are business listings and Google generates them for users by using information in Google My Business. By having a listing that is complete and optimized, business owners can get their businesses listed in these first three spaces, which will give them more exposure within the search results. With one click, customers can find out more information about the business, or even call the business directly.
Put information at users’ fingertips
When customers do see a business listed within those first three listings, they’ll see more than just the name of a business. Customers will be able to see a business’ hours of operation, get directions, see photos of the business, get a description of the business, and call the business all with just one click or touch of their screen. With more information at the consumer’s fingertips, they can make an informed decision - and purchase - faster and easier.
Interact with customers
There’s a reason blog posts, Twitter accounts, and Facebook pages are becoming increasingly popular among business owners. They all provide an easy way for business owners to connect with their customers instantly. Customers can tweet business owners about a problem they’re having, or leave a quick review on their Facebook page and the business owner can answer them instantly. This interaction is of huge importance because by knowing what consumers want, business owners can give it to them more easily. Now, this can all be done on Google My Business as well, giving you one more way to reach out to your customers, and one more way they can reach out to you.
Get customer insights
Google My Business does more than just tell your customers about your business - it also tells you about your customers through the Insights tab. Under this tab you can learn a lot of information about your customers. That information includes visibility, engagement, and audience. The visibility section will tell you how many views your profile has received, and how many views posts and photos within Google My Business are getting.
The engagement section will let you know at a glance how customers are interacting with your posts, and how many clicks, shares, and comments they’re getting. Both the visibility and engagement sections can include stats for the past 7, 30, or 90 days. They can both also be shown in chart form, giving you all the information at a glance.
The audience section will show you the breakdown of who’s following you, showing the ages, genders, and countries of people that follow you. A quick glance at this can show you exactly who your target audience is.
Track website traffic and audience
While the Insights tab will give you a lot of information about your posts and your audience, the Google analytic tool in Google My Business will give you even more. While Insights is good, Google Analytics will give you even more in-depth information and break it down for you even more so, letting you really fine tune your posts and content to the audiences that are following you.
Get and respond to reviews
Consumers today love online reviews. In fact, 74 percent of people say that a positive review increases their trust in a local business. And 56 percent of consumers say that they first go to the search engines to find reviews about a business. 90 percent of people state that online reviews greatly affect their buying decisions and 70 percent of consumers will leave a review for a business; all the business owner has to do is ask!
All of this is important because Google My Business allows customers to leave a review for a business and, when customers search for a business, they’ll see those reviews potentially seconds within entering their search query. The more positive reviews a business has, the more trustworthy the business will seem to other customers.
The dashboard within Google My Business will also allow you to monitor and respond to reviews, and responding to reviews is very important. It lets customers know that you truly care about your customers and that you’ll take the necessary time for them. When responding to positive reviews, thank customers for taking the time out to review your business. And when there are negative reviews (which you won’t be able to stop), respond by telling your customers what you plan to do to address their concerns.
Control everything from the same place
As a business owner, you don’t have the time to be going from place to place checking analytics and stats. And luckily, Google My Business eliminates the need for you to do that. Google My Business will tie in with Google AdWords, Insights, Google+, Maps, and Search, so you can customize and optimize everything you do online through Google all in the same place!
How to Create a Listing on Google My Business
After you know the benefits of listing your business on Google My Business, you probably want to get your listing as quickly as possible. So how do you do it?
First, make sure your business is eligible for a listing. Currently Google allows three different types of businesses to create a listing: a storefront such as a restaurant or retail space; a service business such as a plumber or pizza delivery; and a brand such as a sports team or product. Currently online businesses cannot create a Google My Business listing.
Once you know your business is eligible for a listing, the first thing to do is create a Google account. Google accounts are free and will give you one space to control and use everything Google-related including Gmail, YouTube, Google Play, AdWords, and more. You can create a Google account here: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?hl=en. Of course, if you already have a Google account, you can start just by signing into it.
Then head over to the Google My Business Listing Page here: https://www.google.com/business/ and click on the ‘Start Now’ button. There will be a few steps to follow and quite a bit of information to fill out about your business.
You’ll first need to verify that you don’t already have a listing, or claim a listing that’s already there. Even if you haven’t added your business, Google may have created a listing pulling information from around the Web. When this is the case, just claim the listing and start adding information. The information you’ll need is:
· Business name
· Country/Region
· Full address
· City
· State
· Business phone number
· Business category
· Service areas
· Additional information such as hours of operation, payment options, photos, videos
After filling in all the information about your business, Google will then want to verify your business. This is so that Google can ensure that all listings within Google My Business are real, legitimate businesses, which will help them serve users searching for those businesses better.
Verification can be done through a few different methods. The easiest is usually Google sending a postcard to the business. This verifies that the business actually is at the address provided. The postcard Google sends will have a PIN on it that you can then enter into your Google My Business listing which will verify it and allow you to start promoting it. In some cases, verification can also be done over the phone or via a text message.
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