How to Use Google My Business to Get More Customers
Google My Business (GMB) serves as an indispensable asset for businesses aiming to reel in more clients.
This robust platform offers you the ability to display essential business details, including your physical address, contact number, and website, to potential clients using Google’s search engine.
By enhancing your Google My Business presence, you boost your online visibility, providing an interactive map for customers to find and connect with your business.
Within this guide, we delve into the plethora of options at your disposal to elevate your Google My Business standing, thus driving a higher traffic flow to your business.
From the initial stages of claiming and verifying your business identity to handling customer feedback and exploiting the platform’s distinctive features, we equip you with hands-on insights and tactics to fully capitalise on this influential resource.
Read the Google My Business Case Study:
“5 Months GMB Accounting Client, Generates 442 Calls“
Optimising Your Google My Business Profile
To draw more customers to your business, optimising your Google My Business profile is key.
A thorough and up-to-the-minute profile can boost your visibility in pertinent local search results.
Claiming and verifying your business is a vital step, enabling you access to the ample features and advantages of Google My Business.
Keeping your business information up to date, including contact details, website, and operational hours, is instrumental in making it easier for prospective customers to locate and connect with you.
Integrating top-notch photos displaying your products, services, and locale can considerably improve your profile, catching the eye and securing the trust of potential customers.
Claiming and Verifying Your Business
The foremost move towards utilising Google My Business to its full potential is to claim and verify your business. Sign into your Google account and hunt for your business on Google Maps to claim it.
In case your business is listed already, put forward a claim by adhering to Google’s verification procedure.
Verification solidifies your ownership and unveils a multitude of features like managing responses to customer reviews, publishing news and promotions, and tapping into insights and analytics.
Verification could involve receiving a code via post, phone call, or email.
Once confirmed, you’ll have total jurisdiction over your business profile.
Updating Business Information
Keeping your business information current on your Google My Business profile is crucial for maintaining a reliable and updated online presence.
Confirm the correctness of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) particulars. In addition, furnish a website link, revise your operational hours, and incorporate any applicable attributes that depict your business, such as free Wi-Fi or wheelchair accessibility.
Ensuring these details remain up-to-date and uniform across all online arenas aids potential customers in locating and trusting your business. Promptly incorporate any changes to curtail confusion and guarantee an excellent customer experience.
Adding High-Quality Photos
Incorporating top-quality photos Into your Google My Business profile can noticeably influence the first impression consumers form of your business.
Visual contents consistently outshine plain texts in capturing attention and stimulating interest. Integrate photos that flaunt your products, services, and your establishment’s ambiance.
Emphasise any exceptional features, amenities, or appealing storefronts.
Ensure your photos are well illuminated, suitably composed, and represent your business in the best possible manner.
Adding striking and genuine images can foster credibility, lure customers, and distinguish your business from rivals.
Managing Customer Reviews
The management of customer feedback plays a pivotal role in boosting your Google My Business profile and drawing in more patrons.
Customer reviews serve as a rich trove of feedback and can dramatically shape the perception of your brand.
By consistently overseeing and reacting to these reviews, you showcase your commitment to client satisfaction and cultivate trust among prospective customers.
Regularly vetting these reviews and promptly addressing any negative ones, while welcoming positive ones, is essential.
Positive feedback, when recognised and celebrated, can inspire more engagements with your business.
Encouraging Customers to Leave Reviews
Motivating customers to provide their reviews is a powerful tactic to bolster your online visibility, and allure more customers through Google My Business.
Primarily, rendering superior goods or experiences and guaranteeing a gratifying customer journey can inherently prompt customers to voice their experiences.
Furthermore, you can directly solicit content clients to provide reviews. Such a request can be made through a myriad of avenues, including electronic mail campaigns, posts on social media, or even via review prompts at your brick-and-mortar location.
Ease and clarity in leaving a review on Google My Business should be a priority to ensure a convenient user experience.
Responding to Reviews
Engaging with customer feedback is a necessary practice to uphold a favourable online reputation and interact with your audience through Google My Business.
It is paramount to address both commendations and criticism in a timely and professional manner. For less favourable reviews, strive to grasp the customer’s grievances and offer a courteous and compassionate retort.
This signifies your eagerness to rectify problems and can help dampen potential harm to your brand image. The gratitude shown towards positive reviews also conveys esteem towards customer input, further strengthening a positive business perception.
It is wise to ensure each response remains succinct, authentic, and tailored to each customer’s input.
Utilising Google My Business Features
Leveraging the features Google My Business offers is essential for expanding your online visibility and proactively engaging potential customers.
This robust tool provides a variety of functions to promote your business, cultivating an active interaction with your prospects.
Google My Business’ wide-ranging capabilities allow for the creation of gripping posts, exclusive offers, monitoring of vital insights, and engaging in customer interactions, all of which enhance your ability to effectively present your products or services while yielding invaluable data to guide critical business decisions.
By strategically employing these features, you can set the wheels in motion and drive an influx of traffic to your business, leading to a larger customer base.
Creating Posts and Offers
Shaping posts and providing offers on Google My Business represents an effective method to pique the interest of prospective customers, leading to higher conversion rates.
This selection of posts grants you the possibility to convey the latest updates, promotions, upcoming events, and newly launched products directly via your business profile.
With a blend of captivating content, visually attractive images, and appropriate keywords, you can emphasise your business’ distinct attributes.
Furthermore, presenting special deals or discounts earns you an edge against your competition, persuading customers to favour your business.
Consistent production of enthralling posts and offerings can dramatically uplift your digital visibility, luring extra patrons to engage with your enterprise.
Tracking Insights and Analytics
Taking advantage of Google My Business to track insights and analytics equips you with essential data to grasp customer tendencies, tastes, and the effectiveness of your digital enterprise.
This instrumental feature allows you to delve into how customers locate your business, the actions they conduct, and the degree of engagement your profile garners. Interpreting this data supports the refining of your marketing methods, fine-tuning your strategies, and heightening your business presence for optimum influence.
By examining key metrics like views, clicks, and customer behaviours, you can pinpoint areas that require amelioration and adjust your approach to better align with your target demographic’s anticipations.
Engaging with Customers through Messaging
Utilising the messaging feature on Google My Business elevates the quality of your customer service interaction, fostering trust and deeper client relationships.
This facility enables your customers to convey inquiries, make requests, or submit feedback directly to your business.
Through prompt and courteous responses, you can address customer issues, furnish relevant information, and demonstrate your unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction.
More specifically, engaging in substantial conversations with your customers enhances their overall experience, fortifies your brand image, and promotes positive endorsements.
Efficient use of messaging can strengthen enduring ties with your patrons, solidifying your business as a reputable and preferred choice in your respective industry.
Google My Business + Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
One of the key components of Local SEO is a well-managed Google My Business (GMB) listing. This free tool provided by Google allows businesses to manage their online information as it appears in Google Search and Maps.
An accurate and comprehensive GMB listing can significantly enhance a business’s chances of appearing in local search results and Google’s Local Pack, a coveted position in search results showcasing the top three local businesses related to the search query.
However, simply having a GMB listing is not enough. This is where the role of citations becomes pivotal. Citations are mentions of your business on other websites, particularly those that include your business name, address, and phone number (NAP).
In the context of Google My Business and local SEO (Search Engine Optimization), “citations” refer to mentions of your business information on other websites. These mentions typically include your business name, address, and phone number, commonly referred to as “NAP” details.
Citations can be found in various forms across the internet, including:
- Local Business Directories: Websites like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and local chamber of commerce sites.
- Social Media Profiles: Information listed on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
- Websites and Blogs: Mentions or features of your business on other websites, including blogs, news sites, or industry-specific directories.
- Maps and Location Services: Listings on map services other than Google, like Apple Maps or Bing Maps.
The importance of citations lies in their role in local SEO. They help in:
- Improving Local Search Rankings: Consistent and accurate citations across various platforms can improve your business’s visibility in local search results on Google.
- Establishing Trust and Credibility: The consistency of your NAP information across the web helps build trust with both search engines and potential customers.
- Driving Traffic and Engagement: Citations can lead potential customers to your business, either through direct contact or by visiting your website.
It’s crucial to ensure that your business information is accurate and consistent across all citations. Inconsistencies or inaccuracies in your NAP details can negatively impact your local search rankings and potentially mislead customers.
Citations play a critical role in Local SEO by reinforcing the legitimacy and relevance of your business to search engines. Citations from well-established and well-indexed portals (like Yelp, TripAdvisor, or local business directories) boost the authority and trustworthiness of your business in the eyes of search engines, thereby improving your search rankings.
Regularly auditing and updating your citations across various platforms is a good practice for maintaining local SEO health.
For a more comprehensive list, refer to our article “Business Directories for Backlinks [Updated 2023]”
Moreover, consistent citations across various platforms ensure that potential customers receive accurate information about your business, regardless of where they find you online.
This consistency not only helps in improving your search engine rankings but also aids in building trust with your customers. Inaccurate or inconsistent listings can lead to confusion and a poor user experience, negatively impacting your business reputation and search engine performance.
In conclusion, undertaking Local SEO and managing citations are essential steps in promoting your Google My Business listing. They not only enhance your visibility in local search results but also contribute to building a strong and trustworthy online presence.
In a competitive digital marketplace, effective Local SEO practices, including accurate and consistent citations, are not just beneficial but necessary for any business looking to thrive locally.
Ben Miranda
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benito-miranda-sierra/
References:
Google, Sign up for a Business profile, https://support.google.com/business/answer/10514137?hl=en
Google, Stand out on Google with a free business Profile, https://www.google.com/business/
Additional Reading:
Check your Business Profile performance & view Insights: This page on Google’s support site explains how to access and interpret the performance data of your Google Business Profile. Read more.
Changes to your Insights data – Google Business Profile Help: This article discusses changes in how Google tallies unique direction requests to your business, providing insights into customer behavior. Read more.
[2023] How to Interpret Google Business Profile Performance Metrics: An article by Sterling Sky Inc. that explains how to interpret the various metrics provided by Google My Business Insights, such as views and impressions. Read more.
How to Set Up and Optimize Google My Business in 5 Minutes [2024]: A Hootsuite blog post that includes information on finding your unique Google Reviews link and optimizing your Google Business Profile. Read more.
Google Business Insights: Unlock Your Potential | Victorious: This blog post discusses how to use Google Business Insights and Performance to monitor the effectiveness of your Business Profile. Read more.
