Google My Biz – The Top Way Clients Are Finding Your Business

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Several companies create a Google company listing to increase their exposure on Google, also known as a Business Profile. If you are a business owner, you might not know that creating a Business Profile does not grant you control over it. You will need some management and editing skills if you want your Business Profile to be an efficient Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and lead generation tool.  

I. What is a Business Profile?

Your Google company page is referred to as your Business Profile by Google. Both Google and Google Maps search local results have Business Profiles.

Adding a location to Google Maps is the same as creating a Business Profile, which anyone – including a total stranger or an automatic listing generator – can do. Google requires only the business name, site, and category. Once Google has confirmed that it is not a duplicate, it will create the Business Profile for that location. Consumers can then leave ratings, upload images, ask questions, and even answer questions on the Business Profile. Google can also fill the Business Profile with information gathered from various sources on the internet.

That means that a Google My Business account is not needed for a Business Profile to exist. Whether or not you build your Business Profile, you have no control over the data it shows or the feedback it receives.

So, how do you wrestle control of your Google Business Page? The response is that you must also build a free Google My Business (GMB) account for that profile in addition to a free Business Profile.

A Google My Business account is the only way to assert control of your Business Profile, gain management rights over it, and gain access to additional free features to boost your Google exposure.

II. What is Google My Business?

A Google My Business account is a free service launched in June 2014, which allows you to monitor how your company appears in Google Search and Maps. It involves things like adding your company name, address, and hours of operation, tracking and responding to customer reviews, uploading photos, learning where and how customers are looking for you, and more.

If you are just starting with local SEO, your Google My Business listing is an excellent place to start. After all, when people search for a product or service near them, they are generally on the verge of making a purchase — one out of every two people who perform a local search (for example, “shoe repair near me”) visits a store the same day. As a result, the information about your company that appears in Google searches must be as accurate, complete, and optimized as possible.

The use of GMB is absolutely free. The only stipulation is that you have some face-to-face contact with your customers; in other words, you cannot run your business entirely online.

III. The Need for a Google My Business account

  1. Be searchable

Search is now a digital process. Your clients and opportunities are online, even though you have a traditional brick-and-mortar store, and that’s usually where they’ll start looking for your business, goods, or services.

Google is the ultimate search referrer, whether you are searching for foot traffic or web traffic. When anyone searches for your company on Google Search or Google Maps, they will find it if you have a Google My Business account. If they do, your listing will show searches where and how to find your store, regardless of whether you have a website or a physical location.

Your local SEO would also profit from a Google My Business account. As a result, if anyone looks for you, you will appear on page one, rather than page two or lower.

A Google business account means that you get top results even though you already have a website. Reports also give you access to analytics, which you can use to fine-tune your paid and organic ad campaigns.

  1. Keep customers updated

Do not leave your customers in the dark about crucial information about your business. Alternatively, you might leave them to Yelp, TripAdvisor, and other third-party review sites over which you have little power. Make sure that when someone searches for your business, they get accurate information from the source.

Contact information, business hours, and other critical details are all included in your Google My Business listing. You may use notifications to announce that your services have been extended, temporarily discontinued, or wholly reopened. Since Google business accounts have good local SEO, the information you post would rank higher than that of other websites.

Wrong information can lead to negative consumer interactions and missed opportunities. Think about how disappointed a customer would be if they went to your store only to find it closed. Maybe you’re available, but a potential customer went with a rival because they weren’t sure.

  1. Increase customer trust

Your company’s reputation is enhanced by a Google My Business profile. Do you want proof? Customers are 70% more likely to visit a company that has a Google My Business page.

According to another report, companies with complete Google listings are twice as likely to win customer loyalty.

When it comes to purchasing decisions, confidence is crucial. The more confident a customer is, the more likely they are to purchase. People are 38 percent more likely to visit your shop and 29 percent more likely to buy something after hearing about it from Google.

Google My Business reviews also aid in the development of confidence. According to a study conducted by Think With Google, 88 percent of customers trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations.

IV. Marketing Your Business with Google My Business

  1. Consumers should be involved

Consumers can connect with your Business Profile in various ways, and you can react to them using your Google My Business account. You can respond to reviews, answer questions, allow direct messaging, and set up related alerts by responding to reviews, answering questions, and enabling direct messaging. You can also use Google My Business to post to your Business Profile, similar to how you would on Facebook or other social networking sites.

  1. Bring attention to your business

A Business Profile only presents a limited amount of data about your company. However, you can provide hours, a connection to your website, goods, and prices, characteristics, and other information that distinguish your company via your Google My Business account dashboard. You will also utilize Google My Business to make any required updates and edits.

  1. Obtain information

Your dashboard in Google My Business will help you know more about your audience and local search results. You will see the questions customers use to locate your Business Profile in the analytics tab of the site, whether they found you on Google Maps or Google Search, a summary of actions taken on your listing, and how your images are performing.

  1. Carry Out Local SEO

Google has an algorithm for rating Business Profiles, just as it does for its advertisements and websites. You can add keywords into your Business Profile and perform other optimizations through your Google My Business dashboard to help it rank in local results, which we’ll go over next.

V. Utilizing Google My Business for SEO

  1. Target your information

If you want to use Google My Business for SEO, make sure your Business Profile includes important keywords, so Google knows what you’re trying to rank for. Use them in your “from the company” overview, in your responses to feedback, in your responses to questions, and your blog posts. As with any other SEO strategy, make sure to integrate them naturally.

  1. Keep the information quality high

Since your Business Profile completeness and consistency affect its ranking, make sure to fill out all of the fields in your Google My Business dashboard. Your contact details, special hours, and attributes are especially relevant here.

  1. Develop a sense of confidence

The final method for using Google My Business for SEO appeals to Google’s algorithm’s trust aspect. As the company grows, keep your details current and reliable. Maintain a steady flow of feedback and reply to them. Also, show Google that you’re involved by regularly uploading images and posting posts to your Google My Business Business Profile.

SEO is important for any company, but small businesses need to compete on the SERP using local targeting to beat more prominent competitors. With its comprehensive Business Profiles, Google makes local SEO much more manageable, so a Google My Business account is vital for any business looking to increase exposure in their local market.

VI. Conclusion

In today’s digital economy, establishing an online presence is more crucial than ever. Even if you feel that your local business already has enough following as it is even without using Google My Business, you would eventually find it hard to compete if you could not be found online by your customers.

You can hire a digital marketer to help you implement your online business strategy. Or better yet, try to learn the ropes yourself. You will learn that it is a worthwhile investment.

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