What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a tool that businesses use to display themselves on local search results on the search engine.
When potential customers search for something on Google like ‘cricket clubs near me’, they are presented with local cricket clubs in the area via Google Maps and on the search page. Having a Google My Business page means that you can display a range of information for the user which helps enhance their experience. Address, contact info, opening times, products, business description, photos, reviews and much more.
5 reasons why you should create a Google My Business page
1. It is free
2. Improve visibility
3. It’s a necessity
4. Get in regular contact with customers
5. Measure traffic
1. It is free
There are plenty of websites that provide a range of services that help your website grow with SEO. However, the majority if not all of these websites require payment or limited service. Google, My Business, on the other hand, is completely free, providing you with excellent value if you are looking at saving some money.
2. Improve visibility
The main reason why you create a Google My Business profile is to try and reach more customers by letting them know that you are out there. On average, 84% of searches for businesses were coming from discovery searches which means that a large percentage of users did not know of the business before searching and Google My Business is likely to be one of the main factors for the discovery.
Google My Business profiles are designed to help local business get their name out there. On average, 25% of website views come from Google Maps which is linked to the Google My Business profile. This shows that if you have a location for your business on Google My Business then you will receive 25% more website visits. This demonstrates how important Google My Business is to growing your business.
3. It’s a necessity
If you want to compete in a competitive industry, then Google My Business is a necessity for you. In my opinion, there are 4 layers to Google My Business which are displayed in the diagram below.
What is important is that you stand out to customers ahead of your competition so that you gain their attention. If you are active in using Google My Business, then you stand a better chance of being recognised as Google My Business is a popular tool that people use to learn about local businesses.
- Poor – Poor means that you are not using Google My Business to help develop and grow your business. If you consider yourself to be in this category, consider changing and set up an account for your business so that you have some sort of a chance to stand out.
- Average – Average indicates that you are doing the industry standard. There is nothing special about your Google My Business profile. You’ve added the name, location, service industry, phone number and website but that’s it. Whilst this is very useful to help guide users to your business, people may be looking for more information to help them make actions towards your business. Try and maximise all the options available to you to help users navigate your business
- Above Average – Above Average demonstrates that you have fully optimised your Google My Business listing with vital information that helps users make their decisions. The opening hours, business descriptions, labels, photos and more are as accurate which shows to users that you are active and welcoming since you are staying up to date.
- Excellent – Excellent pinpoints that you are as optimised as possible whilst also communicating to current and potential customers by responding to reviews and questions and by creating regular Google My Business posts with the latest news which gives users an understanding as to what is going on at the business. Customers like businesses that are active with customers like themselves which is why it is important to have an ‘excellent’ Google My Business profile.
When writing a review on the Google My Business profile, 20% of customers expect a response within a day. This demonstrates how important it is to respond to users in order to try and gain loyalty.
The main point is that you need to optimise your Google My Business profile in order to stand out from your competitors who may already be trying to use their Google My Business profile to grow their business.
I have created a page to help you learn about what you should include in your Google My Business profile. Feel free to give it a read if you are starting to create a Google My Business profile.
4. Get in regular contact with customers
Mentioned above is the fact that Google My Business allows you to communicate directly with customers. There are options for customers to get in touch with your business via the Google My Business profile to either ask questions to provide them with information that they may need in order to get business from them and reviews where customers can comment and rate their experience from your business.
You can get notifications when users submit questions or reviews so that you can respond to them as soon as possible. Not only is it a benefit to yourself and the customer as you gain attention and they gain an answer but other customers see that you responded to the questions promptly which shows that you are an active business that cares about the community.
5. Measure Traffic
Google My Business not only allows you to connect to and gain customers but it also provides you with some useful data that allows you to understand user behaviour which can help you alter your marketing and SEO practices. Below are some of the major key performance indicators (KPIs) that Google My Business provides.
- Search rankings
- Discovery v direct searches
- Reviews
- Phone call actions
- Photo views
- Website traffic
- Website actions
- Direction requests
By analysing all of these results, you can understand user behaviour and make business decisions to target specific areas which you have identified.
Harry Buckley 