Making The Most Of Your Google My Business Page
Have you looked at a phone book lately? Most people haven’t looked at a phone book in quite a long time. Most Americans turn to search engines to find important business information such as phone numbers, addresses, etc. The end of the phone book era means that it’s now more important than ever for your business to be online. Whether you have a website, Facebook page, or other form of online business listing, it’s also a good idea to take advantage of your Google My Business listing.
If you haven’t already claimed your Google My Business page, you’re missing out on all kinds of benefits! If you have already claimed your Google My Business page, then the next step is to optimize.
The Basics
Start by ensuring your basic business information is correct. This includes:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Website
- Description
You can also select a business category and attributes to help answer some common questions your customers might have. The attributes will be based on the category of your business. So a restaurant will have a menu attribute, and a hair salon will have a book an appointment attribute. You get the idea 😊
No listing is complete without photos! You can upload your own photos and videos to your listing and you can also feature customer photos as well. Encouraging your customers to add photos earns you more exposure and trustworthiness to searchers.
Don’t Forget About Reviews
Reviews are great for your business, and your customers can leave reviews directly on your Google My Business listing. It’s been shown that 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 91% of people aged 18-34 trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations.
Of course good reviews are great for your business, but bad reviews are actually good too. No business is perfect, things happen. But it’s how you respond when those things happen that makes a difference. Google My Business has recently added an exciting new feature that you can take advantage of when asking for reviews. This new feature is a shortlink that points directly to leave you a review!
Now, instead of the link looking like this:
It looks like this: https://g.page/allwebpromotion/review
This is very exciting if you’re sending links to customers asking for a review because it looks nicer and makes it easy to ask for reviews.
Features, Features, Features
Google My Business comes packed with features that you can take advantage of to optimize your listing.
Name Shortener
The name shortener allows you to enter a unique URL for your business that you can use to add brand recognition and value.
Posts
Create fresh, exciting content by posting to your Google My Business page. These posts last for only 7 days, but use them to give viewers useful information and direct them to take an action such as calling, visiting your website, buy something, order online, and more. Posting creates new and unique content that changes out often, which we all know is great for search engine rankings.
Follow
The follow feature allows users to follow your business in their Google Maps account so that they see your posts first. This new feature also gives users recommendations on things to do in certain areas, such as restaurants to try or fun things to do in their area. Take advantage of this by encouraging customers to follow you, and posting often to keep fresh content in their feeds.
Messaging
Did you know that many people prefer texting over talking on the phone? Google My Business offers Messaging, where potential customers can text you rather than going straight to a phone call. Many customers may prefer this, so take advantage of the additional communication channel.
F R E E
The best part of all this, is that Google My Business is free to use! 🤑 Even more reason to claim and optimize your listing. Everyone likes free, especially when you’re trying to grow your business.
Grow Your Online Presence 🌱
Whether you’re just starting out and don’t have much of an online presence or you’re an established business with a large online presence, take advantage of claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing. If you have questions or need help along the way, we are more than happy to chat!
