Gaining local visibility is an essential first step for any local business. Google My Business is one of the best tools for local businesses, but a surprising amount of people don’t fully utilize this tool. Whether it is an incomplete profile or an unclaimed profile altogether, business after business fails to use Google My Business to its full potential. GMB is a free and easy to use tool that populates important information about your business to your profile. The listing will include things such as the name of your business, the type of your business, the address, hours of operation and quite a bit more. This information is critical to your business! There are a few things to keep in mind while filling out your business profile.

Setting Up Your Google My Business Profile for Success

The first step to using GMB is setting up your profile and claiming your business. Make sure all of the business information, such as business name, address, hours of operation and website, on the profile is correct and up to date. Make sure to select your business categories to best describe your product or services. You can choose up to 10 different categories from a multitude of options. So you’ve got the basics of your profile down, what’s next?

Upload Tasteful Images of Your Business

People want to see what your business looks like. Would you rather visit a business that doesn’t show you pictures of their establishment, or a business with real pictures of their storefront or products? The answer is most likely the latter. Google explains the importance of these images on business profiles with this quote:

“Businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions to their location from users on Google, and 35% more clicks through to their website than businesses that don’t have photos.”

Quite simply put, people want to go places that include pictures, preferably favorable pictures of the business!  Including pictures that showcase your products is also another great idea, making it easier for that potential customer to mash that website link in your profile.

Manage Your GMB Reviews

Managing your business reviews is a big thing. People can filter results by reviews. Ensuring you provide top quality services isn’t the only thing you need to worry about, as your online reputation factors in as well. There are a few ways to go about earning positive reviews.

  • Engage your customers. If you’ve had a positive interaction with a customer, encourage them to write a review about their experience with your business.
  • Engage the reviewers. Respond to each and every review of your business, both positive and negative reviews. This shows you are passionate about your business, and if a customer felt wronged, it shows you are willing to make it right with them.
  • Encourage feedback. Include a contact email link in your business profile to facilitate both positive and negative feedback from your customers.

Create Google Posts

Another helpful tip for mastering Google My Business is utilizing Google Posts to create posts that highlight special events, updates or special product offerings. These posts will show up on your listing or Google map search and can provide additional information to encourage people to do business with you. If you have something particularly exciting to share in video form, you can also use a post to showcase it.

Conclusion

These are just a handful of helpful tips for utilizing Google My Business to its full potential. GMB is an important tool in local search, as it provides the essential information you need to put out there for your customers. Now get out there and claim your listing!

About Sierra

Leave a Comment