Why Should I have Google My Business?
Is your business using Google My Business? Does your business have a knowledge panel in Google? Google My Business (GMB) has been around for some time and has been an important tool to help customers find information about your business. In the knowledge panel, it shows your business hours, reviews, posts, location on Google maps, and more. Before your business needed to have a physical address in order to qualify your business for GMB but Google has decided to change that requirement and now all businesses qualify. In European countries, where most people still walk more than they drive, this platform can really help your business stand out and help you get new business. At TwoPointGO! we have implemented this social media platform for our clients because of the valuable information someone can get from searching your business name in search engines.
Build Online Business Reputation With Reviews
When people are looking for a new service online, they often will do business online with good reviews. With GMB you can manage your Google business reviews and reply to them as well. Google business reviews build trust with new customers or clients because it shows that your service is done well. In the knowledge panel, new customers are able to see your experience from previous work completed. When booking services online, people want to make safe and confident decisions, Google business reviews help to build that early rapport with new business.
Drive New Traffic To Website
If you are looking to drive more traffic to your website or other social media channels, you can do this by publishing posts on GMB. With GMB, you are able to publish posts with corresponding buttons such as ‘learn more’ or ‘sign up’. You are able to post photos or videos and on your Google knowledge panel, those posts show up and last 7 days before they disappear. Through the posts feature you can also publish events, product updates, offers, or announcements.
Sign Up Your Business, It’s Free!
The process is really simple and fast. First, go to Google My Business using your desired Gmail account and register your business. If you are business with a physical address, use that address and Google will send you a postcard with a verification code. When you receive the postcard, you will get verified and you can begin utilizing the platform. If you are an online business, you can still utilize GMB; however, you don’t have to publish your exact address. Google will send you a postcard to verify and once verified you start building your profile on GMB.
SEO Benefits Of Google My Business
By setting up the GMB, we have seen some increase in appearance in Google Search and Google Maps. In the insights dashboard of GMB, you can see all the analytics such as total searches, queries, where they view your business, customer actions, and where they are located. Some quick performance statistics from GMB for one of our clients during 1 quarter:
- 17,500 appearances on Google Maps
- 3,800 appearances on search
- 93 unique visitors to the website
- 6 people requested directions to the office
- 5 direct phone calls from the knowledge badge
In Conclusion…
With so many social media platforms to choose from, Google My Business is a platform that is necessary for any business to help lure new business. It is a simple and powerful platform to use that will directly help your business build up its online reputation and more importantly new customers to your business.