Research has shown that a vast number of local purchases start with a quick Google search. A fully-optimized Google My Business listing gives potential customers the opportunity to get to know your business before stopping in or inquiring about your products or services.
Click here to download a simplified step-by-step guide to setting up your Google My Business listing.
What is Google My Business?
Even if you aren’t familiar with the terminology, you’ve undoubtedly come across countless Google My Business listings. The best way to describe them is that they’re the panel of information that helps you understand the basics of businesses you’re looking up via Google.
Not only is Google My Business the perfect place for you to display your business the way you want, but it also gives customers an opportunity to connect. With features such as reviews and questions, it’s a unique space to interact with your audience outside of the other social media platforms.
Reviews, images, hours of operation, and a description of the business all help users get to know your business directly from the search results.
Why It Matters
As the saying goes, you never get a second chance at a first impression. Google My Business is a “digital storefront” that is often the first point of contact prospective customers have with your company. Are you representing your business in the best way by utilizing all of the platform’s offerings?
In addition to the importance of showing your business in a positive light, an optimized listing helps users find you more easily on Google. Although it won’t automatically give you a boost to the coveted number-one search result, it will give you an advantage over similar businesses in your industry who have neglected their listing.
One of the best parts of Google My Business is that it’s completely free to business owners. For a platform that has the ability to drive so much business, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to begin your digital marketing strategy.
I’m in, now what?
Setting up your Google My Business listing involves a little bit of work, but once the initial setup is complete, a weekly check-in should be all that is required.
To get more information on how the setup process and all of the features you can use to make your listing stand out from the competition, download our step-by-step guide here.
