Marketing

The Benefits of Google My Business

Written by - 05/07/2017

Google My Business listings are becoming increasingly valuable as Google begins to place a stronger emphasis on local results. My Business listings are prominent in many search results and carry with them a vast range of additional business information.

A lot of people consider a Google My Business listing a window display for their opening hours, address and telephone number, but by putting in the small amount of effort to brand your Google My Business account you could provide a plethora of valuable information up front to potential customers that could help them swing their business your way.

The pros of using Google My Business far outweigh the cons. Not only is it a completely free resource, but all of the information you list can be set to link through to your website.  Customers can also post their own reviews, providing reliable, first-hand experience of their contact with your business. This will inform others, before they even visit your website, of what they can expect from your services, and so it’s often a good idea to invite your customers to leave a review, or set up an automated email reminding them to leave some feedback after a set amount of time has passed from their initial contact.

You may not already have an existing Google+ account for your business when first setting up your Google My Business account, but this is something that is necessary for activation, and you will also be required to verify that the business is your own. This can be via phone, whereby you will be required to answer a few security questions related to the company location and contact information, or you can have a postcard delivered to your business address with a verification code that will need to be entered in order to authenticate the My Business listing.

In order to maximise the opportunity, it’s recommended that you enter all or most of the following:

  • Business Summary
  • Phone Number
  • Website
  • Business Category
  • Hours of Operation
  • Address (if you have a physical store)
  • Pictures or a Virtual tour

In order to make your business branding as prominent as possible it’s also important to upload a profile picture, a cover photo as well as a business logo. You can also use a virtual tour (if you have one) or interior photos of the business in order to provide customers with an insight of what to expect upon visiting or doing business with you.

In 2017 it’s become, and is becoming, increasingly important to provide as much information as possible at face value. Google My Business is a tool that can be used to increase trust prior to any form of contact, which is an essential way of showing that you know what you’re talking about, and can provide the kind of service that visitors expect.

Don’t sleep your your Google My Business account. You could be missing out on one of the move valuable free marketing tools around. Contact us today to get set up, or to find out more.