Before we tackle the question “Why Is Google My Business So Important”, let’s take some time to explain what Google My Business is.
What Is Google My Business?
Google My Business is provided by Google, free of charge, to help companies and business owners grow and maintain an effective presence online. It allows you to take advantage of Google’s suite of websites including; Google maps, local search, mobile search, and the big granddaddy of them all Google search.
How Does Google Business Work?
It’s extremely well thought out and put together and enables a business to get all of its relevant facts and contact points in front of a potential audience quickly and without fuss. Your business name, your business description, your physical location, your physical address, your business phone number, your email address, your business hours, the services or product that you supply, the areas that you cover, and just about every other important piece of information that anybody could want to find, is included in your GMB listing.
Why Is Google My Business So Important?
Ranking highly in the Google search engine for targeted queries that are relevant to your business, gets you in front of more potential customers and brings you more traffic both online and in the real world. At the end of the day, that is your main marketing goal, extending your reach and exposure.
Google’s primary goal on the other hand is to provide the best information and user experience for anybody visiting their Google search engine. It makes sense, that using the tools provided for Google to help businesses promote themselves is only going to help the chance of you ranking well in the Google search engine results pages and improve your search performance.
But not only is Google My Business a good thing for search engine optimization is also a great way of getting all of your information in front of potential customers. So take the time to complete the Google My Business profile and increase the chances of attracting new customers into your business both through organic search and face-to-face visitors too.
Why You Need A Google My Business Listing
Google My Business helps your SEO but it is the more practical elements of having an optimized profile with all your contact details in front of so many potential customers that shouldn’t be missed. According to Google, 46% of all searches are local searches and it is in local searches that Google My Business really excels.
Why Does Google My Business Matter?
Business of all kinds tend to be competitive and taking advantage of any opportunities to get an edge over the opposition you will look to take advantage of, an optimized Google My Business listing is one such thing. You would be truly amazed at the number of businesses that have failed to take advantage of this free but highly effective local marketing tool.
In addition to presenting all of your important information in a friendly format, there are many other features that have been added to Google My Business over the years. It enables potential customers to access a virtual tour of your business which not only helps sell products and services but also helps to establish your brand. You can publicize Events and Promotions and link back to your own website.
It uses your logo, your photos and helps pull potential customers right inside your business. It allows customers and prospective customers to contact you right from their phone as well as online and also enables you to answer those questions and respond just as easily either from your mobile device or your computer.
You are able to add posts to your Google My Business site and if you create that content using keyword-rich, helpful articles, you will see high engagement rates and have real live customers click the button to find out more about you
In addition to all of the above, one major element that Google My Business helps to promote our customer reviews. It’s hard to overestimate the power of online reviews and the impact that they can have on your Google rankings. This is such an important factor when people are searching online to find a business to help them. Being able to see the rating other people have left and read through their reviews, helps to make the whole online experience less worrying for potential customers.
Positive reviews will help you but negative reviews may also happen. The manner in which you handle and respond to these will also affect your customer ratings which are also very important. The important point here is to deal with them. Respond to all reviews whether thanking people for taking the time to leave one or digging deeper into why someone was not as pleased with their experience.
The direct link between Google My Business and Google Search and Maps is another important feature to take advantage of. Paying particular attention to how accurate your business location address is that you submit to your GMB profile, will dictate how accurate the Google maps listing will be. Customers can click on directions directly from the GMB listing after entering their search queries and get directions straight to your front door.
For businesses that provide services or products that need to be delivered to the customer, you will be able to clearly define the geographic areas that you service. Accurate phone information that you enter into your GMB listing will enable potential customers to click on your number and be connected directly with you. These are all important factors in helping people make a decision to follow up with you or even to make a purchase decision there and then.
Google My Business is one of the very few ways that you are able to communicate information directly to Google. The more accurate the information that you can provide and the more wide-ranging that information is, the better the chance of your Google My Business listing being of great help to your online marketing. Google uses this information to create a knowledge panel for your business which in turn helps you to grab even more real estate on that coveted first page of a Google search result and at the same time establishes you and your brand in the eyes of anybody searching for information.
Is Google My Business Good For SEO?
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to find out that your presence on the vast array of Google online properties all helps to enrich your SEO strategy and boost the chances of a prominent position in organic, local search results. So a fully optimized listing is not only going to be a great boost to your search engine optimization, but it’s something that you can access totally free of charge.
Why Is Google My Business So Attractive To Local Businesses?
I think personally that the answer to that question is pretty obvious when you review all the benefits and features that Google My Business offers. When you further take into consideration that we haven’t covered all of the features and that everything is delivered by Google free of charge, it’s easy to see why a GMB listing is a must-have for any local business.
Is Google My Business Worth It?
Okay, I know that everything Google brings to the table is offered free of charge, but as a business owner you probably already realize that in place of a financial investment you will need to ensure that you are able to invest the time to complete and optimize your GMB listing properly.
Even if you were to do as many small businesses do, and outsource the GMB listing and optimization, it would still be an investment that offered you an incredible bang for your buck in terms of bringing new customers to your door and helping establish and strengthen your online presence.
What Are The Two Key Benefits Of Google My Business?
If you need to summarize the value of the Google My Business listing then I would say focus on the two key benefits. Firstly it is an extremely effective way of getting your presence noticed by potential customers. Having all the contact information that they need, in addition to all the information they need about services and products, combined with easy to access images, videos and maps, and presented in a way that dominates the Google search engine result page, it really is something that a local business should have as a high priority.
Secondly, if it’s important for you to have a good online presence then your Google My Business listing will help strengthen other online marketing strategies, boost your SEO strategy and help improve any returns on investment in these areas.
Setting up a GMB listing should be one of the very first things that you do to help establish and grow your online brand. A listing on such a premium business directory is a valuable thing to have.
