Since its launch in 2014, the Google My Business platform & the iconic Google My Business Icon has been a saving grace for many local and national businesses. The helpful software allows business owners to connect their company’s online pages to their Google account.
Google My Business makes it easier for search engine users to find these various businesses. From sponsors to directories, the platform allows business owners to take advantage of several different search engine optimization tools. But, it is that important for your business?
To learn more about this amazing digital tool, keep reading. We’ll tell you why having the Google My Business icon is most definitely important for your company.
What Is Google My Business & The Google My Business Icon?
Google My Business is a platform that Google has created for the use of business owners everywhere. You can link your business to your Google account and manage how your business appears on Google’s search engine.
Once you claim your business on Google or add your business to Google, you can input your store’s hours, contact information, location, and more. You’ll be giving much-needed information to those who are interested in buying your products. Without this information, potential customers can’t do much.
Overall, Google My Business allows its users to take control of their business on Google platforms and own their business as their own. From organizing your photos to configuring how you appear on searches, Google My Business gives you control over your presentation on Google.
Why Is Using Google My Business Important?
There are several reasons as to why you should be using Google My Business as a part of your digital marketing strategy. When advertising your brand, Google My Business is one of the best.
Google My Business is an organizational tool, an advertising tool, a communication tool, and so much more. You’ll have more control than ever over how your business is presented on the platform.
Keep reading and we’ll let you know all the ways by which Google My Business can take your organization to the next level.
Optimizing Your Business’ Page
Your Google My Business page lets you do more than you ever have with your business’ page. You have control over how your business is presented to your potential customers.
You can add your contact information, business hours, office photos, product photos, and so much more. Better yet, you can update this information at any time.
Without claiming your business’ page or making one in the first place, your business may not show up accurately on Google’s search results. This could create a large barrier between you and potential customers.
With access to incorrect information, your customers may be left with nothing. In frustration, they’ll be left to venture another website. Those are lost customers that could have easily been yours.
Making a Captivating Description
If you’re going to successfully invite new customers to check out your business, you need a glowing description. Some businesses have an auto-populated, generic description that only somewhat captures what their business is all about.
The right business description can bring in more visitors and – in turn – more clients.
With Google My Business, you can make a description that accurately describes your business. We suggest using a few keywords in your description that accurately represent what your business does.
By optimizing your business’ description, you can pull more customers towards your products and/or services. These keywords will lead people to your business more often because they’ll find your business more readily based on those keywords.
Adding Beautiful Photos
Google My Business allows its users to add photos to their business’ page. Many business owners use this feature to show pictures of the outside of their business. Others also include pictures of their products.
Including pictures may help potential customers find your business as well as get an idea for what kind of products you sell. For businesses that sell products like food and clothes, it could be a way of drawing visitors to your website to look for more.
Keep in mind that these photos aren’t set in stone. You can add photos and change photos whenever you want to. You could add photos of a new location or a new product at any time.
Showing Your Location
One of the most advantageous features of Google My Business is being able to add your business to Google Maps. If you have a physical location, this makes a world of difference.
Your customers can look at your product pictures all they want, but they can’t visit your business if they don’t know where you are. When you open your Google My Business, you’ll be able to input your business’ address as well as any additional locations you have.
Verifying your location using Google My Business can also help put shaky customers at ease. Potential customers want to see that your business has several nice pictures of the inside and outside of your store to prove that you’re a real establishment.
If you’re located online only, you can indicate this. You can also add your website and other resources.
Joining Google’s Local Three-Pack
If you’ve ever made a local search on Google, you may have noticed that there are three searches that make the top of the list. These even come before the organic search results.
Many businesses have tried all of the search engine optimization tricks and still haven’t made the cut. There is one simple thing that you can do to boost your chances of making the top three: open a Google My Business account.
It may sound strange, but you’ll greatly increase your chances of showing up in that top three list by just claiming your business. You may be wondering why this matters.
As we’ve been discussing, Google wants to give its customers the best. By claiming your account, you’re claiming ownership of your business and its customer interaction. Therefore, you’ll most likely be communicative with customers.
Google wants to give the best to its customers. By verifying your business, Google knows that you’re more trustworthy and is more likely to feature your content. It’s that simple.
Creating Business Posts
Google My Business allows business owners to make posts under their business identity. There are so many uses for this kind of function.
Businesses have used these posts to let their customers know about events, releases, and other significant events. These posts will be available on Google for search engine users to see.
Others also like to use this posting function to let customers know about new products, services, and other important offers. Those who are looking into your Google My Business page regularly will get to see these posts. You’ll build more rapport by taking advantage of the feature.
The posting feature has been compared to Google Plus. While they are similar, this newer posting feature is updated and more easily optimized for the search engine.
Collecting Customer Reviews
Google My Business makes it easier to interact with your customers and recognize their reviews. Reviews are essential to businesses for many reasons. When it comes to Google search results, customer reviews could determine your ranking.
Google wants to rank businesses and organizations that visitors enjoy. Therefore, those businesses that are ranking higher will get more visitors simply because they appear higher in the search rankings.
If your business is getting poor customer reviews, seeing these are still useful. By doing this, your business can counteract any negative reviews and turn them into positive experiences.
By responding to all of these reviews and other comments, you’ll build relationships and respect. This creates even more attraction to your company and its website.
Using Customer Data
The best thing about being able to interact with your customers on this platform is the fact that you’ll be able to see how your customers are doing with your products and/or services. Through reviews, posts, and other comments, your past customers will be able to tell your future customers about their experiences.
You can use this data that your customer base is giving to improve future launches. For example, a customer may have had a defective product. You should apologize, offer a replacement, and then correct your process to ensure that that doesn’t happen again.
Using Google My Business (and the perks that come with it) gives you more insight than you’ve ever had into what your customers want and how you can help them in the future. Take advantage of having this data by putting the suggestions to work.
Gaining More Insights
Arguably, the most important (and popular) feature on Google My Business is the insights. By using the platform, Google My Business gives you access to several different data points that are important for your business’ present and future success.
There are many things that you have access to by using Google My Business:
- How many views your posts receives
- How many people see your profile
- How many viewers see your photos
- What search terms viewers are using to find your business
- How many people are engaging with your content
- Who is interested in your business (age, gender, location, etc.)
- How many people click on your website
- How many people ask for directions to your business
- How many people call using the number provided on Google
With this information, you’ll be able to better suit your customer interaction with those posts, photos, and products that they’re truly enjoying. It’s just like social media. Post more of what your followers like.
Taking Free Control
Google My Business is completely free. There are no unfair advantages when it comes to being able to claim and take control of your business’ operations on Google. Yes, this means that smaller businesses can do what bigger businesses can do.
You simply have to claim your business and start setting up your information. The more information you offer, the better.
Google My Business is a great tool for advertising your brand without having to compromise financially. A platform with this great control could be hundreds, but Google provides it for free so that you can help their customers.
Keep in mind that Google wants you to be able to claim your business and help its customers by being the best business you can be. It wants to help you rank higher if you can prove that customers like you.
There’s no point in not taking advantage of the platform. It’s free, useful, and intuitive.
Why Is the Google My Business Icon Important?
Having the Google My Business icon attached to your profile recognizes that your business is connected to your business page. This gives customers the idea that you’re keeping up with your page and making updates often.
Potential customers want to know that you’re caring for your company and updating online resources as often as possible. They don’t want to come to rely on old information that may no longer apply to your business.
By claiming your business on the platform, you’re giving customers a sense of relief. It is the near-equivalent of having a verified sticker on social media. You want your customers to know that you’re an authenticated user who is active on Google My Business.
How Can an SEO Agency Help Me?
Fixing your business’ ranking on a search engine like Google involves more than getting the Google My Business icon. As we’ve explained, that is an extremely important step. However, there is something else you need: search engine optimization (SEO).
Ranking higher on Google could make all of the difference to searchers. When people use search engines, they’re usually going for the highest-ranking site that they can find simply because it is convenient.
By optimizing your content to fit search engines, you will get more visitors to your site which means more customers.
To take full advantage of how SEO works, you should confer with an SEO consultant. Our SEO consulting program can help you rank higher on search results and see more visitors to your website. Contact us here to be considered for a free month of SEO consultation.
