Google My Business

The importance of Google My Business

Google My Business used to be called Google Places for Business. It is a place where you can manage all the information Google displays about your business.

If you aren’t already using this service from Google, it is high time you considered it for your business.

Why? Because if you want people to find your business, Google My Business is free, effective local marketing that helps.

You want your prospects to find your business and contact you as easily as possible, so the more information you register in “Google My Business” the better.

Searching locally

According to Google, one out of every five searches is a location-based search and Google My Business focuses on searches such as “I need a web design company near me”. If you’re a business targeting local customers, using Google My Business is one of the best things you could do to help customer find your business.

Local searches means competition is restricted to the other business within your locality; the chances of your business being at the top of the search engine page results are much higher. For example, a search with key terms like “web site company in Warkworth” would only get results within that area and not all of New Zealand.

Google Maps

Google My Business gets you listed on Google Maps. The easier it is to find your business, the more likely you are to see an increase in calls or visits. Your business can appear in the Google search results that highlight facts, photos and maps, as well as under the organic web listings.

When someone looks for your business on Search, Maps, or Google+, it’s the Google My Business dashboard that determines what people see. Just as you spend time making your own web site attractive, you need to do the same with your Google My Business dashboard so people can find your business.

Information that’s important to include:

Hours: Registering your business hours is critical! You don’t want your visitors to wonder if you’re open, or worst, to call your competitors because their hours are visible.
Phone number: Include your main number, plus mobile if you’re often out of the office.
Address and directions: Your address will be represented on Google Maps by a pin pointing precisely at your premises. Google offers a “directions” feature enabling anybody, no matter where they are, to follow the fastest route right to your location, in one click.
Photos of your business such as products, employees, customers, facilities, store locations, or other images. People are twice as likely to find your business if your listing has photos and a virtual tour.
Responses to Google reviews. You should encourage your customers to give you a rating and a review. Google takes this into account for your SEO and customers are influenced by those reviews.

To display a description of who you are and what you do, you can visit aboutme.google.com or go from your Google My Business dashboard, click on the pink plus sign and select “story.” You can add a tagline and introduction to your business that Google will populate on your listing.

Google Plus

Google+ is a social network to connect all Google users. To access your Google+; you need to have a Gmail account. You can then add people and assign them to specific groups called “Circles”. Sharing information, updates or pictures allows people to engage with your content. You can also organise and join events. Sharing is the cornerstone of content marketing. You can update Google+ through your Google My Business dashboard.

Google My Business is very simple to set up, it’s free, and there’s only one place to edit, update or add all the information about your business! Getting your business listed can be done in just three steps. Talk to our team. We’ll get your company account set up for you.

Got questions? Email us about setting up your Google My Business account.

How to Help Customers Find Your Business on the Web