What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB) is a free Google service designed to help promote local businesses in the search results. This tool enables business owners to manage how they appear online across Google and make their business stand out in an increasingly competitive market.
Not only for large enterprises with multiple premises, GMB is an important tool for businesses of all sizes to get on the map and compete with their local competitors whilst humanising their brand.
Benefits of Google My Business
Target Local
For local searches, such as “restaurants near me” and “local plumber”, a local pack will be returned. Local pack includes an interactive map image of the surrounding area with businesses fitting the search criteria highlighted and listed below the map. GMB helps you achieve obtaining more local business for free and compete with your closest competitors for the same customers.
Reviews
Customers have the opportunity to leave a review of your business on your GMB page, positive or negative. These reviews can be very important to your business as it may be the difference between a user visiting your store vs your competitors. Many users look up a company’s reviews before enquiring or buying, so it goes in your favour to have a prominent GMB page populated with positive, up to date reviews from real customers that you respond to. Responding to reviews shows you care about your customers and are proactive in trying to resolve any problems as soon as they happen.
Showcase Your Best Images
If set up correctly, your Google My Business page should be the first thing to appear on a Google search when a customer searches for your brand name. It is here that you can showcase your business storefront, products/services, workforce and other enticing images that help build your brand persona and make your business approachable. If you are a restaurant, for example, you should include imagery of your restaurant (inside and out), pictures of happy customers, your most popular/latest dishes and anything else that you feel is a selling point for your business.
Do you need help populating your Google My Business listing and gaining more local business? Find out more about our local SEO services and get in touch for a free quote.