Is Google My Business Worth It?

Google My Business (GMB) is an important tool that improves local search for businesses.

It is an alternative to paid sponsored listings and directories previously hosted by Google. Similar to a virtual phonebook, Google My Business is a free and convenient tool any business can use to feature their products and services in the local market.

Featuring an easy-to-use and simple to manage interface, GMB allows businesses and brands to list their most important local business information to attract customers.

GMB should be a core component of almost any local marketing strategy.

If you haven’t used Google My Business before, this tool is definitely worth every minute and effort spent setting up. Simply put, the tool promotes your brand by displaying your business address, phone number, appointment page, opening hours, and other details that increase customer contacts.

Is Google My Business Worth It?
If you have a business that serves local customers, Google My Business is worth it. The Google My Business service is free and is a core component of any local marketing strategy. Whether you provide products or services, Google My Business provides an easy to manage interface that lets you feature your most important business information which can be listed in local search results.

For those who doubt if GMB is worth it, this simple tutorial highlights how businesses benefit from setting Google My Business profiles and more.

What are the Benefits of Google My Business?

Below are some of the benefits of adopting a Google My Business strategy for your business:

• Shows Your Business in Google Map Searches for Increased Sales

While searching for businesses on Google is an effective way of narrowing down from multiple options, 86% of prospects prefer using Google Maps to find local businesses. Customers who are close to your business are more likely to make purchases. Besides, there is a 50% chance that customers who discover businesses through Google My Business listings will make purchases. That said, your business can start popping up for local Google Map searches if you create and claim your Google My Business listing.

• Become Part of Google’s 3-pack

If you have searched for restaurants and local businesses on Google before, you must have noticed that local listings displayed above other organic search results on the first page are limited to a 3-pack format. Unknown to most people, creating and claiming your Google My Business listing increases your local ranking and chances of being among the 3-pack.

Being among the local 3-pack results has several benefits. These listings display your business location on Google Maps and show your business high on the search engine results page. To verify this importance, brands displayed among Google’s local 3-pack enjoy up to 700% increase in clicks compared to businesses that don’t.

• GMB Builds Customer Trust

Building customer trust is among the main challenges faced by small and establishing businesses currently. However, as a business owner, the simplest way of ensuring that your customers trust your business is by providing them with an address or location of your venture on Google My Business. Actually, customers consider brands available on Google search reputable three times more than businesses that don’t show up. This is due to the legitimacy associated with verifying business on Google My Business.

• Ratings on GMB Improves Your Business Appeal

An estimated 90% of online shoppers read customer reviews before making purchase decisions. Having a Google My Business profile enables customers to review or leave some feedback about your business that other prospects can see. GMB review not only provides honest evaluations of your business but also provides star ratings that give a competitive edge over other businesses.

• It Increases Traffic

Increasing the quality of website traffic and in-store visits is a common challenge faced by local businesses. While there are no strategies for avoiding these common business challenges, listing your business on Google My Business can improve your traffic. Showing up on local searches increases your chances of attracting customers by 70%. Google My Business can also gather more than 35% of website clicks.

Do I Need Google My Business?

Before highlighting why you need Google My Business, check out the following statistics;

• More than 97% of online shoppers discovered a local business online
• 91% of adults search for information on search engines
• Google has more than 90% of the search engine market share
• Google reports that more than 46% of all user searches are specific to local intent
• More than 56% of actions taken from Google My Business listings are site visits, 20% are direct searches, and 24% of all actions are phone calls to businesses
• More than 64% of online shoppers use Google My Business to find contacts of local businesses
• Approximately 16% of businesses receive nearly 100 calls monthly from GMB alone

That said, you have all the reasons to consider listing your business on Google My Business. You need Google My Business for the following reasons;

• If You Want to Be Discoverable

Even old-fashioned brick-and-mortar businesses have prospects and customers online. Currently, most customers start their search for products and services online. Google is undoubtedly the ultimate search referrer for both foot and web traffic. Therefore, not listing your business on Google My Business will have you missing all this traffic.

• If You Want to Keep Customers Informed

You shouldn’t let customers guess important details about your business. Nor should you allow online directories, such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, and other review sites that you have no control over to influence your business. Listing your business on Google My Business ensures that prospects and customers find legitimate information when searching for your business.

• Free Google Advertising

You can promote your business and rank first on Google’s search page in several ways. Most businesses prefer Google Ads, which can be expensive. Others prefer improving their SEO, which takes a lot of time and effort. However, Google My Business listing offers a fast and cheap alternative way of getting business exposure.

Using Google My Business

Using Google My Business isn’t challenging at all. The first step is creating a GMB listing by claiming your business page or opening a new page. You should then verify and optimize your listing by using the right keywords, call to actions (CTAs), adding relevant photos and videos, and featuring FAQs.

However, note that creating your GMB profile won’t boost the visibility of your business. That said, below are some tips to make your Google My Business profile an effective marketing tool;

• Engage with customers

You can engage with your customers from your GMB profile in many ways. For instance, you can respond to customer reviews, enable direct messages, set up alerts, or answer questions.

• Highlight your business

Your business profile highlights a little information about your business. However, with a GMB account, you can provide additional information, such as operational hours, product prices, website links, and other information that will make your brand unique.

• Gain insights

You can use Google My Business to gain insights about your audience and how your business performs on local search. The platform has an analytics tab, which shows queries used by customers to find your business, source of traffic, and customer actions on your listing.

Consider the following tips to improve performance on your Google My Business;

• Ensure that every section is updated with the correct information. If you relocate, update the changes immediately.
• Use high-quality photos
• Regularly “post” new info and updates using the simple Google tool, this is similar to posting a blog update and keeps your page fresh
• List multiple locations if you have different locations for your business
• Respond to all comments and reviews, including negative reviews

Google My Business is a free tool to show up in search

Google My Business is a free tool that allows businesses to improve their online presence on Google, including Google Maps and Searches. Simply put, it is a virtual phonebook that makes it easy to find your business on Google and reach prospects and customers.

Due to the various business benefits listed above, listing your business on Google My Business is totally worth it.

And as always, if you assistance along the way, Your Strategic Marketing Partner is happy to help!

About Your Strategic Marketing Partner
Sam Hirschberg, MBA, is Your Strategic Marketing Partner in Arizona. Always professional and a delight to work with, Sam is not your typical “marketing consultant”. Unlike most consultants who tell you there is a problem and say, “See you later and good luck!” Your Strategic Marketing Partner knows how to find solutions, execute programs, test and measure campaigns, and how-and-when it’s time to roll-out big! You are invited to call (602) 892-0777 to learn more about Sam’s background on his FREE 9-minute recorded message.  For more information about Sam, please visit https://strategicmarketingpartner.com.

References

1. How to build customer trust - https://www.trust-bbb.org/torchtalk/7-ways-to-build-trust-with-your-customers-and-why-it-matters
2. Who uses online reviews - https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/consumer-laws/customer-service/managing-customer-reviews/who-uses
3. Challenges faced by small businesses - https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/business/resource/top-five-challenges-small-business-owners-face