Google My Business: Why is it important?

Have you heard about Google My Business? We’ve all searched for a business on Google at one point or another. Maybe you already knew the business name, or maybe you were just typing key words in the hopes of finding a solution. Chances are the results were impacted by Google My Business.  

What appears in the right-hand panel in a search is a Google My Business (GMB) listing, which is a free tool that allows business owners to manage how their business appears on Google Search and Maps.  

The digital team at Adoni Media has put together the key reasons why GMB is so important, and how it can be a useful marketing tool for your business. 

Quick info about your business 

People are lazy, and often won’t scroll past the first five search results. Having your business listed in the Google My Business panel allows people to quickly and easily digest key bits of information they may be wanting to know, without giving them the chance to lose interest or get distracted. 

Consumer trust 

The more optimised your GMB listing and general SEO is, the more likely you will appear when your potential customers are making a generic search. 

Receive ratings and build credibility 

GMB allows people to give your business a rating out of 5 stars and leave comments. No matter what rating you receive, these reviews will remain on your public platform and cannot be deleted or removed unless they are spam/fake, sexually explicit, or contain dangerous and derogatory comments. Therefore, the best use of this platform is to respond quickly and individually, to show your existing customers that you care about them, and also reveal to your potential customers your values as a business. Overall, this builds your credibility. 

Improve SEO 

There are many elements that contribute to improving your SEO, and GMB is an important one. The more complete, accurate, and consistent your GMB listing is, the higher it will rank in both Google Search and Maps.  

Adoni Media’s Head of Digital Milan Narayan recommends the following tips to optimise your GMB for SEO: 

• Complete every available section of your profile 
• Encourage customers to leave reviews, and respond to them 
• Upload high quality photo and be conscious of the file names 
• Upload weekly posts with imagery and a CTA (below). 

Increase engagement 

Depending on your type of business, GMB has functionality to allow users to take action. For example, restaurants where you can reserve a table or view a menu, hairdressers where you can book appointments online and e-commerce businesses providing a list of their products. Utilising the functions available to your business is a great way to increase engagement and therefore the likelihood of sales. 

Control your information 

Before you have claimed and verified your GMB listing, two bad things may have happened: 

1. You don’t have a listing at all, which means you aren’t searchable for potential clients 
2. Your listing isn’t locked down, which means anyone, including competitors, can purposefully change your listing information and data. You wouldn’t to give your competitor the opportunity to say you are not open for business when you really are, would you? 

 

If you need help setting up or managing your GMB, the Adoni digital team can help. Get in touch with us today!