Google My Business is a free tool for businesses to manage their online presence within Google Maps and Search. It is a great tool for your company if you rely heavily on local traffic.
Here are a couple fun facts that should entice you to create a Google My Business listing and make your business listing available to the countless users of Google's services.
- 1 in 3 Google searches has local intent
- 50% of all the mobile consumers who search for a local business in a day visit it as well. 18% of them end up making a purchase
If those cold hard facts aren't enough, keep reading for five reasons to use Google's business listing platform.
5 reasons why you should create a Google My Business listing now:
1. Manage and respond to customer reviews
Customer reviews can take your business to new heights if they are engaged upon, managed and encouraged properly. Google My Business allows you to have one easy location where customers can leave those reviews - good or bad, unfortunately. Google My Business has a dashboard which allows you to monitor and respond these reviews, though. According to Jay Baer, author of the book Hug Your Haters, 53% of customers expect a reply on review sites. Businesses will also see a 16% boost in customer advocacy from answered complaints. On the other hand, businesses that ignore complaints on review sites experience a 37% decline in customer advocacy. It is also extremely important to reply to positive reviews to show the customers that you appreciate them taking the time and effort to leave the review in the first place.
2. Get to know your customers through Insights
In Google My Business, you can access Insights, which is an area of the platform providing analytics on your users. You can use those stats to improve your marketing and sales.
Some of the sections of Insights include:
- How customers search for your business: Direct, Discovery or Branded
- The queries used in Google to find your business
- Where customers view your business on Google: Search or Maps
- Customer actions: Visit Website, Request Directions, Call or Message
3. Displays crucial business information in a convenient and familiar way
Google is an extremely popular search engine and those who use it frequently are quite familiar with the tools and the features of the platform. Your information including phone number, website, address and reviews will appear in a friendly and clean manner which will entice immediate action on your business page.
Some of the other pieces of information it displays:
- Busy Periods
- Hours
- Photos
- Business Description
- Photos
4. Another communication channel to market your brand
Google My Business allows you to post updates from your company page including What's New posts, products, Events and Offers. The huge benefit of these posts is that they will appear in potential customers' Google Search and Map results. Using the post feature frequently shows potential clients that you are staying engaged and can give them further information on offers or events that may make up their mind between your company and a competitor.
5. Most importantly, it's FREE!
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are common place for most businesses. This is because it is a free or inexpensive (if you are using their advertising tools) to reach large groups of consumers in your region. Google My Business should be part of that marketing strategy. With all of the benefits that are listed above, a small business that is tailored to a local market should not skip on using this medium and investing in reaching a large pool of potential consumers in their area.
Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of Google My Business Listings as part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy? Baxter Marketing & Creative can help. Feel free to contact me at kevin@baxtermktg.com to learn more about what we can do for you.
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