Google My Business
By now, most business owners and entrepreneurs are familiar with Google My Business. Not only is your Google My Business account the only means by which you can claim ownership of your Business Profile, attain management rights to it, and unlock additional free features to increase your visibility on Google, but since Google holds more than 92% of search engine market share, we also know it is an important tool to gain more visibility with broader audiences. However, although the platform is very familiar to us, there are still a few bits of info that some companies and individuals may miss (or misunderstand) when setting up their My Business page.
For instance, businesses that do not have a physical location often struggle to communicate that fact on their My Business page and resort to using a home address. But, there are a few viable workarounds: if you operate strictly on a delivery-only basis, you can now either click “I deliver goods and services to my customers” to make it clearer that your location is not a physical storefront. In the same regard, If you operate your business out of your home and prefer not to list your address, you can select “Hide my address (it’s not a store)” to prevent Google from displaying your full address on public-facing pages.
In order to be effective on Google My Business, you have to make sure all of your info is current and correct, starting with the overview header. The overview header provides a quick snapshot of your business, highlighting the details most important for potential customers. Necessary components of your overview header to help higher search placement are
Company Name
Photos
Logos
CTA buttons
A concise description (750 characters or less)
This information is just the starting point, so don’t stop there and assume this will be enough to bring more visibility in Google searches. Be sure to also fill out the information in these sections and headers as well:
“Attributes” (aka ‘details’ on mobile): these are special badges that highlight unique features of your business such as veteran/women/black owned or Recently Opened. user Q+A answers are also added to this by google automatically.
Service options: this is where you’ll detail the specifics of any services you offer
The “About” header: this should include your address, number, and hours
The “Updates” header: this is a section where you can highlight the goings-on of your business. If well-curated, it can have a powerful impact on your appeal and relevance to customers.
Once the public profile information is thoroughly added, another tool to utilize in your dashboard if you have multiple locations is Labels. Labels are an easy internal way to organize your locations. You can give each one a unique identifier that can group locations regionally or by any other tag deemed necessary by your company. That way, you can quickly monitor the activity of certain segments of your business.
Additionally, be sure to use your Google My Business account to engage back with your audience. You can respond to reviews, answer questions, enable direct messaging, and set up business-specific alerts. You can even use Google My Business to publish posts to your Business Profile, much like you would with Facebook.
Lastly, always remember, the more Google Business profile tools used (e.g. their free website design tools, locations, ads, linked accounts, messaging and booking tools, and review links) the more you maximize your search engine visibility and ranking. Google prioritizes active local businesses who are active and utilize their tools over big-box stores, so take advantage!
If you need help setting up your Google My Business account(s) or have any questions, reach out to us!
