Everything You Need to Know About Google My Business
- November 2nd, 2018
- Author: cassandra
- Posted in: Google My Business
What is Google My Business?
If you’ve done a search online for a business or used the Google Maps app, you’ve seen Google My Business in action.
Google My Business is essentially how you manage your company’s online presence with Google for local searches and map listings. If you do a Google search for your company’s name, you should see your Google My Business profile pop up on the right side of the screen.
Benefits of Using Google My Business
While many people think Beyoncé runs the world (myself included), Google runs the online world.
Google created a platform for you to manage your company’s online presence and you can bet it’s in your best interest to take advantage of it.
Manage your Business Information
The Google My Business platform gives businesses the opportunity to ensure all of their essential business information is correct and available to searchers. It’s vital to keep things like hours of operation, business location, phone number and website all up-to-date online. Your Google My Business profile is often times the first thing people see when doing a direct search for your business.
According to Google, “Businesses that verify their information with Google My Business are twice as likely to be considered reputable by consumers”
Gather Insights from Google My Business
Within the Google My Business platform, your business has access to a full suite of insights. You’ll be able to tell where your traffic is coming from, how people are searching, when people are calling, where they request directions from and more.
In October 2018, Google updated the insights portion of Google My Business adding “Branded Searches” to the “How customers search for your business” section. This section gives you the total number of people who found your listing from a direct search, a discovery search, and now a branded search.
What does that mean?
Direct search: A direct search occurs when a user searches directly for your business name or address.
Discovery search: A discovery search occurs when a user searches for your service, industry, or category
Branded search: A branded search occurs when a user searches for a brand related to your business
Why does all of this matter? These insights from Google My Business give you a deeper look into how your customers are finding you online. This information is extremely valuable when evaluating your online marketing strategy. The more you know, the better your strategy will be.
Engage with Consumers
Online reviews are becoming more and more important as consumers continue to research businesses online before making buying decisions. Your Google My Business profile is where your Google reviews live. In order to respond to customer reviews you have to claim your Google My Business profile.
In addition to reviews, there is a Q&A section that lives on your Google My Business profile where consumers have the ability to ask questions about your business. Anyone with a Google account has the ability to answer these questions. Scary right? Your business needs to be actively answering these questions to ensure the information online about your business is correct.
Not sure how to get started with Google My Business? DMI can setup, claim, and verify your company’s Google My Business profile for you. Give us a call or shoot us an email today to get started.
If you have any questions about our Digital Marketing Agency in Kansas City, contact 816-537-7950.