Why you should be optimising your Google My Business page
By Rohan Xavier, Sep 20 2022
Google My Business or GMB is a free web tool which allows your business to be viewed at a glance.
The goal of Google My Business is to help local businesses achieve higher visibility on Google and across relevant local searches. This makes GMB essential for local businesses. With GMB local businesses can easily control and improve visibility on Google Search.
The more space you occupy on Google, the higher your chances of people seeing and engaging with your brand or business. One great way to occupy space is through Google My Business.
In today’s world, it’s safe to say that most customer journeys start on Google. This makes Google as a search engine an essential lead. As well as providing leads, GMB also improves traffic on your social channels – which leads to the ultimate goal of providing a good RIO (return on investment).
GMB is the ultimate tool for local businesses as it’s designed to be local to the user, bringing local customers to your local business.
Benefits of Google My Business
- Free of cost
For local business owners, this is probably an essential factor. Even with limited resources, there is no reason why your business shouldn’t be utilising GMB. It also won’t cost you a lot of time either. Once set up, the upkeep is minimal.
- Local SEO
As mentioned before, using GMB is a great way to increase your local reach. Optimising local search allows local customers to find you at the right time when looking for businesses and services locally. Local customers are the goal as they are much more likely to be repeat customers. GMB is the key to getting and retaining local customers and an SEO company in Hamilton can help you achieve your business goals.
- Provides your business with free analytics and insights
Understanding your data can help you more easily create actionable goals. The data collected through GMB is presented in quick summaries allowing you to make better business decisions. There are two main categories which are available through GMB insights – visibility and engagement metrics.
Visibility metrics allow you to see things such as how many views your profile, images and posts have gained in a specific period. It also allows you to conclude where in the search engine your business was shown and how you’ve been found. This provides valuable insight into effective keywords which are essential for SEO.
Engagement metrics tell you how many clicks and calls your profile has had. You can track clicks to websites, direction requests from Google Maps as well as the location they were made, number of phone calls to your business and you can estimate when your business will be at its busiest with the average length of each visit. These essential insights are a great way to find growth patterns within your current audiences. Understanding how people are engaging with your business allows you to more effectively advertise to them.
- Collects reviews
Collects reviews straight from the customer about how your business is doing. GMB allows you to display your customer’s comments and Google business reviews (aiming for 5-stars!). Reviews play an important role, the main one is that help your business establish trust with current and potential customers. People trust people the most and using reviews is a great way to gain new leads without having to reach out. Reviews also help showcase your company, build brand recognition and drive sales to your business. If you need to increase
- Easy to use
Setting up the GMB is simple, the most complicated thing about it is keeping it up to date.
Top Tips when setting up your GMB:
- Make sure you enter the correct information and keep it up to date at all times. Sounds simple but can easily be forgotten – set a reminder.
- Choose your category based on your industry – this helps the algorithm show your business to the right people at the right time.
- Verify your company address – your profile won’t show up if you don’t.
- Use keywords in your business descriptions and posts.
- Add relevantly and up-to-date photos, these can include logos, products, and interior and exterior images of your business.
- Answer and engage with customer reviews and messages.
Whether your company is big or small, Google My Business is a tool which you can use to maximise your marketing strategy, especially for local businesses. Whether your goal is to grow local reach, and visibility or increase profitability – GMB will help you cover all bases. Expanding your local customer base will expand your number of repeat purchases.
The HGB way
If you’d like help with your digital marketing strategy, contact our Hamilton-based marketing agency today. We’re certified Google Partners, have a good understanding of the Google landscape and know how to tailor your campaign to suit unique requirements.