Maybe you’re familiar with Google My Business, and maybe you’re not. In 2014, the world’s #1 search engine gave the world Google My Business (GMB), the #1 online directory for businesses and organizations (Google). It’s a 100% free online tool that allows you to list your business on Google Search and Maps, manage user reviews and give your audience a snapshot of what your business is all about. If you haven’t claimed and optimized the listing for your business, you’re losing potential customers.
Your GMB listing functions as the world’s window into your business without the limitations of other social platforms. Anyone performing a keyword search that relates to the products or services you offer, especially within a 20 miles radius of your location, can find your address, hours, link to your website, check out your reviews, setup an appointment, text you, call you, view your current offers, find you on Google Maps, get directions to your business and even read a little bit about you. Neat, huh? And, in case you missed it- it’s free.
As the business owner, you can post pictures and videos, create first time visitor offers, post updates, manage user reviews, add details about your services and products and answer frequently asked questions. It’s also your ticket to get some coveted real estate in the Google “3-pack” and pin your location on Google Maps.
While more and more business owners are beginning to discover what GMB is, only 50% of businesses have actually claimed their listing. Even fewer have completed or optimized it. If you’ve been wondering what else you can do to get more traffic, this is it. It’ll give you an edge over the majority of your competition. Most business owners see a noticeable and measurable increase in traffic within a couple weeks.
If you’re a ‘talk is cheap’ kind of person, here’s a real world example: I recently optimized a GMB listing for an auto appraisal franchise owner in Florida. A side by side comparison of a franchise owner in Texas for the same brand, with a claimed but incomplete listing, and who’d previously gotten more organic traffic than the Florida franchisee, saw neither an increase, nor a decrease in traffic.
In Florida, however, they saw a huge increase, with 300% more views than the Texas location over the last quarter. They also got 500% more calls and 125% more requests for directions. 90% of people found the Florida listing by discovery- searching for a category, product, or service, while only 10% of people found the Texas location in the same manner.
Part of the optimization process includes adding the business category and listing the products/services with detailed descriptions offered by your business, which is how the Florida location was found 90% of the time.
The Texas franchise owner initially had the advantage. His quarterly views were 22K, while the Florida franchise owner had 1.2K. Yet, the Florida owner, with his optimized GMB listing, got more calls and had more actions taken than the Texas owner over the same period of time. Pretty incredible results, right?
If you’re the type of person who likes results and you’re ready to jump on the GMB bandwagon, here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Go to www.business.google.com
Step 2: Type in the name of your company in the space provided. If you see your business listed in the dropdown box, click it. Otherwise, click “create a business with this name”
Step 3: Google wants to know if you have a physical address. Check the appropriate answer and enter your address, if applicable. This is where your Google Maps listing comes from.
Step 4: Add the names of all cities, towns, counties and states where you serve your customers
Step 5: Choose your business category
Step 6: Type in your business telephone number and your website URL
Step 7: Click “Finish” to start managing your listing
Step 8: Google will send you a postcard in the mail to the address you entered in Step 3 with a verification code. It takes about 5 days to arrive. Once you have received it, login to Google My Business and enter the code. Now, you have claimed your listing and officially verified it.
Step 9: Optimize your listing in the “Info” tab
If you’re not quite sure what “optimizing” your listing entails and you feel like you might need some help with it, Thin Air Marketing Group is here for you. We are Google My Business experts and can help you complete your listing to see serious results. Optimizing your listing and taking full advantage of all the features available through Google My Business is what will drive traffic, increase your chances of appearing in the local pack and really make an impact on your results. For more information, contact us today. You’ll be glad you did!