what is google my business
What Is Google My Business? You’ve heard the name, but do you know what it means? It’s Google’s most recent attempt to completely dominate the digital marketing industry, and it has a huge impact on how you should manage your small business marketing campaign. Here’s what you need to know about Google My Business and how it can help your company grow in the next five years.
What Is Google My Business 2
Google My Business (GMB) helps you find and share information about your business on Google. Whether you’re a small, local restaurant or a global conglomerate, you can create and edit a free Google My Business listing to help people in your area find you on Google Search and Maps. Your GMB listing includes categories for hours of operation, contact information, driving directions, reviews from customers and more. The following details how to optimize and verify your GMB listing.
Verifying your GMB listing is key to getting found in search. Google’s verification process requires that you send a postcard containing specific information to a physical address. Google will then verify that you own and operate your business at that location, as well as confirm its hours of operation, images, phone number and additional details provided by you. To help streamline verification, Google asks businesses to only update relevant fields when updating their information. This means it’s important for businesses to fill out every detail on their GMB page rather than leave any blanks for later. If a blank field is left unfilled during an update or edit, it may automatically revert back to its previous value after review by Google.
Why Should I Have a Google My Business Page?
Your Google My Business page helps you attract more customers. If a potential customer searches for your business on Google, they will see your listing at or near the top of their search results. This means they can quickly find out how to contact you and even check out reviews from other customers. It also gives them additional information like hours of operation, directions to your location, and more. More than 80% of users trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations; by using a Google My Business Page, you help ensure that positive customer feedback is easy for potential customers to find. And once you do have positive customer feedback, there’s no better way to share it with everyone who may be interested in working with you than a Google My Business Page!
If you haven’t already, adding a Google My Business Page to your website will help ensure you get noticed in search results. The key to a successful Google My Business Page is using accurate information about your business and making sure it looks good and professional. You can have up to 10 photos on your page, so choose high-quality ones that make it clear what kind of services or products you offer. Also take some time to fill out all of your basic information so users know exactly where they can find you if they want to stop by in person. Once you’ve filled out these details and made sure everything looks great, read over some tips on how to optimize your page for maximum visibility and give potential customers all of the tools they need at their fingertips!
How to Add or Claim Your Business
You can add or claim your business on Google Maps and Google Search. Adding your listing makes it easier for customers to find you online, boosting your sales and bottom line. To start adding or claiming your listing: log in to Google My Business, select either add or claim from navigation bar on top, click Get Started then follow instructions on screen. In addition to adding a profile photo and full address (NAP), you may be asked to provide other details about your company including hours of operation, specialties/services offered, etc.
Listings Management
First and foremost, Google wants to make sure that you own your listing (that it isn’t spam), so you need to verify your Google My Business listing. To do so, you’ll simply upload a photo of your official company sign or store logo. This image should be 1500 x 500 pixels and 72 DPI. You can also use Google’s nifty Upload a Sign tool to generate an image if you don’t have one available yet; just follow these simple instructions and make sure that the resulting image conforms to these size specs: 1500 x 500 pixels and 72 DPI.
What Does a Good GMB Profile Look Like?
First, you’ll want to verify your Google My Business profile and make sure that your business listing is optimized. As Google explains, Google My Business makes it easy for customers to connect with businesses they love through enhanced profiles on Google Maps and search. You can share information like location, contact details, hours of operation, photos, etc. When you sign up for GMB (Google My Business), a verification process will begin: you’ll need to confirm your address with Google before changes are accepted.
Why Is It Important To Get Reviews on Google My Business?
Google My Business (aka GMB) is a major part of Google’s local search strategy. Many people look at search results on Google and don’t think about how much importance Google places on your GMB page. Basically, if you don’t have a GMB listing for your business, chances are that nobody will be able to find it in their search results even if they’re looking for you specifically! If you’re serious about having customers find your business online, then optimizing and maintaining your GMB listing should be high on your priority list.
How To Request Reviews From Customers
Google My Business has made it incredibly easy to collect customer reviews, but you still have to know how to ask for them. You don’t need a fancy script or anything; just be direct and encouraging. For example, if you're reaching out by email, say something like: I hope you’re having a great week so far! I was wondering if you could leave a quick review for us on Google? It’s just one click and would mean a lot. Thank you! Use your own words (and avoid sounding salesy or fake), but that's basically all there is to it. On other platforms, like Facebook Messenger or text messages, keep it simple: Thanks for using our service!
