Google My Business listings: first impressions are everything
When individuals (specifically your prospective customers) first encounter your business online, odds are that it is via Google. And when they are searching on Google, it is your Google My Business that they are going to find first. GMB holds the number one spot in mobile search and branded search, where your GMB listing is literally the first thing that appears at the top of the page. On desktop searches, it appears in the upper right hand part of the page, which is a majorly visible spot and gets the predominant amount of attention on the page.
Ironically, most people who are conscious about SEO and digital marketing do not even consider the importance of GMB management services. While your website will always be extremely important and it definitely did deserve most of your attention in the past, times have changed and there has been a huge shift towards search pages themselves. Internet users seek simplicity, convenience and rapidity. When they have a question about your business or want to know the basic information, most of the time they desire a quick answer without many clicks in order to get the information they want. Your GMB listing should provide satisfactory answers so that people don’t even need to go to your website.
What’s in a GMB listing
Google My Business listings are the most comprehensive off-page directory listings on the Internet. Especially useful for local businesses, small businesses, and businesses with physical locations or geographic-oriented businesses, GMB will not only serve Internet users with useful information, but it also helps to get you higher rankings overall on Google.
GMB listing include elements such as:
- Basic NAP business information (name, address, phone number)
- Opening hours including holiday and temporary hours
- Link to your website and appointment calendar
- Map pin and Google map search optimization
- Photos, videos, and media content
- Star ratings and reviews along with answers as the business
- Google blog posts once a week (they expire in 7 days)
- Ranking in Google’s local 3-pack, at the top above the organic listings
- FAQ’s to answer common questions that you are always asked
How to manage Google My Business
GMB can be your best resource, but you need to know how to use it correctly. Like all good digital marketing tools, Google My Business involves both an initial investment into creation (content creation, organization of information, etc) and upkeep, as well as re-investment for updates and adapting as changes to Google and the SEO industry happen. Ultimately, it is a lot of work, and something that you may want to consider leaving to the pros – like a Google My Business expert.
Putting your listed into the hands of a trusted GMB expert will help you to see results such as:
- Increased engagement with more prospects and existing customers
- Increased leads, phone calls, and conversions
- Active relationship and reputation management
- Better organic rankings in Google search results
- Google Map Search optimization to show up for local searches
- Improved overall SEO and optimize for competitive keywords
- Competitive advantage to outshine other businesses in your niche
- Remove spam GMB listings that are getting clicks instead of you
Working on a month-to-month basis, an expert will help you to create and build up a strong profile, as well as continually update and maintain it, always analyzing and seeking out new strategies to keep a competitive advantage along the way.
There has never been a better time to implement GMB management services
There truly has never been a better time than now to implement GMB into your marketing plans and enlist an expert to help you along the way. GMB is continually gaining traction and increasing in importance in the Internet marketing world, so if you haven’t made it a priority yet, then you definitely should.
Even in these times, where the Coronavirus is impacting all businesses, and many companies are reluctant to continue with investments and expenditures, or think that they don’t need to cater to potential customers at this time, GMB remains more important than ever. An easy example: your business is probably getting searched more than usual as people are checking if you are open and if you have modified opening hours. In this case, your Google listing is what they are going to see first. Keeping GMB as the face of your business and staying on top of important notifications such as hour changes can save you existing customers, gain you prospective customers, and avoid negative reviews.
A final tip: as a business, now is the best time to focus on your GMB page, with slower business and more downtime, you can invest more efforts into consolidating your marketing strategy, so that when customers are ready to hire you once again, you are at the top of your game and the top of their search results.
We have just put a package together that addresses all of these factors for a reasonable monthly fee and I invite you to check it out.
