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What is ‘Google My Business’?

Google My Business, or GMB, is a Google-powered platform. It allows businesses to manage their local online presence. Once a GMB account is set up, you can add all of your crucial information. Information such as opening hours, contact details, URLs and links, product categories, etc. You can simultaneously reach multiple Google platforms. This means that your details will not only benefit from increased visibility in SERP results but will also be shown in reviews, maps and locations. To cut a long story short, a fully optimised GMB listing can massively multiply your organic exposure within the Google network.

 

Why is it important to have an Optimised GMB Account?

Online Presence

This element alone will help to attract more clients and drive local SEO. Coupled with a smart business description, high-quality images, and some positive reviews of your business, GMB can markedly improve the first impression made by your business on your potential customers.

 

Audience Outreach Increase

Whether on Mobile, Tablet or Desktop, your GMB listing will consistently appear in SERP results. Mobile Internet activities continue to grow and are starting to overtake Desktop as the most used SERP platform. it is important to be fully compatible with this trend. Indeed, in their latest algorithm updates, Google announced they are to start penalising non-mobile-friendly sites. GMB is fully responsive to Mobile content.

 

Everything in one Platform

Your Google My Business listing contains everything your customers need in one place. This is hugely important to your potential customers who are busy and do not want the hassle of doing too much shopping around. Even if your pricing is slightly higher than your competition, a user-friendly and helpful experience can win customers. Google My Business offers this solution by keeping all of your data tidy and in one place throughout their network.

 

Google My Business is FREE

They say you get nothing for free these days, but GMB is totally free to sign up to. Be careful though, although setting up the account is free, Google requires you to be in constant touch with your listing making sure it is up to date. At Big Gun Digital, we can assist with setting up your account and recommend weekly posts if possible, or fortnightly at least.

The Advantages of using GMB, particularly for SME’s

Google My Business Insights

Being able to provide concise, measurable metrics is the cornerstone of your Digital Marketing efforts in 2018, and GMB offers monthly insights stats on a monthly basis as standard. Here at Big Gun Digital, we take these stats and provide an in-depth breakdown of interactions earned through GMB as part of your regular monthly analytics report. We can provide key data such as how many people search for your business through Google, where customers view your business online and any actions they take from your GMB page.

 

Virtual Tours

Google’s Virtual Tours feature has been around in some form or another since 2010, but have gained far greater popularity over the last couple of years. The 360-virtual tour provided by Google’s ‘Street View’ engine allows potential customers to get more of a feel for your brand and your local environment. It also allows them to see exactly where you are and facilitate their journey through the funnel to a conversion.

 

Regular GMB Posts

Posting to your GMB listing was a feature added in 2017, and have proved to be a huge success. These posts, which last 7 days before expiring, encourage you to keep your information up-to-date and appear just below the company name and information. Posting is the perfect way to drive customers attention towards Special Offers, News, Events, Product Launches, Changes to Opening Hours, Discounts and Services.

 

Google themselves had this to say about GMB:

With 82% of people turning to search engines to find local information, your Google listing is the ideal place to showcase what is unique about your business. Even when customers know exactly what they’re looking for, they still want to get to know the business and see what it has to offer. That’s why Google My Business is bringing Posts to local businesses — an easy way to help attract new customers and build relationships with the customers you already have.

 

Here a few Post Ideas to get you started

1. If you are having an event, you can set up a New Event.
2. Do you have a time-specific Sale? Advertise it on GMB!
3. Want to spread some holiday Joy? Give customers a special post.
4. Advertise a brand new, shiny product with a GMB post.
5. If you are pleased with your latest Blog, add a short description to GMB

 

BorG’s Top Tips:

“There are a variety of questions you can answer to complete your Google My Business profile. When done, your listing will have valuable data that will make it easier for potential customers to find your company. If you don’t fill that information in, someone else could. Many businesses don’t realise that anyone can suggest a change to your business listing — and that includes competitors.

This is just one reason why it’s very important that you log in to your Google My Business dashboard regularly to ensure that no one has attempted to make any unwanted changes to your listing. You’ll see a notification that changes are pending if someone has made suggested changes that need your approval.”

 

 

Get in Touch with Big Gun Digital Boost your Local SEO with GMB!

Get in Touch today if you need any advice on how to set up and optimise your Google My Business account, come and give us a shout! At Big Gun Digital, we can advise on all aspects of optimising your local SEO and your company’s online visibility. We provide a fully bespoke content strategy to include regular GMB posts.

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