Google My Business has now been renamed Google Business Profile, which has added some confusion for business owners who are looking for a way to get started online.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits that a business owner can get from putting in some time and effort towards marketing and advertising to potential local customers using the free listing that Google provides.
With advertising becoming more expensive and competitive, local businesses are looking for ways to generate new interest and get new customers to visit them and purchase what they have on offer. One way you can do this is by building a profile so that you show up in both Google search results and in Google maps.
You can do this by spending a decent amount of time crafting your local listing with Google.
Google Maps is also one of the most heavily used features on mobiles, which means you can get plenty of new customers who may not have seen your traditional advertisements before. You can also get new foot traffic in the door as they simply walk past your business and discover it on the map listing.
Not all business owners understand the power of a well-maintained Google business profile; most just assume people will find them via their website or word of mouth and miss out on a ton of free exposure from one of the most trusted consumer brands in the world. Google has spent years building trust with consumers and building a solid brand name, so having them promote your business for free is a great idea.
By putting in the time, effort, and resources into maintaining a listing, your profile will help to increase your visibility on Google. It will also help to build trust with potential customers by showing them traditional trust signals such as reviews, location, contact information, opening hours, and what products or services you offer.
Your Google Business Profile is a great place to start building a local brand.
There are many local business owners that rely heavily on offering the cheapest prices in order to win business, but the smart business owner understands that building trust with its potential customer base is the way to continue to have success, and one way to build trust is by focusing on displaying traditional trust signals.
Building a brand doesn’t happen overnight, but if you put in the time and effort and do all the right things over the long term, then local customers will flock to you because they know they can trust you to deliver the products or services that they require.
An example of this might be someone looking for “Plumber in London”, Your business may show up next to another business that has hundreds of reviews from previous customers, an established business address, a phone number, a well-designed website, and plenty of other trust signals. You simply can’t compete and win the customers trust unless you take the time and effort to maintain your business profile and start building a trusted brand name.
A Google Business Profile (GBP) offers much more than just contact details.
Your GBP allows you to essentially control how your business appears to consumers in Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Shopping. You can also use it to make regular updates that help keep potential customers informed of any new events happening within your business.
A good listing is no longer just a list of your contact details and instead can be transformed into an advertisement that you can update as your business grows. You can now do things such as post special offers, list new products or services that you are offering, post up new images of your offices or retail space, and much more.
Many owners wonder if they need a physical storefront to get a listing, but this is not a requirement. With GBP, you can still get a listing if you work from home or offer services in the area that require you to visit customers homes or business premises. An example of this would be a computer repair company.
Having a well-maintained business profile will allow you to start ranking well for location-specific search results. An example of this might be “florist in London” or “emergency plumber in Bristol”. These results are known as the local pack or map pack as they contain local results from businesses within that area.
Businesses that take time to optimise their profile stand a much better chance at ranking for these search terms and showing up higher in the listing results. Like most things in life, the more hours that you invest in something, the bigger the return is, so it’s worth taking the time and getting your business listing as close to perfect as possible in order to outrank your competition and win new customers.
Google Business Profiles are great at getting new customers from mobile searches.
In recent years, we have seen a vast increase in both mobile usage and mobile searches. People are now searching more than ever for local search results as they move from location to location. This is known as foot traffic, which was beneficial for local businesses that had a location near a popular meeting area.
Mobile searches have led to a willingness to travel further and know exactly where you can get access to products or services that you need. An example of this might be a visitor from out of town that needs a hotel, a meal to eat, a place to grab a coffee, or even a place to get a haircut. These are the types of searches that can be solved via a quick Google search on their mobile.
A recent 2023 study showed that an incredible 98% of people read online reviews for local businesses. This makes it a win-or-lose situation for any local businesses that are not investing time into building a local brand and interacting with customers online.
You need a solid process to build your Google Business Profile correctly.
Having a correct process in place for handling your Google profile is critical in modern times. You need to have the ability to touch base with your existing customers but also ensure that potential customers can not only find you but also know that they can trust you.
Social proof has one of the largest effects in business, but so many smaller business owners never take the time to ask their happy existing customers to leave a review for them. This normally leaves the door open for negative reviews to be at the forefront. After all, people are more motivated to do something if they feel they haven’t had a positive experience. Most people who are happy customers just go about their day and continue to do business with you.
A happy customer review could potentially sway the opinion of thousands of people, so it’s really worth the time to both help and remind them how they could spread the word for you. So many customers would like to help you out after a good experience but aren’t tech savvy and won’t understand how to leave you a good review on your profile. Showing them how to do so in step-by-step details will help build up your brand name and reputation for years to come.
Be sure to interact with customers who leave feedback.
One of the main ways you can build a strong reputation and profile is by interacting with customers who leave reviews for you. This shows that you truly appreciate them taking the time out of their day to help improve your business and leave you vital feedback.
Interacting with customer feedback also helps you build trust with your local community. It shows that you are active online and that you are listening to both positive and negative feedback to ensure that customers understand that you take your reputation seriously and are looking to correct any issues your business may be having.
The main benefit of a business listing is that it can help you to display a wide range of information in one place. You can easily display and edit opening times, display contact information such as your business phone number, email address, and website address, and you can also display opening times for holidays such as Christmas. You are also able to inform customers that you will be closed temporarily for things such as renovations or inform them if you relocate.
A business listing is a great free marketing tool.
There are not many ways that a business can gain some free advertising, but Google gives your business a free listing, which you can use to your advantage if you have a small advertising budget or are just getting started in business.
There are many benefits to having a well-maintained listing, as described above, but the main ones are:
- Building a strong local brand.
- Free advertising for your business.
- Ability to engage with customers who leave feedback.
- Answer FAQs to cut down on calls or emails asking repeated questions.
- Stand out from other local firms that don’t optimise their listings.
- Great tool for local SEO.
- Show that you are active and care about your reputation by responding to negative reviews.
- Control your business information from one central point.
- See how many calls you have had and how many clicks your site gets.
- Let Digital Growth Architects optimise your Google Business Profile listing.
- Digital Growth Architects offers a special audit service that allows you to optimise your business
- listing and can produce a report that shows you how to improve your listing. The service can help you
- maximise the features that you can use, such as posts, photos, videos, Q&A, messaging, and more,
- and will help you avoid the common mistakes that your competitors may be unaware of
Let Digital Growth Architects Optimise Your Google Business Profile listing.
Digital Growth Architects offers a special audit service that allows you to optimise your business listing and can produce a report that shows you how to improve your listing. The service can help you maximise the features that you can use, such as posts, photos, videos, Q&A, messaging, and more, and will help you avoid the common mistakes that your competitors may be unaware of.
