Small businesses that want to reach a local audience should have a Google My Business page. Around 93% of customers use Google Maps to find a business. While having a website and social media is essential for digital marketing, Google My Business pages are very powerful when it comes to driving local traffic to your website. These pages are free and simple to update, so your target audience can find you easily.
If you are interested in adding a Google My Business page, here are a few things to get you started.
Whether you are a brick-and-mortar business or are shipping from your home, you need an address to verify your business. You can use your home address and check the option to not have your address shown on the listing. This is the only way to verify your business but you can keep your privacy.
Make sure not to leave anything unanswered on your Google My Business Page. When you leave sections blank, you run the risk of not ranking as high as you would if it was filled out. You don’t need to input all the information right away. However, you do need to make sure it’s all done within a timely manner.
Like all social media platforms, you do need to post on your Google My Business page. Before you cringe at the thought of dealing with another social media platform, sit down and plan what would be appropriate content as a local business. When you post on your Google My Business page, you tell Google that your business is worth ranking high on its search results. So, the more you post, the better. However, don’t just post to post. You can cross post anything you have from other platforms onto your page.
Categories help Google rank your business in its results page. When you leave this blank, it is possible that your ranking will tank or not change at all. Be incredibly specific when it comes to categories. For example, don’t write “fitness” but use “cardio fitness”. Then, choose a secondary category. Avoid using too many categories though! The phrase “Less is More” applies here, too.
Reviews are one of the key ingredients to get your Google My Business page ranking high in search results. Make sure to encourage customers to leave one! And remember, it’s OK if the review is negative. Go in and impress them with your stellar customer service to turn it into a positive review. You can give incentives for customers to leave a review, too. The more you have, the better!
Google My Business is an essential platform to utilize if you are a local business. Your page can also rank high on search results more easily than a website or social media, especially if people are searching locally owned businesses to patron.
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