With every passing year, online presence is more and more important for your business. Even if you do not provide any digital or online services, getting found online is paramount to getting business. Over the years, many websites have tried to replace the Yellowpages and phonebooks of olden times. However, no website has had nearly as much success as Google in becoming the main source of general business information for users. It’s the source that many people will go to find local businesses’ hours, phone numbers, and addresses. As the leading search engine, Google has many tools for small local businesses. The greatest of those tools is Google My Business, and it’s imperative to ensure your page is up to date. So how can you take advantage of all the Google My Business has to offer? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions.
What Is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a platform for businesses of all sizes to list information about their company. Listings on this platform are shared on Google Maps (both the phone application & the desktop version) as well as in the Google local pack on search engine results pages (SERPs). The local pack is a group of three or more businesses that will show up in a small grid above the organic search results. This pack is designed using Google Maps data, meaning that it prioritizes the location of the searcher. If you are sitting in your home in Chicago and you Google “Italian restaurants in Boston” your local pack may still show you Chicago results because its goal is to satisfy immediate local needs. Like Yelp, Google My Business is a platform designed to connect customers with local businesses by providing directions, reviews, websites, and more information. In fact users can directly call your business through this platform without ever going to your website.
How Do I Get My Business On Google My Business?
If your business isn’t on Google yet, you can create an account for it. Simply go to Google My Business’ website and search for the name of your business. Google registers businesses using public records, so there is a chance your business is already on their platform. This doesn’t mean someone else is managing your business or stealing your customers. It simply means that Google found information about your business via another website and created a profile for you. Unfortunately, this information can be wrong so you may be losing out on customers. That is why you will want to claim your business.
How Do I Claim My Business on Google?
If your business is already listed on Google you can claim it. Assuming no one has claimed it before, Google will request that you provide evidence that you are the business owner. They will do this by calling the business’ phone number or sending a letter with a confirmation code to the business’ address. If someone already has claimed your listing and they shouldn’t have, you can work with Google to reclaim access to your listing by working with their support team.
What Can I Do To Get More Calls From Google My Business?
Now that you have a listing you may be wondering how you can improve how many conversions you get from it. There are a variety of factors that affect this platform. The first thing to remember is that Google listings appear based on the location of the searcher. Although you cannot affect this metric, it is important to set your location accordingly. If you provide services to an area of places (i.e. you are an electrician, contractor, plumber, or even have a delivery driver for your restaurant), you will want to identify these cities in your locations section. Additionally, you want to add all of your services and products in their respective sections, so you appear for the correct searches. Beyond this, the best way to improve how often your listing appears and how often people interact with it is by getting good reviews, and publishing regular posts.
Online Presence Management For Local Businesses
If you need help managing your online presence, the team at Boston Web Marketing can help. We provide both on-site and off-site SEO. This means we will do whatever we can to make your website rank for the proper keywords while also managing all of the places your business information is displayed online. For more information and a no-obligation quote please contact our sales team.