A Google My Business Profile (GMB) offers companies, big or small, the fantastic opportunity to appear in Google searches, showing all the information surrounding their business for free!
GMB helps ensure that people find your business when looking for products and services like yours in their local area. This provides you and your company the ability to list your location on Google Maps and across local search results, meaning you will be recommended when potential consumers search for your industry within their chosen area.
For instance, say if you are in need of a plumber and you lived in the middle of Cheltenham, what are you going to type into Google? What comes to mind is definitely the safest option:
‘Cheltenham plumber’
By then enabling your GMB profile to show when this is searched into Google, you will list as one of the potential businesses that this customer can choose to do work with. This is when the rest of the profile is important to ensure you are chosen as the go-to company for the job.
This includes important features that can be key to your business such as:
- Opening/Closing Times
- Contact Details
- Link To Your Website/Services Page
- List Products
- Reviews and Star Ratings
- View Google Analytics and Insights
- Book Appointments
- Google Posts
- Location/Google Maps
- Links To Social Media Pages
- Photos/Videos
However, you need to make sure this page is set up correctly (front and back end) to ensure you are getting the most out of this incredible marketing tool. When people have done their search and found your business in the search results, their next step will be to click on your business to find out more information. Bear in mind, the way people search is constantly changing, therefore the information needs to be accessible instantly.
‘Why is a GMB so important for my business?’
A Google Business Profile also improves your local SEO, as you must involve all the keywords that surround your business within the description. Although it is free, it should be taken incredibly seriously by all business owners. Especially if your business is an online business and you don’t have a physical shop, then you should still consider having a Google My Business page.
You’ve probably done a Google search at some point such as, ‘places to eat near me’, if so then you’ll notice that Google returns a list of three prime locations where you can eat based on your current location (once you allow Google to use your location). The three businesses that have shown as a result of your search query have a GMB page and are one step closer to attracting you as a customer. This is where you and your business want to appear.
If these places to eat did not have a GMB page then they would not have shown. Think about this in the context of your business, whatever product or service you may be selling. How can local searches benefit your business and what might you be missing out on without one?
As Google makes regular changes to its algorithms, it is important to keep your GMB up to date monthly to shown Google it is an active search and not a set-and-forget profile. By listing latest images or updating information through Google posts or description changes, you can keep your profile optimised, keeping your business in Google’s good books. After all, 86% of all online searches come through Google, so why not do the most you possibly can to improve your local SEO?
Especially when you consider the amount of mobile users you may come across, alongside local searches being more popular than ever, if you still have an unclaimed GMB profile, contact us today and we can get this all done for you! In fact, 56% of local businesses have still not claimed their Google Business Profile, meaning you can be one step ahead of these potential competitors by just enquiring today!
We have helped hundreds of local businesses to set up their GMB, so why not be the next? We are a dedicated team based in Gloucester with 15+ years of experience when it comes to Google and keeping up to date with their ever-changing platform. Simply contact us today for more information, we would be happy to answer any questions you may have!