With the growth in online marketing channels, it’s now easier than ever to reach a targeted audience even with a small marketing budget. With the right understanding of these channels, small businesses can take advantage of inexpensive and creative ways to connect and engage with their customers.
Google My Business can help support local businesses and assist as a tool to grow your business by marketing it in the right way and increasing brand exposure. It has been reported that 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information and that 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information. It is important to take advantage of the Google My Business function because when a potential customer searches for the goods and services you provide, you want to make sure your business is showing, not your competitors.
Regardless of the size of your business, anyone can benefit from using this tool. This article will explore how marketing your business with Google My Business can help you grow.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is an excellent marketing tool for your business.
At its most basic, Google My Business is a free business profile that is connected to both Google Search and Google Maps.
Customers searching for certain business, service, or product-related keywords will be directed to your business profile and provided with your business’s location on Google Maps.
It provides the ability to tell the world about who you are and what you do, while also giving people a chance to find you on the world’s largest and most used search engine. Approximately 63% of consumers check reviews on Google before visiting a business which means these people are ready to become consumers.
Google My Business can help increase your brand exposure, create awareness for your company’s products or services, and even increase support for local businesses.
How to get Google My Business to work for you?
The first step in getting your business listed on Google My Business is to set up a Google My Business page.
This can be done by clicking “Sign in” which is located at the top right of the Google My Business dashboard, then selecting “Google Account” from the drop-down menu.
From there you’ll need to ‘claim a business’ or ‘create a new business’ by entering your business name.
You’ll then need to fill out your business profile with important information like your business category, location, phone number, service area, website address, services, hours of operation, business summary, and any images of your business that you want to upload.
From there you’ll need to verify your business address. Google will kindly send you a postcard with a unique verification code on it to the address you’ve entered. Once it arrives, just enter that unique verification code into the Google My Business homepage to unlock functions such as replying to reviews.
Once you’ve passed the verification process, you’ll also get access to $100 in Google ad credit for free.
What are the benefits of using Google My Business?
There are a number of benefits associated with using Google My Business including:
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- The ability to interact with your customers on a deeper level
Google My Business allows you to provide your customers with important basic business information, such as opening hours, location, services, and contact information. Additionally, it allows you to respond to feedback, post any articles linking them back to your webpage to drive traffic to your website, thank visitors who leave positive feedback and engage and resolve any complaints. - More control over how people view and engage with you online
Google My Business is synced with Google Maps, which means that your businesses location and information are easier to find than ever before. More than a billion people use Google Maps every day, making it an excellent resource for highlighting and drawing people to your business, especially those in the local community. - Access to marketing tools that will help promote your business
In addition to Google My Business, Google has a huge range of marketing tools, including AdWords Express & Shopping Campaigns, Google Trends, Analytics 360 Suite and more, which have been developed to help small businesses gain a competitive advantage in their industry.
With the $100 in Google advertising credits you get from completing your Google My Business profile, you can take your first steps into using the world’s largest search engine to your advantage and raising your brand awareness. - Increase local interest in your business
A report from MYOB shows that more than three quarters of Kiwis are now making their purchases at local stores to help businesses bounce back, especially during these harder times. With these shoppers increasingly looking to support local businesses, highlighting your location and service area online is one easy step to help draw these customers to your business and increase expenditure.
- The ability to interact with your customers on a deeper level
Take advantage of free marketing
Social media marketing offers small businesses the opportunity to reach out to millions of potential customers globally for little to no cost, making it a hugely valuable tool for increased brand awareness and customer conversion.
You can also check out these useful resources on how to set-up and use Google My Business for your business:
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- Google Small Business – A YouTube channel with resources to guide and inspire small business owners to use Google MyBusiness and other Google marketing tools.
- Google My Business – Google Help Center
- Hubspot’s guide to using Google My Business