Many traditional brick-and-mortar businesses don’t realize the impact that Google My Business can have on sales in today’s digital world. If your business doesn’t utilize this platform at all, you may fail to reach a large group of potential customers. Selling products or services online can help you expand your business and help create a larger customer base, so it’s a very important strategy to consider.
Benefits of Doing Business Online
Taking your business online offers a variety of different benefits. Here are a few of the most important.
- Increase brand authority
- Broaden reach
- Cultivate stronger relationships with existing customers
- Optimize customer support
- Decrease operational costs
- Help potential customers reach you more easily
Building an online presence for your business is an important step to increase sales and gain leverage over your competitors. One of the most important tools you should use during this process is Google My Business.
What Does Google My Business Do?
Google My Business provides you with the opportunity to create an online business listing through Google. Doing this helps potential customers find the information they need to visit your store, shop online, or contact you for more information. Since Google is the most popular search engine, creating a business listing that appears here is a great way to promote your business and provide your target market with as much information about your products or services as possible.
Where Can You Find a Google My Business Listing?
When you search for a business on Google, there’s typically a small profile with photos, hours of operation, the business address, customer reviews, and other information listed on the right side of the page the search results appear on. This is the Google My Business profile.
Is Google My Business Free?
Google My Business is completely free and allows you to connect with customers using Google’s platform. If used effectively, Google My Business can help increase sales and provide you with valuable data regarding your target audience.
Why Should You Create a Google My Business Listing?
If you utilize Google My Business, you can easily manage how your company appears in Google search results and ensure people who are looking to learn more about your business can do so easily. Your business listing helps you earn customer trust, establish authority, and reach your target market more effectively.
What Else Can You Do With a Google My Business Account?
Through Google My Business, you can:
- Update your company profile when information, such as your address, hours of operation, etc.
- Use photos to showcase your business and the products or services it provides.
- Create an open dialogue with customers. You can respond to reviews and provide customers with ways to contact you more easily.
- Gather data and track insights to see how many people are taking action through your Google profile.
How Can You Establish Brand Authority Through Google My Business?
Google has created a set of guidelines for creating a Google My Business account. Only businesses with a physical location are allowed to create an account. It’s important to ensure you avoid prohibited content, maintain consistent branding across the platform, describe the services and products provided by your business as accurately as possible, and list your address and service area accurately.
Google My Business allows you to list a variety of information about your business. While all of the information you’re allowed to include might not apply, every business should list their name, address, phone number, website address, short description, service or product category, and business attributes to ensure that Google can utilize this data on other platforms to improve local SEO for your business. Make sure that information included on your Google My Business listing is consistent with what’s on your website to improve your Google search ranking as well.
Google My Business is perhaps the most important tool to utilize when seeking to boost your business’s online presence and it’s free. It allows your customers to browse your inventory, visit your physical location, and contact you more easily, which leads to an increase in sales and a reputation as a reputable business. Is your GMB optimized properly? If you’re not sure or think you could use some help, call Brown Creative Group, and we’ll audit it for free.
