iSynergy Webinar Tells How to Maximize ‘Google My Business’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Google My Business is an important tool your business should take advantage of because it is a free component offered by Google, who we all know dominates information and search on the Internet. If you are a business owner or specialist still looking for information and insight on how to capitalize on Google My Business, click here to listen to our on-demand webinar from the experts at iSynergy

The webinar was led by two of iSynergy’s experts – Dan Reash, digital marketing specialist, and Anthony Cornejo, market research analyst. They weighed in on several key topics relating to Google My Business and how to best optimize your account to maximize results.

What is GMB?

Google My Business is a free tool to manage your online presence across Google’s various platforms for both organic search results and Google Maps. Google My Business sets the foundation for search engine optimization (SEO) for your business. So ensuring the accuracy and consistency of your profile is essential to success on search. The best part about your GMB account is that it allows you to control the information that is out there about your business and take control of your online presence.

Main Components of GMB profile:

  • NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
  • Hours 
  • Business Description
  • Imagery/Video
  • Information Panel
  • Listing in Google Maps
  • Local Map Pack

To optimize for success, your business should be listed in as many places as possible: Google, Bing, Yelp, all the different directories online. There are hundreds and hundreds of places that you want your business to be listed. You want to ensure that your information across all of those directories is listed accurately and consistently. It not only gives you credibility in the customers’ eyes, it also gives you more credibility in Google’s eyes. When you establish credibility your business and its listing will be more likely to rank higher when Google is serving people search results.

As much as Google makes sometimes frustrating and never-ending changes, the platform has stayed consistent in one key goal: to serve users the most relevant results when users are searching in the Google search engine.

The Value of GMB

Data can tell a powerful story about the value of business tools – specifically, Google Search. Here’s why:

  • “Google captures 95% of the mobile search engine market in the U.S.” (Statista)
  • “Roughly a third of all mobile Google searches are related to location.” (Blue Corona)

GMB provides credibility to the customer and to Google itself by getting customer reviews and replying to them, updating business information (especially now during the pandemic), and uploading photos of your business to display the customer experience. By optimizing your GMB listing, your business will gain improved organic visibility and receive placement across multiple locations on Google. If you are a brick-and-mortar business, you can increase storefront traffic by taking advantage of GMB. By doing so, you can increase location visits by up to 70%, as well as increasing purchase intent by up to 50%, according to studies.

The “local pack” is what displays when a search shows local intent right after the Search ads, and before the organic search results. This goes back to the relevance of search that Google wants to serve customers. 

For example, if a customer searches dog groomers, it is likely they are searching for a local dog groomer, and so the “local pack” would show up. If they searched dog supplies, this “local pack” would likely not show up. From there, you can click on a listing to see more information on a business. The business profile will come up, which includes the information listed above. On a mobile device, there are additional capabilities on the business profile including an option to directly call the business, directions to the business, prominent pictures of your business, and featured items such as a sale or featured menu item. 

Creating Your Listing

This may seem obvious, but ensure you have everything listed above for the business listing information. Accuracy and consistency is key in presenting your information on search and creating your GMB business profile. Once your listing is created, there is a short verification process in which Google will mail you a postcard with a verification code to your listed business address to legitimize your listing. This process needs to be completed accurately from the start so that there is no holdup with your business verification. 

Utilizing Your Listing

When it comes to utilizing your business listing, updating your business information is always the first thing you should do. Along with providing updated information, managing your customer reviews is important because anyone can see those reviews on your business listing. Google also provides real-time analytics on how your GMB listing is performing. So looking at those on a consistent basis will help you understand your business’s performance and give you insight to what you can do better. To see the step-by-step process on utilizing your listing, click here to access the webinar slides. It is imperative to provide customers a simple and accurate way to digest your business information.

It may seem overwhelming at first to get started creating and managing your GMB profile, but it is one of the best things you can do for your business to ensure ease of use for your customers. To get the full deep dive into how to create and manage your GMB listing, click here to view the webinar and slides.

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