Most business owners know these days that having a strong digital marketing strategy goes a long way toward making shoppers aware of your brand. But does your digital marketing plan go beyond Pay-Per-Click and social media ads?
Your Google My Business (GMB) profile is a powerful tool that gives prospective customers the information they need to decide where they’re going to shop. A complete profile shows shoppers:
- What products and services you offer
- Your business hours and contact information
- Directions to your storefront and the area you serve
- Reviews from other customers
Whether you’re a pet photographer or you’ve opened the town’s newest vegan grocery store, your business’ GMB profile can help raise your ranking on the search engine results page (SERP). That can even include a valuable placement in the Local Pack. And a profile loaded with reviews will bring traffic to your storefront, whether it’s virtual or brick-and-mortar.
Now, let’s help you get started so you can reap all of the benefits of this robust sales tool.
The Basics: Setting Up Your Google My Business Profile
Whether you’re signing into your GMB account for the first time or your profile has gone fallow, set-up and optimization are reasonably straight-forward.
Building Your Profile
The first thing you need to do is head over to www.google.com/business and enter your business name. You may notice as you type in your business’ name that GMB attempts to autocomplete the name, so pay close attention to see if there already is a listing for your business. If a listing for your business has already been claimed, GMB will display the partial email address that was used to claim the profile. If you don’t recognize the email or if it is a former employee, Google offers steps to gain access to manage your business profile.
If you made it to the management page with no issues, you need to do a few more things to get set up.
- Enter the address of your business IF you have a physical storefront. GMB doesn’t accept residential addresses, so if you work out of your home (or cannot accept in-person customer visits at your location), skip this step.
- Specify your service area(s). You can make your service area as narrow as a zip code or broaden it to a state or region.
- Select your business category. This step is crucial to ensuring that your business appears in the search results for the kinds of products and services you provide. If you don’t find a 100% match, or you offer a variety of services and products, choose the category that is the closest fit. You can adjust it later, though you may need to re-verify your business.
- Add your website URL and business telephone number. Don’t have a website yet? Google gives you the option to create a website based on your information (but really, you want your own, fully-optimized website).
- Finish and verify your business. Before your GMB profile becomes official, you need to prove to Google that your business is real. Most likely, that will be in the form of a postcard, but you may have the option to verify by phone or email.
Finishing Touches
Once you have your shiny, verified Google My Business profile, it’s time to add some spit and polish. Or rather, add some photos of your business and write a killer description of your business that’s loaded with relevant keywords (you’ve done your keyword research, right?).
You’ll also want to round out your profile by ensuring your business hours are up to date and that your storefront shows up accurately on the map. Then create some posts that showcase your services or products with a call to action for your customers, such as “Buy Now,” “Book an Appointment,” or “Get Offer.”
And now it’s time to ask your customers to leave reviews of your business. One of our clients recently added an additional location and didn’t have any reviews. A simple Facebook post asking for reviews dramatically increased the number of reviews on their new GMB profile.
Mining for Gold (Stars) ⭐️
A Google My Business profile full of five-star reviews of your business can boost your search results ranking. Not only does this help customers find you, but it also shows them why you’re the best shop in town.
How do you mine these nuggets of gold? By asking your customers to leave a review on your GMB profile and making it as easy as possible for them to do so.
Google Review Links
Of course, GMB helps simplify gathering reviews by offering a Google Review Link to your business profile.
When you created your GMB profile, you may have noticed an option to create a short name for your business (@yourbusiness). If you completed that line in your initial verification process, all you have to do is share the link to your review form.
- Log into your GMB account and go to the Home screen (desktop)
- If you’re using the Google My Business app, tap “Customers” and then “Reviews”.
- If you don’t have any reviews, you’ll see a card that says “Request a Review.” If people have previously left reviews, the card will say, “Get More Reviews.” If you’re using the mobile app, tap “Share.” You can then copy your custom URL to share with your customers.
Note: If you didn’t create your short name when you created your GMB profile, you will be prompted to create one when you share your profile. You may have to wait for Google to approve your desired short name before you can share it.
If you’ve got a customer who is ready to leave a review and can’t wait for Google to approve your business short name, you can create a link by searching for your business by name. Find your business listing on the SERP and click “Write a Review.” When the box appears, grab the URL and head to your link shortening tool of choice (ex: bit.ly). Copy the short link and you’re good to go.
Using Your Review Link
Now that you’ve got your Review Link, it’s time to share it with your customers on your website or in follow-up emails or text messages. And though it may be tempting, avoid offering coupons or other financial incentives in exchange for a review, or Google may remove them.
Make sure you respond to EVERY review to build trust with your customers. Your responses should be professional and on point. If you’re responding to a negative review, clarify any disagreement about what occurred and do your best to work with the customer toward a mutually positive conclusion. If you believe that a review is false, inappropriate, or otherwise violates Google policy, you can flag it and request a removal.
Once you’ve mined some gold in the form of positive reviews, show off your treasure! There are several widgets available that allow you to display your Google reviews on your website. You can also create ad campaigns that include reviews from your business’ biggest fans.
Boost Your Local Search Rankings
Still wondering if your Google My Business page should be part of your digital marketing strategy? Think of it this way: If you’re competing with other businesses on your street, do you think visitors will be more inclined to visit:
- A bright, well-organized shop with an inviting storefront and friendly, engaging staff? Or…
- A dimly lit storefront with products shoved into “mystery boxes” and no staff to be found?
A complete Google My Business page with photos of your business and products, glowing reviews, and engagement with your customers shows both Google and shoppers that the lights are on and you welcome their business.
An active GMB profile boosts your local search ranking, which benefits your organic AND paid search results. And when your visibility increases, your traffic (website and in-person) and sales are sure to follow!
Google Your Business and then Watch it Grow
Ready to watch your business climb up the search results by building your Google My Business profile? If you need help crafting marketing assets and social media posts that turn browsers into buyers, the Google Marketing Kit offers free promotional materials based on your GMB profile. If you still have questions about your profile, expert assistance is right at your fingertips.