Gone are the days when Google Business Listing was only used for direction and phone number of restaurants and health clinics. If you are just setting your SEO for business, Google Business Manager turns out to be a great deal to put in the efforts so that your customers can find you, read what people have to say about you, learn what your brand has to offer and be updated with announcements and events.
How to optimise it to its best potential?
- Start with making an account, which is really easy to set-up. Fill in details like your business name, where are you located, which service are you in, etc. Wait for it to get verified by Google, which takes about 7-10 days or sometimes, lesser.
- Once you are verified, it is time to lay down the details. Go to the info section on the dashboard and fill in details like website URL, hours your business is open for, add photos of your business, phone number, etc. Basically every single detail that you think your customer would be eager to know and you have readily available.
Did you know: According to Google, businesses which have photos on their dashboard tend to get 35% more clicks to their website vs the ones’ with no photos.
You should also add:
- A cover photo
- Logo and
- A Video (if available)
Whether you have set up the business listing all new or have been there for years, it is important to get reviews and reply to the ones’ which are existing already to make sure that prospective customers take you seriously. Not only does it show that you take time out to thank people for leaving you a positive review but also that you are courteous to negative reviews, if any. Make sure you ask all your customers to leave you a Google review. Use the custom link which makes it convenient to be sent across WhatsApp, Emails, Social Media Platforms, etc.
Check how customers/viewers engage with your Google Listing from time to time. Over the last few years, Google has started making a list of analytics available for businesses to learn from.
Known as insights, it is easy to access on your dashboard. You will get information about:
- How customers find your listing: whether it is direct search, via searching for another brand or a discovery during their search for a service
- Where do they find you: on Google Listing or Maps
- Customer actions: How are they engaging with your business: is it website visits or calls
- Direction requests
- Phone Calls: Make sure you have updated an active number on Google listing
- Photo Views
Google Business Manager has made it easier for brands to manage their listing by providing an application that gives on-the-go access to interact with customers.
Did you know: Research shows that 60% of consumers have searched for a business at least six times in the last year.
What additionally can you do on the Google Business Manager? Post about your brand!
Content is everywhere. It’s not just your social media platforms, blogs, websites that need to be updated on an ongoing basis but also your Google Business Manager. Especially when it comes to SEO and using the right keywords.
This year in 2019, Google started an option for businesses to post about: an offer, event, announcement, add a product on their business listing.
How does it work?
- What’s New: Add a photo, write your post and add a call to action button which gives varied options of: Call Now (it takes your phone number listed on Google by default), Learn More (click to website), Sign Up, Buy, etc.
- Event: Add a cover photo, title, timeline, call to action – it’s always good to have innumerable options to talk about your event. One is the recently introduced – events.
- Offer: Want to share an offer with your customers? Post it on Google Business Manager and let it be found every time your business is searched for.
- Product – Mention the price of the product, add a photo and your Google Business dashboard becomes a virtual product catalog. A great feature for you to list products on Google apart from your website.
Did you Know: Today 3 out of 4 shoppers search online when they want to find a business, and 7 out of 10 made a purchase from a business they found using a search engine.
Do tell us in the comments section if you use Google Business Manager, if it has helped your business, any additional to make use of this platform or if any query.