We might as well expect that every single person that becomes a new customer for you has a smart phone. With that smart phone they are experts at finding exactly what they need or where they have to go.
That is precisely why your Google My Business account page is so important. Google My Business used to be Google Places. When searching for local businesses, users see a list of profiles near them. They are neatly organized and show various info. That is the profile you should edit/update.
Today, people want to know what is around them, and search results are populated using the GPS signal from a smart phone. Google My Business has done a great job of providing each business with a little page, but you need to add the correct information to it.
If you leave your page floating around out there in the Google search results for “coffee shop near me” and the hours of your business are not correct, you can kiss potential new business goodbye.
Promote Your Google Business The FREE Way
So many small businesses are worried about an advertising or marketing budget. These days, the internet makes things more affordable to at least get something started.
I wrote about using YouTube to advertise your business for free and Google My Business works in the same way.
Claiming your business on Google My Business is the 1st step. Get all of your small business information listed on the profile and make sure your hours of operation are clear and updated.
The profile lets you post about your business, which is a great way to keep customers informed. Customers can be visual so adding images is a great way to get their attention.
Drive traffic through a virtual tour of your small business. This helps customers become more familiar with your products. It adds a level of trust for the small business and those that will be going to it.
Manage All Sorts of Info
The profile page allows you to manage a lot of information about your business that is important to those that are searching for it locally. Take full advantage of the listing, since it’s FREE!
One of the most important things is that your business information matches from one place to the other. Make sure your website content matches what you find on your Facebook page, as well as your Google Local Business listing.
The reason is that you are trying to build trust and the fact that your next potential customer could see ALL of these profiles makes matching content even more of a priority.
This way, once you get your Google Ads and your Facebook Ads going, the content matches and as long as the content matches, they feel safe knowing they are dealing with the right business.
If you need help with setting up your Google My Business profile, please contact me and I will see what I can do to help 🙂