Google My Business is an essential part of your local SEO strategy. It’s a fantastic, straightforward way to drive search traffic to your website or directly to your shop and generate new leads.
More than 5% of views on a Google My Business page result in a goal conversion (e.g. a link click or a website visit). While 5% may not sound like a lot, most businesses average around 1,000 search views per month, meaning you’re looking at approximately 50 conversions per month just from your Google My Business page alone.
Local SEO
Even if you run a bricks and mortar shop and don’t sell any products online, search nowadays is always digital. Let’s say you are looking for a local restaurant near you, where would be the first place you look? There are an estimated 3.5 billion searches taking place every day, the majority on Google. The key benefit of using Google My Business is that your business will appear highly on search results for people based locally who are searching for a product or service that you offer.
Contact Information
Once you have reached your target customers via your Google listing, it’s important to make sure they have all the information they need to take the next step and visit your website or go to your store. If your Google My Business listing isn’t fully optimised with your address, opening hours and contact information, the customer is more likely to choose one of your competitors who has provided all of these details. Keep in mind that around 64% of consumers look for a business’s Google My Business page for contact information, so make sure everything is regularly updated in order to capture those leads.
Google My Business is also integrated with Google Maps. 86% of people look up the location of a business through Google Maps, so if you have your address and opening hours accurately filled out, the customer will easily be able to click on the listing and get directions to visit your business.
An informative, detailed Google My Business page helps to build trust with potential customers, showing that you are a longstanding, reliable business. Customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile.
Reviews
When it comes to building trust with online customers, nothing is more important than social proof. Reviews from other customers show people that your product/service is of a high standard and helps them decide whether or not to buy from you. Google My Business offers a free platform for customers to provide feedback on your business. Ask happy customers whether they would be willing to take a few minutes to write a Google review, as this will help your listing to stand out from competitors.
An important tip is to always respond to customer reviews, both good and bad ones. This will show potential customers that you are listening to feedback and that you are making an effort to perfect the customer experience. It can also turn an existing customer’s negative experience into a positive one, making them rethink your brand.
Google My Business is a free and easy way to generate new leads for your business and enhance your SEO. If you have any questions or would like some more tips please feel free to get in touch with our team of experts.
