If you are anything like me, when you hear of a business you might want to check out, you do 1 of 2 things. First, I might search the business on Instagram to get a feel of the company, OR I google them for directions, opening hours, reviews and photos. 

While many business owners know the importance of keeping their Instagram up to date, they seem to think about their My Google Business Page rarely.

SO, WHAT IS IT?

If you haven’t heard of it before, Google My Business is the home of your business within the Google ecosystem. Potential customers see your business when they google you to find your opening hours, reviews, photos and more! 

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?

To get you started, we will outline a few more straightforward things a customer expects to see when they visit your Google page. 

Make sure that your google page is fleshed out with core information, such as business hours. For example, if you run a garden centre, customers need to know precisely when you are open. Think about how these hours may also change on bank holidays or religious events. Google has a handy AI that only requires you to input your hours once and will automatically change them on special occasions. Depending on your business, you may also need to think about what your core hours are. For example, if you are a takeaway that is open till 11 pm, but the food is only served until 10 pm, make sure that your google page accurately reflects this. The last thing you need is an angry customer calling in about your google opening hours.

The next thing to think about is your core business info.

Ensuring your NAP (name, address, and Phone number) is accurate is paramount in growing your business and keeping current customers happy. The stats show that most people will google your business if they haven’t connected with the company before to get your number and address. Therefore, your Google business info should always be up to date and reflect the information provided on your website and other third party sites. Once again, depending on your business, you want to ensure that your business information such as ‘service area’ is accurate. If you don’t deliver somewhere, google will make that clear to people before they call; you need to make sure google knows first. 

While there are many things you can input while creating your My Google business page, I want to highlight two more in this section. One is your business description, and the other is business attributes.

I’m putting these together because both are key to showing people what your business is all about. Your business description is one of the few places on google where you can explain why your business stands out from the crowd. If applicable and you offer free Wi-Fi, free parking, or you want to talk about how your products are eco/vegan/environmentally friendly, this is the place to shout about it.

The second part of this is making your business stand out with attributes. Just like with your description, you can make your profile stand out from the crowd by adding photos of your store or listing the services you provide that are unique to you. Again, there are many options to explore here; make sure you spend the time using every tool to your advantage. 

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

REVIEWS

As you know, when you put your business online, you are going to get feedback, both positive and negative. So make sure you are an active user of your google page and respond to all your reviews. Just remember, these are public, so others will see how you react to criticism.

LOGOS

Make sure your GMB is populated with your business branding. Having a logo and well-designed graphics will help customers find the business they are looking for.

PRODUCTS

If your business sells products, you can add these to your Business profile, which will help drive in-store traffic and click through to your e-commerce store. This can take a while as you need to name each product and input relevant pricing. If you sell hundreds of items or are not running Google Shopping campaigns, it might be worth just showing off your halo products. 

I know this looks like a lot of work, but ensuring your GMB page is up to date is just as crucial for many businesses as having a good Instagram page. If you think you might need help with anything mentioned above, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team member today