Google My Business (formerly known as Google Places) is a free online platform that is provided by Google. Google My Business was created with two key purposes in mind:
- To help business owners increase their online visibility
- To help users find and review the businesses in their local area
Google My Business acts as a modern super comprehensive and super accessible business directory. Google My Business listings are mainly for but not limited to businesses that serve customers in their local area. When a user searches for something on Google and Google determines it’s something of local interest or intent such as “Mechanics Wexford” or “Restaurants in Dublin”, Google will link to 3 Google My Business listings which will be displayed below in a map of the local area.
When a user clicks on your Google My Business listing they can see the following information about your business:
- The name of the business
- The location of the business on google maps
- The opening hours for the business
- A link to the website for your business
- Photos of your business
- Past Google reviews done by users
Using Google My Business effectively has many benefits. Below are just a few of the many it can provide:
Create Posts
Google My Business grants you the ability to create posts. Users can see and interact with these posts when they see your Google My Business listing. The posts you create on Google My Business act then as an opportunity to advertise your business for free.
First Impressions
First impressions are hugely important. This isn’t just a fact in real life but online also and with Google My Business you will be able to make a great first impression. This is because with Google My Business you will have the ability to choose which images your customers will see when they encounter your business for the first time, in this way your Google My Business listing can act as a storefront for your website and you can ensure that it makes a powerful first impression.
Visibility
Google My Business can help towards improving your business’s visibility. By providing more information about your business through Google My Business Google will have at their disposal a wealth of information from which they can use to categorize your business. This means it’s far more likely that your website will show up for relevant local searches.
Insights
When you use Google My Business you have some powerful tools at your disposal such as analytical data which is called “insights”. This “insights” data shows you how and when customers are finding you and where they aren’t. The knowledge that can be learned from this kind of data can then be used to further inform when tweaking your strategies to improve the visibility of your website or when targeting a specific demographic.
The answer to the question is Google My Business worth the effort is a resounding yes. It takes minimal effort to use effectively, plus it’s free and offers you the opportunity to try and reach new potential customers who you might not reach otherwise. Signing up takes only a few minutes so try it today and see what success it can generate for you!
To find out more about excellent tools and strategies to use to improve your website Contact 2Cubed today!
You can also contact us on 01 905 8114 or 051-440425, email hello@2cubed.ie
