8 Reasons Why Google My Business is Essential in 2023
We’re in 2023, and the space of digital marketing is getting smarter and cheekier by the day. Today more than ever, startups and small businesses must focus on a dynamic strategy to stand apart from the herd. For businesses that cater to a particular geographical area and rely on walk-ins for store sales, Google My Business is the tool they should be focusing on.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a tool that allows businesses to create a profile on Google Maps. Whenever you search for a product or service in a particular area, you must have seen a list of business icons appearing on Google Maps in the search results. Each of these icons represent a specific Google My Business profile, which contains information pertaining to the business, like products and services, operating hours, contact details, address, reviews, and more.
Now that you understand what Google My Business is, it’s time to look at why it’s essential for your business.
1.Google My Business Profile Appears in Search Results
Every digital marketing strategy aims for one thing at its core: gaining more visibility. Everyone, everywhere, relies on Google to search for accessing any information online. When the user enters a query with a particular location, Google My Business profiles appear in the search results, alongside Google ads and organic search results. This means that you must create a Google My Business profile for your business in order to appear in the organic results. Being on the first page of search results will have a massive impact on your business which needs no further explanation.
2.Helps in Customer Engagement
One of the most tricky aspects of marketing is how a business engages with its customers. Google My Business helps you to accomplish just that, with super efficiency. What’s more, is that you can do this in multiple ways:
- Messages: The Google My Business app contains a message function recently updated by Google that allows businesses to communicate directly with customers in real time.
- Responding to Reviews: A one-on-one line of communication is also established when the customer leaves a review, and the business responds to it. Reviews also act as a tool for companies to understand their customer’s overall experience.
3.It’s an Excellent Tool for Increasing Organic Leads
Every business relies on a steady flow of traffic to its website for more conversion opportunities. Google My Business profile is an ingenious asset in this regard. It gives your potential customers direct access to CTA (calls-to-action) buttons like bookings, phone numbers, inquiries, etc. They can do so without having to visit your website.
This serves as a boon for small and medium-sized businesses, as customers get direct access to products or services while they don’t have to rely solely on inbound tactics to generate leads.
4.Provides all Relevant Information to Customers
Are you in the process of overhauling your business? Will your operating hours’ change during the holiday season? Are you temporarily shut for some reason and will reopen soon? All this information, and much more, can be updated on your Google My Business profile. Thus, your customers get all the real-time information they need to search, find, and buy from your business.
5.Builds Trust Among Customers
Your customers won’t simply purchase a product as soon as they see it without any knowledge of your business.. But when you appear on Google My Business, it naturally builds credibility among your customers.
Apart from that, more than 90% of users read reviews before making up their minds about purchasing a product. If your reviews are naturally positive, you’re likely to enjoy consistent leads through your Google My Business profile.
The guidelines for approving a Google My Business profile are becoming more and more complex today. So simply having a profile and providing the correct information to your customers goes a long way in winning their trust. Naturally, your customers are more likely to buy from you when you have their trust and confidence.
6.It’s a Free Resource
One of the significant advantages of Google My Business is that it’s absolutely free to set up a profile. It’s also a swift process where you simply need to fulfill a few basic formalities, none of which would cost you a single dime. Creating your profile on this powerful tool has absolutely nothing to lose. And with so many distinct advantages that the tool offers, the only way is up.
7.Your Competitors are Using it.
It’s been 9 years since Google My Business launched in 2014. The tool is so pervasive right now that almost everyone uses it, especially local and national businesses, and that includes your competitors. You must set up a profile on Google My Business to keep up with the competition. Not leveraging the vast potential of Google My Business is a disservice to your business.
8.Provides Valuable Insights
Every business sustains itself by understanding what its customers want and how they make their purchases. Insights such as these are of immense importance to every business. With a Google My Business profile, you can understand how customers are interacting with your business, from the number of views to the number of clicks and the number of people who have fulfilled a call-to-action (say, called your business) directly from the search results. It also tells you how many people have visited your website from your Google My Business profile.
All of this data combined can be used to make informed decisions for a sound digital marketing strategy.
To Sum it Up
In a nutshell, if you’re still not on Google My Business, you’re letting go of a goldmine of opportunities. A well-setup Google My Business profile increases your visibility, aids in local SEO, and creates a direct engagement path with your customers.
So, if you haven’t created a profile yet, the time to act is now.
