What Is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a tool Google provides to help businesses and organizations manage their online presence. Benefitting customers and companies alike, it helps customers find your business, allows interaction between company and consumer, and allows businesses to verify, edit, and update their information. It’s essential for companies, especially local businesses, to focus on their Google My Business listings—customers pay attention to these listings and turn to them for crucial information about a business.

When you run a local business, it’s vital to put time and effort into your Google My Business listing. It’s how many customers make their first interaction with your company, and it’s how people find out your address, phone number, and operation hours.

Google My Business is a listing in which Google aggregates information about a company and puts it into an attractive, easy-to-use format for consumers. A Google My Business listing shows these various elements in an engaging, easy-to-spot box in the righthand corner of search results pages on desktop platforms. It appears at the top or near the top of search results pages on mobile platforms. Below are the different elements a listing contains and their unique benefits or importance.

Photos: It’s important to have photos on your Google My Business listing. Photos help customers identify your location, know what to expect upon arrival, and have an easier time finding your location.

Website link: A link to the company website is essential for helping customers find your actual site with ease, without having to memorize the URL.

Reviews and ratings: Ratings and reviews are excellent for letting people know what to expect from your business. It also tells them what the community thinks of your company and how well your company handles complaints or criticism. It sets the tone for the responsiveness of your business.

Description of the business: Business descriptions give customers a concise idea of what a company does or provides. An example would be a local accounting business listing that briefly describes the company’s services and service area.

Category: Categories tell customers what type of business you have. Categories are beneficial for optimization purposes.

Address: Putting the address of the business on a listing makes it very easy for customers to obtain directions and find a location.

Hours: It’s essential for people to have quick and easy access to your hours of operation. If a customer wants to visit your location, they must know when they can go.

Phone number: Providing a business phone number allows customers to call with questions and inquiries. It helps you connect to people as well as increases convenience for customers.

Questions and answers: On a listing, there’s a space for customers to ask questions, and then the business owner can respond. It’s an excellent opportunity to interact with customers and provide helpful information to anyone searching for your business.

It’s crucial to keep your Google My Business updated in order for the listing to be useful to customers. Outdated listings are simply misinformation that can confuse and frustrate people. It’s also important to respond to and interact with reviews and customer posts on your listing. It shows that your company is active and that it cares about what their community members have to say – even the negative reviews.

Hiring a local SEO agency is a crucial step to ensure your Google My Business listing remains updated and accurate for your customers. Now Technology Systems offers Search Engine Optimisation packages designed for local businesses.