We have a message about something you earthlings call: ‘Google My Business’
Don’t worry we come in peace. Well, most of the time that is.
We’re going to break it down and transmit all of the important information that you need to know directly into your human brains.
First things first, it’s important to know why you would need a Google My Business account. Without Google My Business, it might seem like you’re on a different planet to your audience!
You don’t need a high powered space satellite to relay your message. Google My Business is often overlooked, like the amount of plot holes in Alien Resurrection.
From experience, we know that this can have a massive effect on your business. How is anyone going to know when to get in touch if your opening hours are hidden from Google’s all-seeing eye?
Like being stuck with a psychotic robot A.I in the depths of space, search engines want to know exactly what you’re up to and at exactly what moment.
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Why Is Google My Business Important?
Google My Business is a key tool for letting your audience know where you are and when they can contact you.
Your audience is at a slight disadvantage not having telekinetic powers, meaning they can’t read your thoughts. In short, this is why you need to make your business details accessible.
You need to let every person, alien, business and spacecraft in the local area know how and where to locate your control centre. To appease Google, you need to make sure the following details can be located:
- Your business address – so that your audience knows that you are a real human with a real place of work, and not a pesky replicant trying to slip under the radar.
- Your contact information – for when someone wants to pick up their nearest audio relay device to enquire about your services.
- The hours your business operates in – so your audience is aware of when they can boot up their comlink to connect with you.
It’s important to make sure you keep your information up to date. You risk losing a large chunk of your leads if your contact details are outdated. Outdated like the original design of a certain whisk-wielding Dr Who villain.
Instead of reaching the business to enquire about your services, customers may be left feeling like they’ve been dropped into the centre of a black hole. Google My Business posts can also be helpful for announcing events or recent updates to your site or business in general.
What Should I Post On Google My Business?
It’s time for you to be the captain of your own ship!
For all posts you need to make sure that you’re including a striking/relevant visual, informative text from your web-page, and a call to action button to redirect traffic to your page.
If you’re giving the details for an event or a promotion via a Google My Business post, make sure to include the date range. This can prevent any disappointment if someone ever views the page too late and contacts you regarding the now, out of date promotion/event.
Just like, how things could’ve ended very differently if Luke turned up on the wrong day to blow up the Death Star. Anyone for deep fried ewok?
Aside from the above, visibility is vital to the find-ability of the business for your local audience.
Although the people that encounter your Google My Business page are most likely seeking it out directly, it can influence whether or not they get in contact.
Your online presence is a kind of portfolio that potential customers can browse and often compare to competitors, before they enquire further.
You want to let people know that your vessel is safe to board, and is more like the Starship Enterprise and less of an Event Horizon kind of deal.
A more detailed and striking post via Google My Business is more likely to stand out against local competitors.
The service can be used for a range of different purposes, we’re here to give you an example of what we consider to be the most important uses.
So what can you use Google My Business for?
To infinity and beyond!
Google My Business posts can be utilised and adapted to suit a variety of marketing purposes, such as:
- Details on events – Posts which provide vital information and details for upcoming events or planned activities. Make sure you’re giving the exact time, date and location for the event.
- Posts that focus on updates – used to give information about how your site/page/business has recently changed or been improved.
- Promotional posts – utilised to explain what service you provide and to persuade the audience to use your own services over a potential competitor.
- Humanistic Posts – posts that are purely used as entertainment or to show a more humanistic side of the business e.g. Using a team photo to give your company a face.
- Aesthetic visuals – posts that focus purely on an image that you’re wanting to share with your potential audience.
Like SEO, Google My Business requires a frequent stream of content to stay fresh and keep the algorithm appeased.
Without the right SEO knowledge it can be difficult to face off against the Galactic Empire of Google.
Too much content is seen as spam-like content, whereas too little content makes the page look inactive.
The best results are yielded by meeting in the middle, unlike the kind of combination created by Jeff Goldblum and a household fly.
The Reviews Are In
Google reviews are as unstoppable as the Terminator himself. Just like Arnie’s killer robot persona, you can’t turn these reviews off. Not without molten metal – but this is probably quite illegal.
Whether your reviews are similar to David Lynch’s filmic adaptation of Dune or the remake, you need to respond to them to show Google that your site is active.
The spice. The spice melange.
You can really build your reputation by responding to reviews. Being the most notable starship captain (or the web) has its perks, just ask Han Solo.
Trust and credibility are words that you want associated with your business and Google My Business is one way you can help achieve this.
Reviews are a good indicator of your relationship with the public. Like a cylon trying to fit in aboard the Galactica, your Google My Business account should appear human.
By responding to these reviews you can build trust with your audience and prove that you are active and willing to improve the business.
Does Google My Business Affect My SEO?
Yes. Yes it does.
Not only does Google My Business make you discoverable via specific business details, it can also help to boost (get it? Like a rocket. Well, I think it’s funny…) your SEO and search engine rankings.
It ensures that potential customers can locate your business, whether they’re searching for you directly on Google or via Google maps.
Think of it this way, how would ET be able to phone home without being able to find a contact number through Google.
Nowadays, your business is most likely to be discovered online so you’d best make the most of your online platform.
The whole world lives inside the Matrix now with everything being online. So, even if you plan to trade in person, your online presence should be a priority.
Potential clients will likely use a search engine to find out information about your business before getting in contact via phone or in person.
By utilising the Google My Business features to provide information about your business online, you’re letting Google know that you’re ready for page one in terms of search result rankings.
Having a Google My Business account also gives you access to in-depth analytics. The kind of analytics that would make droids like Data or Kryten jealous.
An abundance of data gives you what you need to experiment. Meaning you can test the reception and reach of different styles of posts.It also means you can maximise your reach to potential clients!
Don’t Miss Out
Millions of businesses are using Google My Business and you would be missing out if you chose to ignore it completely.
Apart from informing your audience about important business details, you’re also working towards improving your site’s SEO.
The Google My Business tool is highly adaptable and is a great way to provide your audience with immediate business updates, such as a change in operation hours, or an amendment to an upcoming event.
It may take a bit of time to get this set up initially but it’s definitely worth it. Once up and running it can be amended and added to at any point.
Hopefully with these top tips your Google My Business account will be out of this world.
We specialize in web-page management and search engine optimisation, so if you need help do not hesitate to get in touch.
If you’re needing help getting set up or need more advice we’re only a phone call away!
Johnathan Elliott
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