Reasons To Claim Your My Google Business Page
Formally known as Google Places, the relatively new format of Google My Business pages are a vital element of any local businesses online marketing campaign, because having one that is working correctly can have a big impact on not only traffic to a website, but for visitors to the actual physical location of the businesses as well. Put simply, a fully complete and working Google My Business page can increase the success, for both your online and offline operation. Making sure that your Google Page is complete, and performing is critical.
In the age of the internet, an online presence can make or break a business. Having an engaging and user-friendly Plumbing Website is the right place to start, but these days just having a website isn’t good enough. You need to think a step ahead in the process and ask yourself “how are people finding my website in the first place?” One of the most common answers will undoubtedly be “search engines”. If someone is searching for a business within their area (chances are this is the case with this plumbing company) then the results will likely come up as a “local listings,” such as the one below.
Many Businesses don’t even know this page exists for their own firm and as a result their page is there, but not represented. Claiming and monitoring your Google local page isn’t just an added bonus to your firm, not doing it could actually be turning away business. Before we get into why that is, let’s talk about what exactly Google My Business is and how it fits into your online strategy.
What Are Google Local Listings?
When dealing with anything Google-related, it helps to remember what exactly it is that Google is trying to accomplish. Google’s (or any search engine) job is to make things as convenient for their users as possible. With businesses, geography plays a big role in this as people want to locate services which are close by. By tracking your mobile phone or your desktops IP address, Google can determine where someone is searching from and based on this give them more accurate results. The same is true when an individual searches for something along the lines of “Plumber San Antonio”.
Google will then show a list of Plumbers within the search criteria, each with a page dedicated to it. These pages display any relevant business information such as business name, address, phone number, hours, and even reviews. This is often the first impression people will have of a funeral home and an incomplete page will reflect quite negatively on the business.
Why Do I Need to Claim My Page?
Simply put, an unclaimed page looks bad on your business, especially when it’s being displayed next to your competitor’s claimed and complete page. If your page is unclaimed you miss out on providing your families with valuable info, or worse yet, your page could be displaying the wrong information. Beyond this, you also run the risk of someone else claiming your page, if this hasn’t happened already. Not only is it an inconvenience to regain control of your page, it could also potentially be harmful to your business.
How do you make sure that your Google My Business page is ranking where it should? Let’s take a look at some of the things you should be doing to make sure you are getting the biggest impact.
Complete Profile
The first step you need to take is to claim your page if you have not done so already. A quick search on Google Maps and Google Search should be enough to find out if there is a page for your business already created.
If you have no page, then sign in with your Google Account and simply create one. You will need to get your profile up to as near completed status as possible, but until you have verified your listing, you will not be able to hit 100%.
Contact Details Checklist
•Make sure you have all of your contact details listed (exactly as they are on your website).
•Add the correct categories to your business.
•Add a profile picture and header photo
•Complete the about your business section.
This should take you to approximately 80% complete, which is about as far as you can go for now.
Every business page now has to be verified by post, rather than phone as it was once possible to do many years ago, but this practice was stopped sadly due to the abuse of the system.
At the top of your My Business Page, click on the blue button that says “verify Your Business.” Check the details and Google will then send you a pin code in the post.
This can take up to two weeks to arrive in the post. Once you have received your postcard, simply enter the pin code in your “Google My Business” page. To show that you have verified your account, you should then put a little tick in a shield next to your business name. Once your account is verified it will start showing in the results for both Google maps and Google search.
Updated Posts
An empty Google My Business Page is a worthless page. There is nothing worse than looking at a company before you buy from them and realizing that they have not updated their page for years and, generally speaking, look a bit lazy.
Post your latest blogs, customer feedback, news, special offers and shout about you and your business. Include photos and videos and just see how your page takes off. People love content and so do potential customers. When it comes to choosing you over your competitors in your niche, you have to stand out by making the right noises and level of effort.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are a big ranking signal these days, so you can start by asking your happy customers to leave you a review on your My Business Page.
Reviews not only helps to reinforce to new customers that your business is worth using, but you will also get a little star rating under your local results search. When you are competing with up to eight other businesses, this can help you stand out from the crowd. Customer reviews and testimonials are so important now that they should form a big part of your online marketing strategy as these are a tried and tested measure of success.
Happy SEO Learning My Friends!