Google is a powerful ally when it comes to marketing your business. However, if you’re not careful, Google can also do a lot of harm. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your Google Local Business Listing is optimized and up to date. If people are looking for your business online and can’t find it listed on Google, they’ll go somewhere else.
Imagine if someone Googled your town looking for a business like yours and your listing came up with the wrong address mapped? Or it showed your hours incorrectly, and people tried to call or come in and couldn’t. Certainly, it doesn’t reflect how well your business is run.
Worse, what if you came up on the black hole of the internet, the dreaded second page. The joke goes that the best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of Google search results. Online ad network Chitika discovered that page 1 results get a whopping 95% of all search traffic
Your Google Local Listing Is A Key Marketing Strategy
Like it or not, Google is a key member of your marketing team.
Google local listing is a free service that Google offers to business owners. It allows businesses to create a listing with information like their address, phone number, and website. Just like the Yellow Pages did. If you can remember those. Google also allows you to post updates about your business, which can help you attract new customers.
There’s only one catch – you need to claim your listing.
Getting your business listed on Google Local is free and a fairly simple process. First, you’ll need to create a Google account if you don’t already have one. Then, you’ll need to go to Google My Business and create a listing for your business. Google will ask you for some basic information like your address and phone number. You’ll also need to create a Google+ page for your business. Once your Google+ page is created, you can link it to your Google Local listing.
Once your listing is created, Google will send you a verification code. You’ll need to enter this code into Google My Business in order to verify that you own the business. After you’ve verified your listing, you can start posting updates about your business. Google allows you to post photos, videos, and special offers.
Take The Time to Regularly Check and Monitor Your Listing
It’s important to take the time to monitor your Google listing on a regular basis. This means including relevant keywords in your business description and making sure that your address and contact information stays up to date.
You should also add as much information as possible about your business, such as hours of operation, payment methods, and product offerings. The more information you include on your listing, the easier it will be for potential customers to find you online.
Pro Tip- Google likes a listing with activity, so you can post updates and respond to reviews to ensure you are acknowledged as an active participant, which helps your ranking.
Google makes it easy to track how many people are viewing your listing and how often your business is being searched for online. You can use this information to make changes to your listing if necessary. For example, if you notice that people are having trouble finding your business online, you may need to add more keywords to your description or include additional information about your business.
Why Do I Need To Maintain My Google Listing?
It’s important to take the time to create a Google account and claim your Google Local listing. By doing so, you’ll have control over the information that’s displayed about your business online.
If you don’t claim your Google Local listing, Google simply scans the internet for data (we call it scraping), and often they get it wrong.
DANGER AHEAD- Conversely, anyone – like an angry ex-employee, can claim it and post inaccurate information about your business online. This can be damaging to your business reputation and may cause you to lose potential customers.
One of the most important reasons to maintain your Google Business Listing is to attract new customers. If you’re not actively marketing your business online, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers. Google is the most popular search engine in the world, so it’s essential to make sure that your business is listed there.
Research firm BrightLocal listed types of businesses most often searched on Google. When people search for businesses like yours, you want to ensure that they can find you on the first page of results when you search your business type in your town.
Another reason to keep your Google Business Listing up to date is to build trust with potential and current customers. If people see that your business is listed on Google, they’ll be more likely to trust you. They’ll know that you’re a legitimate business and not just some fly-by-night operation – and they’ll head to your own website from that listing to get more information.
How Can Google Help My Marketing Efforts?
Google is a powerful ally when it comes to marketing your business. Google AdWords can help you create ad campaigns to target new customers in your area who are looking for businesses like yours. Google Maps can help people find your business when they’re looking for products or services that you offer in a specific geographical area. Most importantly, Google Reviews provide a “like and trust” factor that you can’t duplicate. People searching for your business with most definitely read reviews about you.
That means you need a constant supply of new reviews coming in and a high star ranking. They provide new customers with an inside look at what it’s like to do business with you, and they can help you to build trust with potential and existing customers.
One of the best things about Google reviews is that they’re honest. People can’t post fake reviews like they can on other review sites, so customers are more likely to trust the reviews that they read. And, because Google has such a large user base, potential customers are more likely to come across your reviews when they’re searching for businesses like yours.
If you’re not actively asking for Google reviews, you’re missing out on a lot of potential business. Find a method of asking your customers to leave Google reviews, and you’ll see your business start to grow.
When your listing is claimed, it means you can respond to the reviews you receive – the good and the bad. It allows you the forum to correct errors and appease disappointed people. It’s a great tool to be able to demonstrate your business’s integrity and a little personality. Negative reviews are inevitable, but they will be quickly overshadowed by many more positive reviews. And if you handle them with diplomacy and professionalism, it can prevent losing a customer.
Here’s another blog post about how to go about responding to reviews – the good, the bad, and the nasty ones.
How Can Google Hurt My Business?
Google can also hurt your business if you’re not careful. The biggest impact would be to never claim your listing and end up far down the search results. But also consider that Google may penalize you for using spammy tactics to promote your business. Or Google may remove your listing from its search results if you don’t keep your information up to date.
It’s also important to remember that Google is constantly changing its algorithms, so what worked yesterday may not work today. That’s why it’s so important to stay on top of Google’s changes and make sure that your business is optimized for Google’s latest algorithm update.
Customer Acquisition Cost – Zero
When you optimize your Google business listing, you make it easier for potential customers to find you. And since it’s free, it’s very cost-effective. You can also use your Google business listing to post updates about your business, which can help attract new customers. Additionally, optimizing your Google listings can help improve your website’s search engine ranking. As a result, optimizing your Google listings can help you acquire customers and grow your business.
Monitoring your Google business listing is also important. You can use Google’s tools to track how many people are viewing your listing and how often your listing appears in search results. Additionally, you can use Google Analytics to track your website traffic. By monitoring your Google business listing, you can make sure that potential customers are finding you and that your marketing efforts are paying off.
How Do I Optimize my Google Local Business Listing?
Optimizing and monitoring your Google business listing is an important part of marketing your business online. By making sure your listing is up to date by posting updates about your business and responding to reviews, you will move up the search results, increase your star rating, attract new customers and grow your business.
Once you’ve claimed it, here’s a checklist of items you can use to regularly monitor it. We recommend tracking your results each time you review it with your number of reviews, star rating, and where you come up on an organic search.
Google is an important part of your digital marketing strategy. Google’s reviews and listings are very cost-effective tools to get your business found by potential customers online. Google also offers a wide range of other resources for businesses owners who want to optimize their Google Local Business Listing or monitor customer traffic on Google search results pages.
If this all sounds like “a lot,” that’s because it is. But it’s very important for the success of your business in today’s world. Google is the #1 search engine in the world and the first step new customers take to finding your business.
If you want more information to find out where you rank and how to improve your Google business listing, so you show up above your competition, click the button below and schedule a FREE Google and Online Reputation review for your business.
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Michael Thibault
Known as “The Done For You Marketing Guy for Restaurants.” International Speaker on Restaurant Marketing. Published contributing author of 4 Marketing Books. Industry expert on Google Searches and Review Sites. Recovering Independent Restaurant Owner and Caterer of over 21 years. And, all-around good guy.