Google My Business has many benefits, both to the merchant and the searcher.
January 12, 2022
Google My Business has many benefits, both to the merchant and the searcher.
Up-to-date, accurate Google My Business listings help consumers in a multitude of ways.
Consumers will find it much easier to find information such as a business’s phone number, address, or health and safety rules if they have a GMB profile.
How many times have you wanted to call and ask a question or double-check a business’s cleanliness procedures before going in?
With all this information easily locatable on a business’s GMB listing, searchers can get on with the important stuff, like working out if a business is really suitable for their needs.
For searchers, finding and navigating between various businesses’ websites can be a genuine pain. It’s simple to compare and contrast businesses’ offers using Google My Business by swiping through their listings.
Looking at the sample above, it’s clear how much information a searcher may get from a few entries on Google Maps in a short amount of time.
This makes the searcher’s journey lot easier, and they may make a decision much faster as a result.
So, if you have high local rankings, provide relevant services, and provide enough information to the searcher, you may be able to swiftly gain a new customer.
Businesses can use photos and posts to show off their products, their brand, and even their personalities.
Because there is so much information available, these are the features that searchers will most likely notice.
Understanding the appearance of a cocktail bar (does it have heaters in its outdoor seating area? What is the size of the bar area? Is there enough space to dance?) can assist in rapidly informing searchers Having the ability to read relevant reviews will assist the searcher in determining whether or not your company provides what they require.
In saturated markets where consumers are often overwhelmed by choice, features like this can make or break a product. Your potential clients will be glad that you have saved them time and effort by giving them with all of the information they require to make an informed decision.
It may also save time for your company. After all, searchers no longer need to phone you to ask these questions because the answers are right there on your Google My Business profile.
In the same way, review content can answer these types of questions.
All of this means that when a searcher contacts your company or visits you in person, they’ll be even more willing to invest in your product or service. Consider this: you’ve gone from a warm to a hot lead without lifting a finger.
Google My Business’s Book an Appointment tool makes it easy for customers to receive what they need from your listing. This can be a very beneficial feature for beauty salons, spas, dentists, and other appointment-taking businesses, as it saves both the searcher and the business time.
Simplifying the customer journey with technologies like these will only result in happier customers, which should lead to happier businesses.
Were you under the impression that Google+ was no longer active? Google, on the other hand, isn’t done with social and community. Google Maps, too, has a social feature!
Users can establish a list of their favorite businesses by following them. This makes it easier for users to keep up with and support their favorite local businesses.
When a Maps user chooses to follow a business, they will receive notifications about Offers, Events, Posts, and changes to the business’s hours of operation. Again, this saves time and facilitates the user’s journey.
Furthermore, this feature of Google My Business helps customers to feel even closer to enterprises, which is critical in the age of eCommerce behemoths such as Amazon.
Google My Business has simplified the search for relevant, nearby businesses. Thanks to the ever-evolving local algorithm, Google (generally) does a great job of surfacing the right businesses for users’ search queries.
As a result, finding the right business is easy.
Look what happens when I search for something niche, like a specific product:
Google Maps returns relevant businesses and highlights content I might find useful to assist in my search.
Under the heading ‘Related to your search,’ Google has returned Q&A content it thinks will be relevant, highlighting keywords in response to queries about the ps5.
This is something that Google does frequently, in order to provide more relevant results.
If I search for a restaurant that’s family-friendly, Google will return results where that phrase has been mentioned in reviews, or even on the business’s website (in the case of Bubby’s, below). This function is sometimes called ‘Justifications’.
Google My Business allows Google Maps users to submit their own feedback on businesses and validate the thoughts of others, resulting in a more realistic portrayal of the company.
Google guarantees that any information discovered on GMB profiles is as up-to-date as possible using user-focused tools like ‘Suggest an Edit’ and ‘Provide Feedback.’
Q&A, reviews, and even images contributed by the public assist to offer a balanced picture of businesses on GMB.
All of this helps to make the process of finding and locating the most relevant local business for a user’s search easier.
Now that we’ve established why Google My Business is useful to searchers, let’s move on to look at the benefits of Google My Business to local businesses.
According to a well-respected industry survey from Whitespark, Google My Business is the number one local ranking factor. What does that mean? It means that Google My Business has the most impact on where your business appears in results for local business searches.
Not only is Google My Business a known ranking factor, but GMB optimizations are lauded by local SEO experts as some of the most effective ways to boost visibility in the Local Pack.
Making the most of Google My Business can be a competitive difference-maker, and cause businesses to rank higher for relevant local search terms.
Therefore, businesses that don’t have Google My Business listings will stand little to no chance of getting found or chosen online: you have to be in it to win it.
As zero-click searches become more and more prevalent, having a means to represent your business in search engine results pages (SERPs) is essential. Without a Google My Business listing, you could miss out on converting customers at the earliest stage.
What is a zero-click search? The zero-click search experience means that more actions, such as conversions to sale, are taking place within search results than ever before. Instead of needing to visit a business’s website, searchers can find what they need directly within the search engine results page, for example on a Google My Business listing.
Google My Business profiles feature a multitude of functions, including links that make it easy to call the business, get directions, and even book appointments. In this way, GMB makes it even easier for searchers to award their custom to your business without needing to visit your website.
Flying Stars Informatics (P) Ltd.
Available 24/7