Google is undoubtedly the most popular search engine on the internet. It’s often the first point of contact for a potential client or customer to get information about your business. So, what is Google My Business?
Google My Business is the little pop-up on the left-hand side of a Google search. It’s the one with details about opening hours, contact details, photos and reviews. That’s Google My Business. Google My Business, or GMB, is one of the most powerful ways to improve a business’ online visibility and SEO. As a search tool it can, and should, be utilised by every business. It manages your online presence within the search engine. It you’ll give your page and potential customers insights into your business and what you can offer them.
By having a GMB page, people can find information about your businesses office hours, sector, contact details, location and photos from the business. It even links to your website. And the best part? It’s free!
How it helps with local rankings
According to industry research by SEO Moz, Google My Business’ engagement “signals” are one of the most important factors for increasing your business’ visibility online. To optimise your GMB profile, you must frequently log on to your dashboard. This “signals” to Google that you’re an engaged active and engaged business. On the flip side, user engagement is also important – make sure you have active posts and content for users to interact with, as well as encouraging reviews.
This not only improves your rankings but ensures the integrity of your business remains intact.
How to set it up
If you’re wondering how to set up your own Google My Business page, begin by searching for your business on Google. Then follow these steps to get set up.
Set up your GMB account using the following steps.
- Begin by searching for your business on google. You can claim your business or add it as a new listing.
- Fill in all the relevant business information
- Verify your Google My Business listing (can be done over the phone, via SMS, or by requesting to receive a postcard from Google in the mail)
- Publish your Google My Business listing
- Ensure your listing is accurate and complete. Don’t miss any details.
- Keep business operating hours accurate; be sure to update them during public holidays
- Add photos!
- Manage and respond to customer reviews
If you’ve been around for a while, you may already be listed as an unclaimed business. You can claim your business or add it as a new listing: https://www.google.com/business/?ppsrc=GPDA2
What is Google My Business? Are photos important?
Photos of your business are a great resource. According to Google, “businesses with photos on their listings receive 42 percent more requests for driving directions on Google Maps and 35 percent more click-throughs to their website than businesses without photos.”
Photos for your profile can involve a logo image, cover photo and additional photos. You can provide insights into what’s happening in your business, or for example, a real estate agency might integrate their real estate social media content!
Suggested formats, sizes, resolution
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10KB and 5MB
- Minimum resolution: 720px tall, 720px wide
- Quality: The photo should be in focus and well-lit and have no alterations or excessive use of filters. The image should represent reality.
By selecting a diverse set of photos to feature your business, people interested in you can get more of an insight into who you are. At pepper, we have chosen a range of photos from our portfolio as well as photos of the office and our team. This helps to set-up our brand for potential clients and display some of our work front and centre.
By selecting a diverse set of photos to feature your business, people interested in you can get more of an insight into who you are.
Why posts are important
Google My Business posts are a powerful tool when seeking to grab someone’s attention. There are a variety of posts that can be made, including posts on ‘what’s new’, ‘event’, ‘offer’ and ‘product’. All posts are like mini advertisements for your company, products, or services.
Make sure your Google My Business posts are sized as so:
- 540 pixels (width) and 405 pixels (height) – Can change, so please check.
- JPG, PNG or BMP file format
- 4:3 Aspect ratio
- Minimum file size of 10KB
- Maximum file size of 5MB
At pepper, we share updates about events we attend, projects we are working on and any other exciting business updates.
By posting at least once a week, as a business we are logging-in to our Google My Business profile, signalling to Google that we are an active business, and it allows more user engagement to boost our google visibility.
The posts offer the option to include a CTA (call to action) feature, allowing you more control over where people go after viewing your posts. The current CTA’s on Google are – book, order online, buy, learn more, sign up, get offer and call now.
Tracking insights
Google My Business allows you to track how users are interacting with your business listing. Knowledge is power, and the more insights you have, the more knowledgeable you’ll be of your customer base. The available insights include how many views your listing had, how and where customers find your listing, the actions customers take on your listing, and other interactions customers have with your Google My Business profile.
This is a great way to see how people are interacting with your business via direct search for your business’ name or related search terms or keywords. It’s also a great way to see what content has been doing well and comparing it with your competitors’.
Knowledge is power, and the more insights you have, the more knowledgeable you’ll be of your customer base.
Is Google My Business worth it?
So, now that we’ve answered the question of “What is Google My Business”, is it worth it? Yes! It’s a free tool that allows you to tackle some SEO and marketing in one go, allowing you to provide information to your customers, while also gaining insights into your audience.
