THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE.
Google wouldn’t be Google if they didn’t provide statistics to back up their claims that they are helping local businesses get recognized. In a recent study of over 45,000 local businesses in over 35 industries, randomly chosen for analysis, Google’s Insight Study found Google My Business (GMB) is still very much a major player and even more important than ranking a website in connecting local businesses with potential customers.
They found business using GMB received an average of 59 actions each month. Furthermore, 70% of searches on Google resulted in clicks on the GMB, with customers NOT scrolling underneath to look at company’s websites. This indicates that if you are not in the top 3 in the GMB or at least on the 1 st page under the “more places” in the GMB, your customers will not even know you exist and therefore you are missing out on a huge chunk of the market.
THIS IS HUGE! You know first-hand how hard it is to get more website visits, more phone calls or company contacts, and direct requests. You need these “actions”, and you want all of those to lead to more success for your business and increase your bottom line.
You deserve all the above. You work hard to provide great services. Google recognized this and created the Google My Business program to help you reach those goals. While they can’t close a deal for you or make customers commit to your company, they can help online users find your business, especially when searching locally; but without an expert company, like Be a Legend Inc optimizing and ensuring you reach and stay at the top of the ‘map pack’, the chances of success of being found in the local GMB are extremely low to none. For example, if you are a local service business in Scottsdale or Phoenix and are looking to get more customers through ranking your website locally as well advertising your services locally, the most effective way of doing this organically is being featured in the top 3 of the map pack also known as the Google My Business map pack listings (GMB).
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AMAZING STATISTICS FOUND IN THE GMB INSIGHTS STUDY:
● The average business is found around 1000 times per month
● Of that 1000, over 800 were due to discovery searches using GMB
● The rest, around 160, were direct searches. Meaning, your business name was typed in specifically.
● They also found that GMB is growing every year and has surpassed that of traditional SEO in the number of searches and clicks versus website clicks found underneath the GMB listings in the map pack.
This shows that GMB has the power of influence. But that is not the only way it can help your business. Keep reading to discover more advantages.
1. GMB MAKES YOU MORE VISIBLE ONLINE
You depend on local customers to make your business successful. Google claims one in five searches are done by people searching for something local. HVAC repair near me, building contractors in Phoenix, Arizona OBGYN, or best trees to plant in the desert. These are examples of searches being done on Google. GMB sends your business information to the top of the search results.
2. GMB PUTS YOU ON THE MAP IN YOUR LOCAL AREA FOR LOCAL CUSTOMERS
Literally, a GMB listing puts you on the map that pops up when someone searches for your type of business. For example, when someone searches “HVAC near me” or “Local Tree Trimmers”, or “emergency plumber near me” your business will show up, pinpointed on the Google Map. In addition to showing up on the local map, your business will also be listed among other local businesses. This gives you an opportunity to shine and is why Reputation Management is so critical to your business.
3. SHARES REVIEWS FROM CUSTOMERS
GMB gives you a dashboard for which you have control. This is where your positive information is shown to online searchers. This is where those five-star reviews pop up with quotes from your pleased customers. GMB also has introduced a filter for customers to select only companies that have a certain star rating or higher to be displayed. Again, this is why Reputation Management is so critical to help build your reviews from customers in an easy and simple way.
Here at Be a Legend Inc, we help do that for you and combine our efforts of getting you more reviews and protecting your star rating along with getting you found online in the local GMB map pack to ensure greater success of building your business and brand so customers can easily find you and use your services over your competitors.
Positive reviews will help you stand out from your competition. Also, the more detailed your GMB profile, the more information you provide to customers. Today, people are looking for the most front- end information to help them make decisions. If you have offers or coupons, these are important to be featured on your GMB so customers can easily identify a reason to try you for the first time if they are slightly unsure. This is also the place people can leave reviews if they haven’t done so already. Leaving reviews on your business website is great, but they will not get noticed like they will with GMB. Google is the first place customers will read your reviews and again another reason why having a company like Be a Legend Inc is so critical to protect your online reviews, gain more reviews, and get those lower star ratings dealt with before they find themselves online! You can find more information here: Be a Legend Reputation Management.
Reviews are more important than any other marketing initially. It’s the first impression a potential customer has of your company. Online reviews can increase sales, improve local SEO and ranking in the GMB, and give you “word of mouth” benefits. They also give information about your business that you may not have added in your description.
4. PROVIDE DETAILED INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS
When a person searches for local providers, they prefer to learn a little about your business upon the initial search findings. If a woman searches for a local OBGYN and in return she receives only a list of business names, she will need to do further research and she may end up going with a different organization. Here at Be a Legend Inc., we ensure that your GMB is optimized correctly and information about your business is constantly posted consistently to provide information, education, and helpful advice to potential customers who are looking for your services. This helps build trust among your audience. If a customer conducts a Google search and a list pops up of local OBGYNs, but your description tells that customer who the doctor is and his or her specialties, the searcher will likely choose your practice over your competitors as long as your online reviews are outshining your competitors. The detailed information you provide about your business in the GMB can help you attract more customers.
5. THE MORE YOU POST, THE BETTER YOUR PRESENCE
Google My Business encourages you to continually post on your profile. As your business grows and develops, what you share on GMB should be updated. Google will reward you for such efforts. Posting text is a great way to engage potential customers. But customers also love to see photos and videos too, and we don’t mean stock photos! Real photos that highlight your business. GMB allows you to have ten posts at a time. These posts are the stage on which you can shine. You can post anything from service offers to new skills learned to interviews with customers. GMB is like a social media platform, by allowing you to share information about your business and post to your business listing various offers, coupons, photos, videos, and encourage customers to contact you (Call to Action) while being shared publicly to thousands of potential customers in your area!
Because we know you are busy running and managing your business, our highly skilled GMB team can ensure your business stays at the top of the local Google searches.
