I speak to lots of small businesses who are either unaware of Google My Business (GMB), or don't know what the benefits are?

If you aren't on GMB, then you are missing an opportunity to get your business noticed by your customers.  So I wanted to explain what GMB is and why you should use it.

Google My Business (GMB) allows you to list your business more prominently on Google Search and Google Maps. It provides information about your business such as contact information, website, opening hours, products, and much more and hours of operation.

Setting up your GMB listing is a simple operation that should take you 20-30 minutes. Although you will need to verify your business via code sent to you in the post by Google. Google My Business is a crucial part of any SEO initiative as it makes it much easier for your customers and prospects to get information about your business, contact you and write reviews for your products and services.

By far the biggest advantage of a GMB listing is the improved visibility you will have on the internet. It will place your business on the (Google) map in searches and generally increase your rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs)

As well as static information about your business such as your address, contact information, opening hours etc GMB allows you to post updates such as offers or promotions, product updates, news, and photos. These will appear in the search results conducted by your potential customers. Keeping this updated will increase engagement, help to generate inquiries and push traffic to your website.

Reviews, testimonials, or ‘social proof’ is an extremely important aspect of your marketing. An estimated 87% of consumers read reviews and the vast majority of people rely on them to make a decision.

Reviews play a crucial role in helping consumers to feel able to trust a company. Many potential customers make decisions on whether to contact or avoid a company based on their online reviews. Companies with negative reviews could be missing out on many new leads.

Positive reviews also help to increase your rankings in search results.

A GMB Account will improve your rankings in the SERPs making your business easier to find on the internet.  Providing easily accessible information about your business will lead to additional traffic for your website this can be improved further by updating and optimising your account.  For more tips on how to increase traffic to your website read my other blog on easy ways to generate traffic to your website

Google My Business should be an essential part of your online presence and digital marketing strategy. It is free and should not take up very much of your time to set up or manage. The benefits of GMB are significant and can yield quick results in respect of inquiries and traffic to your website.

At Overt Digital Media, we can help you set up and manage your GMB account either in isolation or as part of our Search Engine Optimisation packages.

Get in touch for an informal chat without any obligation to find out how we have helped many small businesses and start-ups.