As Director of ReputationDefender EMEA, Tony McChrystal leads the Europe, Middle East and Africa branch of the world’s largest and most prominent company in the online reputation management and privacy sector. This article will look at Google Business, identifying steps that business owners should take to get their business seen and connect with potential customers.
Formerly known as ‘Google My Business’, Google Business helps businesses to gain more visibility online, engage with customers, perform local SEO, gain insights and more. The attached PDF explores the subject of customer engagement in more detail, sharing the reasons why it is so important to invest in creating an exceptional customer journey.
Business owners can harness the power of Google Business to increase exposure of their business and build their audience by following a few simple steps.
Claim the Business Listing
It is shocking to think that almost half of local businesses have not claimed their free listing. To do so, visit Google’s Business Profile support page, taking care to complete all fields. According to Google, taking this step alone doubles a business’s reputability in the eyes of consumers, making it 40% more likely to attract potential customers.
Verify That Information Is Accurate and Current
Millions of people use Google to check opening times. There are few things more frustrating than making a lengthy journey only to find the lights off and all the shutters down. Yet customer relationship disasters like this are easily avoided by keeping vital information on the Google Business Profile up to date. Your NAP (name, address and phone number) is particularly important and should be spelled exactly the same way every time it is published on the internet.
Use Images
Photos are an effective means of building trust with potential customers, attracting their attention and showing them what the business is really like. According to a BrightLocal study, the more photos contained in a Google Business profile, the more clicks, phone calls and direction requests the business will receive. The embedded video explores the importance of images in advertising in more detail.
Invite Reviews
More than 63% of consumers say they are likely to check Google reviews prior to visiting a business. Google reviews are a great vehicle for earning consumer trust, and the more a business has the more trustworthy it looks.
