Google My Business – The most important in a nutshell |
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Google is the most popular search engine in Germany. If someone wants to find out online about a product, a service or a local business, sooner or later he will start a Google search query. To draw attention to yourself as a local business, a Google My Business entry is a fantastic way – and who would say no to free advertising on Google? We’ll show you how to make the most of Google My Business and attract more customers as a result.
Google My Business is a free platform from Google that allows you to influence how your business is displayed in search results and on Google Maps. So when a user googles your business, he gets a kind of dashboard played out and can access various services from there. Businesses, for example, can directly provide name, address, phone number and opening hours in the search results. The best thing about this for the user is that he does not have to laboriously search for the desired information on the website and gets the current information displayed directly.
View of the Google MyBusiness entry of LocalUp in the search results
Tip: Google rates your website better if you have a Google My Business entry that is as complete as possible. To give your customers an impression of your service and offer, you can add the following information to your business profile:
To create a Google My Business account, you need to be connected to a Google account of your business. There are two different ways you can create a listing for your business. For both, first go to the Google My Business Website and enter your business name in the search box. If your business appears, then a listing already exists (option 1). Otherwise, you will need to add your business to Google first (option 2).
Often Google automatically creates a My Business entry for a company. However, this is then of course not yet properly maintained and could even contain incorrect information. In the best case, you should check this and enter the correct data. In order to edit the entry, you must first apply for the ownership of the Google My Business entry. This is not witchcraft and is relatively quick. Simply click on the Request Access button and fill out the appropriate form.
Apply for Google My Business listing ownership
If there is no listing for your business yet, you will need to create your Google My Business listing yourself.
Now you have full access to your Google My Business profile and can fill it with more information through your personal dashboard.
To ensure that your customers can find you, you should always keep your Google My Business listing up to date – i.e. if your details change, or errors have crept in, you should update them immediately.
Edit company profile Googe My Business
Edit opening hours in company profile Googe My Business
And you’re done! Now you have successfully updated your Google My Business listing. You’ll find all sorts of Google My Business features in your dashboard to best showcase your business.
Google My Business also offers a number of options to interact with potential customers. This is especially important with the following in mind: people searching locally are potential, but more importantly, motivated customers.
Images from around your business give potential customers the opportunity to connect with the business before visiting. Pictures from the business itself also show your customers what to expect. You can upload and tag your photos from different categories:
Customers themselves can also add photos to your Google My Business listing. So check them regularly and remove unattractive or inappropriate photos if necessary. Because especially the visual impact of a local business should not be underestimated.
Turn your Google Business profile into a virtual shop window! With Google My Business you can publish your local inventory as well as offered services for customers. The advantage is obvious: you save your potential customers a disappointing experience with your business if a specific product is currently out of stock. Moreover, you can score points here compared to local competitors who do not use this feature. A customer will likely prefer to visit your store rather than take a chance on the unknown.
This feature is very often overlooked, but it is always interesting, especially from a customer’s point of view. Perhaps you know the situation yourself, one is searching for a restaurant in a group and has a specific question. Although the customer has the option to call the store, but this is usually an uncomfortable solution, especially for short and simple questions. “Questions and answers” allow not only to ask short and simple questions, but also to view questions that have already been asked.
The following applies: Always answer questions as quickly as possible. These usually come from motivated customers who are looking exactly for your company. Through the Google Maps app, users can receive notifications of new questions and answers.
Another tool to interact as directly as possible with customers in your area are Google Posts. They allow offers to post new or popular items, events, or other announcements directly on their Google business profile, in Google Search, and on Google Maps. This makes up-to-date information directly available to users. You can also engage your customers directly with interesting videos and photos. Especially useful: Google Posts allows you to embed call-to-action buttons.
You can now even edit your Google My Business profile directly on Google Search and publish posts even faster:
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Not only do the stars catch the eye of the user, but Google reviews can also make up a position or two in the ranking. Fact is: consumers trust online reviews. These are becoming increasingly important for purchase decisions. Customers can recommend your business with very little effort. This helps your business build more repeat customers – so it pays to build a good profile.
Google is still the number 1 search engine with a large gap to the competition. A Google My Business entry is free and offers many interaction possibilities with potential customers. Any Google user searching for your business will see your info at a glance. With little effort, you can have a positive impact on users. So why not take advantage of this potential? You’ll be doing the user a huge favor – and your company, too. We wish you every success in optimizing your Google My Business listing!
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