What Is Google My Business And How Does It Work?

Google My Business is one of those tools that are essential for you today. Especially since in the digital age having a solid internet presence is vital to the success of your company. After all, your job as an entrepreneur is to stay ahead of change.

For that reason, it is important that you understand how it is used with this complete guide that will help you understand what it is and how it works. This way, you can maximize your online presence and attract more customers; all thanks to a tool that has revolutionized the way of interacting.

So we recommend you read this guide, where we will give you valuable information about its use. This will help you take advantage of this platform to its full potential to boost your business in the digital world. Only in this way will you be able to take your online presence to the next level and create a bond with your customers.

 

1.Know what Google My Business consists of

Google My Business is a free tool from Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence. Through it, it is possible to facilitate the connection between your business and your environment; above all, because you will only use a platform with which you can manage efficiently and without complications.

In addition, the platform allows you to add important information about your business; for example, a brief description of who you are, contact information, location, working hours, among other details that you consider relevant. This way, your customers can find everything they need to know in one place.

In essence, this Google tool's main objective is to increase the visibility of your business; all this, while allowing your customers to find you more easily. In addition, this platform also integrates other applications, such as Google Maps and Google Places, in a single management place.

For this reason, it is so important for you and your company to have a profile on this platform. After all, you have to remember that people are now going online to find information about products and services they need. So you need to stand out in this landscape and have a strong presence to attract more customers.

2.Steps you must follow to start using this platform

For all its tools and everything you need, Google My Business has a guide that can help you if you have questions about something. However, in addition to the information in this link , we are going to provide you with what you need and most importantly to get started. So you won't have any problem.

The first thing you will see when you enter the main page of the platform is a brief description of everything you can do. We recommend you review the entire site so that you fully understand what this platform offers and know the steps to get started without problems.

Once you have finished, you have to click on the blue button that says “Manage now”. This is at the top and on a ribbon at the bottom of the page. When you click on it, it will ask you to follow the following steps to register your company:

Steps to follow so that your business appears on Google

• It will take you to a screen in which you must write the name of your company. So, people will see this when they search for something on Google, Google Maps, among others.
• Choose the type of your business. You have to select if it is an online retailer, a local store or a service company.
• Enter the web address of your business site.
• Enter the category to which your company belongs. In this way, you can help them find your business by sector. Remember that you have the option to change what you select and add others later.
• Write the address of your company. Here you have to enter the country or region, location, city, zip code, and state.
• Select where your company is located on the map. You must take into account that this has to be the exact place.
• Write your phone number.
• Please read Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before continuing.
• Verify yourself as the business admin with a text or call.

When you have finished with these steps, you can start using Google My Business to manage and give visibility to your company on the internet. In addition, following this process will help you to make your profile complete and optimized. Remember that only in this way will you have the possibility of generating the greatest impact and reach.

3.Learn how to optimize your profile on Google My Business

The creation of a profile in Google My Business is not enough, you also have to optimize it to be truly successful; above all, if you want to give it the necessary visibility to achieve it. In this sense, you have to take into account several aspects that, although simple, make a difference. These are the following:

• Choose the right and most appropriate categories for your business.
• Write a short and compelling description
• Select the best images. If you want them to be more useful and attract more customers, they must be attractive.
• Do your research and learn the techniques you should use to stand out in local search results. This will help you attract more potential customers to your business.

It may seem to you that these aspects are basic, but they are the fundamental ones and to which you should pay more attention. After all, if you do them correctly, you can attract more customers and keep the ones you already have. In addition, many employers do not take them into account.

4.You already know how to start, but how does it work?

No matter what business you own, you must register it with Google My Business for all of its features. For example, once you optimize your profile and start receiving positive reviews, you can position yourself alongside your competition. In this way, it is possible for you to attract a greater number of visits to your website.

In this sense, Google uses the location of the user and the local businesses related to the search to determine the positioning. For this reason, the platform helps you to appear in the first results that they do in investigations of places that are nearby.

In addition, this tool also encourages physical visits to your store through local searches. The reason for this is that users will see your date with information such as a map, photos, reviews, and driving directions. All this will make it easier for them to find your establishment without problems.

For this reason, this platform aims to increase the visibility of your company and allow your customers to find you more easily. In addition, it simplifies your work, since with it you can now do everything in one place and control several tools at the same time.

5.All the main functionalities in depth

You already know what we can call the general objectives of this platform, but what are the specific ones? This will help you to know what you can do and achieve with this tool. Next, we will explain the most important of all:

• Add your company's contact information. For example, email, address, phone number, website, and web page. This is essential, since people can call you directly from the search engine if you added it on the platform. That way you make it easier.
• Add your location on Google Maps to make it easier to find you. Also, you have the possibility of adding a virtual tour and the routes that must be followed to arrive.
• Show the working hours of your company. You can also add the moments when there is more movement.
• Allow your customers to share their opinions and comments about your business.
• Show photos of the inside of your company. This way, your clients can get a more detailed view of the environment.
• Share links to your social networks. Thus, you can increase your online presence and make it easier for your customers to find you and follow your accounts on other platforms.

Adding and providing all this information to Google My Business will help you a lot in the searches and the results that come up. Remember that this is essential in a world in which virtuality has an increasingly large presence.

6.Times when having a profile on this platform is more important

Now that you know the functionalities of this platform, you should know when it works and when it is most important. This way, you'll know exactly why it's so important and when it's most helpful to your business.

When looking for a local class without specifying the location

When you do a search for a kind of local without specifying the place, Google takes your current location into account before giving you a result. After this, it shows you companies that are close to you geographically so you can review them.

Also, if you do it from a smartphone, the results are usually even more accurate. The reason for this is that Google can use the location provided by your device's GPS to show you the information you need. So you have the option to choose the one you need.

The moment the location of a local class is specified

This happens when, for example, you are at home and want to go to another municipality or city to eat a hamburger. Typically what you do is type a search like “pizzeria + area name”. After this, Google shows you the results that are based on the specific place mentioned.

However, you should know that, in the two types explained above, the results are displayed just below the search field. These are prior to organic links.

At the moment the name of the place is specified

In addition, a potential customer can also search for the specific information they need, such as the name of the venue. If you do this, the result is displayed on the right side of the screen with the full company information entered.

7.Discover the most important benefits of this tool

You probably already know that Google My Business can help you in many ways. However, before we continue, we have to detail and explain some of the most important advantages that this platform provides. Thus, you will know even more about what this Google tool consists of.

Make it easy for your potential customers to find you when they need you most

Being discovered by potential clients at the moment when they need you the most is the purpose and one of the main objectives of this tool. Through it, you will be able to connect with users when they are in an advanced stage of their purchasing process with ease.

For example, if someone searches for "downtown spas", they most likely want to attend one in this specific area. So, if you own one and are registered on this platform, you have the opportunity to appear to these potential customers, receive contacts and visits.

Extend the reach of your company

If you have a company, you will know that this is one of the most difficult objectives to achieve; especially if you're just starting out and they don't know you yet. This is what the help that this platform will give you consists of, appearing on the first page of Google and Google Maps. Thus, you increase and expand your digital presence.

Plus, this gives you the opportunity to attract more customers, both locally and in other regions and states. On the other hand, it allows you to consider those who are close and may need you, but do not yet know your business. Using Google My Business you have the possibility to close that distance and get closer to them.

Also, there are potential customers who visit your area for tourism or business. If you have what these people need and you are registered on this platform, they can find you directly and without any problem. In addition, they have the option to verify other information about you that is important to them to enter.

Create more user interactions

One of the main features of this platform is the ability to allow users the ability to comment on your company. So, for that reason, it has a social focus that can be considered as the essence and the engine of this tool.

Thanks to it, users have the opportunity to participate by providing their opinions about your business. For example, they can talk about your products, services, customer service, among other aspects. In addition, they have the option to share ideas, opinions, criticisms and ask questions if they need it.

On the other hand, it is important that you also participate actively so that it is truly an interaction. For example, you can reply to comments, post updates, and add photos of your business. In this way, you can generate greater engagement, attraction and interest in your offers.

Allow users to get to know your company better

Giving people a better understanding of your company is essential. Many times, thanks to the abundant information that is displayed, users can find out about your business more easily. Almost always, it is done in detail, as if they were physically visiting you.

Apart from basic information like address, location and phone number, users can take a complete virtual tour of your venue. Nowadays, there are even companies that hire photographers to take 360° images of the establishment.

Through this level of detail, it certainly gives more confidence to the public before deciding whether to buy. For that reason, it serves as a motivator for potential customers to visit or contact you. The goal is to help them and make them interested in you by showing them everything that is necessary.

Use your mobile device to modify all the information you need

Although it may already seem insignificant to us, having the option to modify the information with our mobile device is essential. Being able to edit it in this way represents great freedom for entrepreneurs who manage their company profiles.

After all, you're not always going to be in front of a computer answering customer comments. It even helps you update information and post new photos if necessary.

8.Information that you should know if you want to take advantage of all the benefits of this platform

Google My Business gives you many important benefits, but it can't do much for you if you don't know how to exploit it. After all, you have to remember that there is a strategy for everything and this platform is no exception to the rule. Even if you seem very good, your potential clients are not going to carry it alone.

You should always keep all your information up to date.

It has happened to many of us that we search for something on Google, we call the number and, when we dial, it does not work or it is another company. This is always a bad experience and your duty is to avoid it to your potential customers; above all, if you want them to get you and not get frustrated along the way.

Especially since this leaves a negative impression on the company, even if the user did not use their services. Usually these types of errors are not difficult to find. Entrepreneurs often forget to update the address, opening hours, photos of the premises, telephone number, among others.

After all, this information does not always have to be the same, but you must update it. Also, if you open a new branch of your business, you can add the necessary information so that it also appears in Google search results.

Constantly review the statistics of interactions and income

In the Google My Business control panel you can do this. Here you have the ability to not only add and edit content and information; but also to keep track of the results of your profile. The data that you can review is the following:

• Average ratings provided by customers.
• Number of comments, includes those that do not yet have answers.
• Review all the clicks, your followers, and the views you've gotten so far.
• The calls that have been made to you and the routes that users have followed.

In this way, you will be able to manage and administer the profile of your company and adapt it to the demands of your clients.

Where possible, try to get good ratings from your customers.

The opinion of other customers is one of the factors that, in general, most influences the purchasing decisions of consumers. Many times, these evaluations tend to have a greater influence than any type of advertising or promotion.

For that reason, it is crucial for all businesses to do what they can to earn positive reviews and ratings. You can achieve this by providing a quality service, both in the company and in social networks. Also, through competitive prices, taking care of feedback and answering comments.

So you should strive to provide a pleasant and satisfying experience for your customers. It is not enough that they approve it, but that they like it enough to express their satisfaction publicly.

9.Consider your customers and start using Google My Business

Technology has changed the world and our way of interacting in many ways, one of which is in business. Today, an online presence is vital for all businesses that want to be successful. An objective that can be achieved thanks to the help that Google My Business gives at no cost.

Through it, a business can make itself known and, as they say, make life easier for its potential customers. For this reason, it has become an important channel to make yourself known and for users to find you without problems. So take advantage and squeeze this world of possibilities.

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