Ever heard someone say Yahoo it? No! Which is exactly the point not that it has ever happened but we’re in 2021. The year that everyone at least must have blurted out the words, ”Google it.” See, now that sounds more like it!
Google has today taken complete control of the internet search giving the others the second option. Based on the evidence, Google accounted for nearly 79% of all global desktop search traffic in 2017, followed by Bing at 7.27%, Baidu at 6.55%, and Yahoo at 5.06%
On any given day, Google receives approximately 63,000 searches each second especially in the United States most people use their smartphones to conduct Google searches on fashion, food, the latest trends, the how-to of which 30% of all searches are pinned to a specific location. And of course, if you want your business located among the many searches, you must delve into SEO among other things.
Before we start talking about benefits, is your business on Google My Business? If not how do you get it there?
Creating a Google My Business (GMB) page for your company is a great start. The GMB page will enable your company to manage its online presence on Google from a physical location.
Google provides a social posting feature on this corporate page that allows businesses to provide “up-to-date updates from verified people, places, or things, straight in search results.” Businesses may use these public postings to convey corporate information, respond to customer feedback, and add photographs to showcase what makes their business unique, all while increasing brand recognition.
Is Google My Business morphing into a social media platform? True or False?
As a development, local businesses can be followed directly in Google Maps by users. This is most likely a replacement for direct response to Google +, which had the feature. It also means that Google now desires to give personalization to its users.
Users can navigate to a “for you” tab in their Google Maps account after following a business location. The tab contains information about the businesses they follow, mostly in the form of Google Posts from such businesses.
Your content is more searchable
It’s a matter of “Googling it.” How easy is that? Your content/postings will appear straight on Google Search and Google Maps pages when someone searches for a business. Your geographical address and phone number will appear in the knowledge panel on the right-hand side of your search results when someone searches for your business.
So your location is all your customers need to find your business. The search engine watch shows that Local searches on mobile led to 50 percent of viewers visiting stores within one day.
Expands your reach
Google not only dominates search engine results, but it also outperforms Facebook search inquiries. Adweek reports that Google conducts 3.5 billion searches every day, while Facebook conducts 2 billion. Furthermore, 82% of individuals use search engines to find local information.
Impacts your ranking
As the number one search engine, Google aims at delivering the most relevant results based on your search query. Every time you update your Google My Business page with new content, you’re sharing relevant content and information about your local business, which helps to increase your location authority.
What does this say? That Google is indeed a legitimate company. So if you choose to trust Google to promote your content, the higher your position will be. Your rankings will keep rising day by day and you’ll appear more in Google searches. And, there will also be an increase in traffic to your site.
Get backlinks
Backlinks are well-known for having a significant impact on organic search results. People are more likely to engage and reference information from your site if you offer intriguing material on your Google My Business page. You can also post content to connect to your site’s pages, making it easier for customers to find them.
Free promotion
Content that includes products and offers helps you emphasize and market your items and services to potential clients. These posts provide excellent possibilities for business owners to earn more freely in search engine results.
Engage with customers
Here, Call to Action (CTA) buttons can be included in all of your GMB posts. Customers have proved that call-to-action buttons are invaluable in converting them. In his article, Everything You Need to Know About the Psychology of the Call to Action, Neil Patel explains how the human mind anticipates a call to action button. In his explanation, he adds that we know that expectation affects behavior. Which explains why people know how to act on the CTA. They aren’t naïve about what the CTA button does or wondering what it is. They know it’s a button they are being prompted to click on it.
As a business registered on GMB, you must make good use of call to action buttons by including
- Click to make a reservation
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Click to discover the most recent deals
- Purchase product
- Send a message
- What’s new
- Invite a friend
- Save item among other buttons.
Businesses with a message button can use it to rapidly respond to questions and assist current and new consumers. To start receiving messages, go to your GMB dashboard and switch on this function.
Businesses can use the action button, “What’s New” to announce recent events such as special hours, address changes, new product promotions, or general information. These GMB posts are the most effective at increasing brand recognition and affinity.
If you’re stumped for ideas, Google My Business can recommend themes for you to publish based on your company’s best reviews.
Bottom line
Although still in its early stages, Google My Business posting is expected to be extremely beneficial to local companies. Businesses are currently saturating Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with brand awareness campaigns. However, because GMB posts are still in their early stages, they haven’t yet been inundated by the masses—which is why you should get in now! GMB is a fantastic platform for keeping your clients informed. Reach out to 99social to see how we could help.