Why you need to use your Google My Business listing more…
Did you know that almost one in three searches on Google doesn’t actually lead to the user clicking on one of the search results?
Try it yourself. All of these examples can result in a ‘zero click’ search:
• 178 x 54
• Who is married to the French president?
• 330 C in F
• We Didn’t Start the Fire lyrics
• What time is it in Australia?
• Brighton fixtures
You’ll see that, when you conduct any of those searches, you aren’t just given a list of ten results for you to choose from.
Instead, Google is attempting to give the user the answers they need directly on the search results page.
When it comes to presenting business information on the search result page, Google’s answer to this is the Google My Business (GMB) listing.
Think about it — as it stands, when people do a search for your business, they can see your business name, address and telephone number, as well as photos, questions and answers, and reviews from your customers (both satisfied and unsatisfied!)
With all that information right there on the search results page, do they even need to go to your website? Increasingly, the answer is No.
In fact, they’ve got everything they need to get in contact or visit your business right there and then.
Therefore, it’s imperative that, if you’re a local business, you’re making use of every relevant part of your GMB listing to make sure you stand out on the search results page.
We’ve previously talked about the importance of getting reviews. But Google’s constantly adding new features to GMB, meaning that you should be checking regularly to see if there are things you could be adding or optimising.
If you do this, then at a minimum you’ll be keeping up with any competitors who might be just as proactive. And the best-case scenario? You’re doing things on GMB that the competition isn’t even aware of yet – meaning your GMB listing is going to be more prominent, more eye-catching, and win you more business.
As an example, in mid-2017 Google added ‘Posts’ to GMB. This is a facility where people can add information about things like products, events or offers, complete with pictures and call-to-action buttons.
However, by early 2019, a massive 40 per cent of companies had never used them. Another 15 to 20 per cent don’t use them regularly.
If you’re in a competitive local industry, something like that could be just the advantage you need.
In a nutshell, maybe you should think of it like this: Google is your new homepage.
If you’re a business owner and you want to get in front of more local customers, get in touch with Tomango to discuss how we can help with your digital marketing. Call Mark Vaesen on 01273 814019 or email hello@tomango.co.uk