Google My Business is a transformative tool that can dramatically change how you acquire customers online.
For many local businesses, we might go as far to say that your Google My Business Listing is more important than your own website! Why is that? You might ask.. It’s because Google My Business is how most people will find your website.
If it’s your goal to get more customers, you’ll want to keep reading because we’re sharing the secrets on how to leverage your Google My Business listing as a customer acquisition tool.
Google is the #1 visited website on the internet and their goal is to make as much money off of ad revenue as possible. Think about how Google has changed over the past 2008.. Back in the day when you did a search you got a bunch of organic results, and some paid ads. You’d choose one, and visit that website. Google Search has changed dramatically and so have their goals.
Google is now de-prioritizing the organic search results to show more ads, maps, and local business information. In fact, they’ve gotten so good at delivering exactly what you want that they are now producing “Now Click Searches” so you don’t even have to visit a website! They do this to keep consumers on the Search Results Page, where Google show ads that make them money. Check out some of these examples of No Click Search Results:
Weather results at your finger tips
Show times so you don’t have to figure out “which site”
Ads, locations, and ratings of Electricians in Boston
Great for users, but hard for businesses
While this might seem great to you from a user perspective, it isn’t what you want for your business – No Click Searches now account for around 45% of all search queries. That means, your organic results are down there somewhere, and few people are scrolling far enough to engage with them.
Business owners rely heavily on search results because this is how consumers find your website. To boot, organic search visitors are often the highest converting source of website traffic! Now, with all this competing ad revenue pushing the organic search results down the page, the issue is compounded on mobile devices. Due to the narrower screen, organic search results are pushed even further down the search results which increases the no click search result volume up to around 60% of all searches. This means, the small screens put an even greater emphasis on the value of ad revenue.
Look at these mobile search results for Plumbers in Baltimore. You don’t see organic search results until “Len the Plumber” pops up on Page 4! Also notice, you don’t see Len on the map or the Google My Business listings on page 2, but you do see Catons who is paying for ads in both locations. Who do you think gets more clicks & calls? Catons or Len?
Now do you see the lengths that Google is taking to offer people information that directly pertains to the search they have conducted? They do this to keep people searching on their page longer which, drives revenue up for Google! This makes that nice website of yours, even harder to get to. Even if you were the first result, look at how many results came up first.
This doesn’t mean your SEO plan is a waste, it still pays to rank high organically. It does illustrate how important Search Engine Marketing is though. More than anything, it shows you that you need to play nice with Google because this how we get our business onto the maps, and high up in the list of businesses that get presented at your initial search.
Google My Business is your one free chance to make your way to the top of these listings and this is why:
- HubSpot tells us that 46% of all Google searches have local intent. That equals out to about 1.6B searches a day where people are looking for local products, services, or information.
- STAT Analytics says 93% of local searches now return a Google Business Listing. The silver lining – people are using Google everyday and almost all those searches product a Google My Business Listing.
- Search Engine Land tells us that 68% of people contact a business from the search results without visiting their website. This means, they are engaging with those listings.
Now you’re probably scratching your head and thinking, ok how do I do this better? There is one more thing that is crucial to these listings..
Forbes: 88% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
We live in a review economy.
There is no way to escape it, consumers know that you are going to do your very best to be everything they need so, they rely on reviews for a second opinion. These reviews sway decision making in huge ways. These reviews can mean that people may make up their mind about doing business with you before they even get to your website!
Remember the old mantra – “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em?” Google My Business allows customers to Call, Message, Ask Questions, Post Reviews, and Find Offers and Pricing – all things your website does too. Then your business needs to be there also.
Google My Business is a bigger business opportunity than the Yellow Pages ever were.
- More people search Google everyday than ever opened the Yellow Pages in a day.
- You have the ability to influence how your business is portrayed and how it ranks against others like you.
- Google My Business listings are capable of driving more customers and revenue because of the amount of information they provide.
But, you cannot just “set it and forget it.” Ongoing management of your Google My Business Listing is crucial to maintaining the perceptions that drive business, and moving up the in the search results.
Hiring Torque Media to manage your Google Business Listing costs pennies on the dollar, is less expensive than hiring a qualified person, and easier than handing it off to someone who you’ll need to manage, to do the job. Our Self-Managed Google My Business service provides you an immediate download of our proprietary Google Business strategy that you can implement any time you wish! If you aren’t feeling techie, the Torque Media Managed Google Business Listings provides the experience and surveillance you need to stay ahead of the competition. When signing on with Torque’s Managed Google Business Listing service you can expect the following:
- Monthly Info Check – We will interview you to learn all the content, products, and services necessary to manage your listing. We’ll use this content each month to make adjustments and enhancements to your listing that will keep your listing information correct while improving visibility in search results. This also includes managing hours of operation.
- Ongoing Reputation Management – We’ll work with you to craft a response dialogue and process so whenever positive or negative reviews are received, your business will be putting their best foot forward each and every time.
- Monthly Post – We’ll use the posting feature to draw attention to sales or initiatives that you want the general public to know about.
Download The Torque Media Google My Business Plan:
- Sign Up with Torque Media
- You can purchase our secret sauce and apply it yourself! OR
- We’ll do all the work for you.
- Optimize your Google My Business account
- Our checklist makes sure all features are optimized
- We show you what to use and what not to use
- How to effectively geo-tag photos
- How to verify your listing
- Google My Business Citations
- How to build effective citations
- List of citation sources by industry and geography
- Insider tips that will give you competitive advantages
- Review Momentum
- Ideas for automating the review process
- How to ask for reviews, even when it might not be easy
- The Engagement Formula
- Google My Business Posts
- Expanding visibility on Google Maps and Search
- Strategies for boosting your listings engagement rates
If your budget allows, the next step from here is Search Engine Marketing.