As digital marketing has gone from an option to a necessity for businesses looking to grow, room to shine online has become increasingly competitive.
But with more recognising the power of Google by investing in advertising or SEO, getting yours to stand out can be hard. So how can you? Here’s why having a Google My Business listing is an absolute must…
What is Google My Business?
Formerly known as Google Places, Google My Business (GMB) is one of the easiest ways to feature your company on the local search engine. It displays where your business is on the map, your trading hours, customer reviews, phone number and website.
You can also update customers with important business notices (temporary closures or bank holiday hours) to keep customers in the loop without them needing to phone up and enquire.
In a nutshell, Google My Business is an easy way to collate all your important business information in place, accessible to your customers at the click of a button. It’s also a way to show off your 5* reviews, so you can prove your credibility and reputation, which we’ll come to next!
Social proof is becoming more important
Whilst family or friend referrals were once heavily relied on, the launch of social media and the web opened up the floor for strangers to leave their opinions everywhere. Now, customers are no longer in a position where they need to try something first-hand to know if it’s good or bad. By judging from reviews online, they can make up their mind instantly – saving themselves money, and time from a wasted journey.
So, if your business has a great reputation with makes frequently happy customers, then you need to show this, which Google My Business can do! It also allows you to collate more reviews – by sharing a direct link for your customers to leave their feedback. The more 5* reviews, the higher your listing will climb.
Search queries ending in ‘near me’ are on the rise
People like (and have become accustomed) to accessibility. With the majority of us owning a smartphone that can bring up information at the tip of our fingertips, we have less patience to find something out if Google can’t.
This is why search queries ending with ‘near me’ have drastically grown within the last few years.
Google Data Trend results for the number of ‘near me’ search queries, from 2004 - present.
So, if someone is on the go and decides on a place to stop for a coffee in your area, then you’ll want your listing to come up. They’ll be able to see exactly where you are on the map, with directions on how to get there.
It’s a free way to advertise
Unlike other outlets, Google My Business is 100% free. And it can sometimes drive sales and customers just as effectively as Google Ads. These stats from LocalIQ, uncover that:
97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else
More specifically, 91% of adults use search engines to find information
To put it into perspective, Google has over 90% of the search engine market share
16% of businesses receive more than 100 calls each month just from Google My Business alone
Our Client Results
Our client, a family-run local business has gained great traction from their listing, with a monthly analysis showing 1.5K listing views! This has resulted in 55 website visits, 11 people looking for directions, and 3 phone calls.
So hopefully, since reading this you’ll have begun to think about a Google My Business listing! If you need help getting yours set up, or optimised, then chat to us here!
At Website Success, we are a leading digital agency specialising in a range of services to get your name out there. Find out how we can help you here.
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frequently asked questions
CAN YOU MARKET MY EXISTING SITE?
Honestly? That depends… We rarely say no to a challenge, but we do know that some website platforms perform better than others for security, SEO and user experience.
So, if your website is old and/or not up to scratch for the new search engine criteria, we will be honest with you. There’s no point promising you we can when we know we can’t - who will be happy with that?!
So, we carry out a series of performance tests on your existing site and let you know where improvements can be made and what we can do to help.
We can also build you a new website – check out our BUILD section for more information.
Click on the link below to start a conversation with the team.
HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING GREAT RESULTS?
We are as transparent as you want us to be! We provide a monthly report on all the activity we’re setting up and managing for you – with as much or as little detail as you can handle!
We keep you up to date with any changes we make to improve your website and marketing campaigns. If things aren’t working, we’ll also let you know, give our recommendations on how to improve your results and let you know what we’re doing next.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT MARKETING IS RIGHT FOR MY BUSINESS?
We always start with a digital marketing strategy, to make sure our marketing plan is effective for you. Our in-house Digital Specialists will:
Take the time to understand you, your market, your products/services and competitors.
Discuss aims for your business and your budgets, so we can give you the best advice and do the best job for you.
Research keywords, competitors and marketplace, to map out a digital marketing plan tailored to your business.
Get going and put your marketing activity into place…
… Bring in lots of great results for you!
Share them with you in a monthly report and make suggestions on how we could do even better next month!
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SEE RESULTS?
We test all campaigns and any changes we make to make sure they remain effective. We try lots of things, some will work, and some won’t. We’ll carry on doing the things that work to get the best return for you on your investment.
As a gauge, we’d expect an advert to prove its worth within 2 weeks but Linked In advertising we advise keeping in place for at least 1 month. We regularly monitor adverts and if any aren’t working, we stop them and try something new.
SEO on a website is a longer process and can take anything between 3 – 9 months to show results. It also depends on whether your site is shiny brand new, or an established website.
HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE FOR DIGITAL MARKETING?
Pricing depends on how many of our services you decide to take and what level of service and reporting you want. We won’t sell you a service if we don’t think you need it.
There will be an initial set up cost for any new client and then our services are charged on a monthly basis, starting at £350 per month. For a proposal tailored to your business click on the button below.
WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT? HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Between us all, we have a scary number of years’ experience in SEO, website development, conversion increase, lead generation, digital advertising, social media, email marketing and customer journey planning, Phew! So, we usually have a few ideas to get your activity started!
We also don’t just do things for the sake of it. We chat about what you need to achieve for your business and what problems you’re facing, plus any other marketing you have running, and we work out the best recipe of digital activity for achieving your objectives.
Jay Faustino - Creative Web Developer
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