Google My Business Optimisation to Win Sales and be Visible in Local Searches

Local search results are those made in close vicinity to your business or those including location-based search terms. For example, a person conducting a local search might type ‘florists near me’ or ‘florists in Melbourne.’ 

According to a Tweet from a Google representative at a  local search conference, 46% of all Google searches have local intent. For businesses, Google My Business optimisation will help to win website visitors and sales from local searches, even from potential customers who have never heard of you before.

What is Google My Business and why is it important?

Your Google My Business (GMB) listing appears in Google search results when your brand name is searched. It can also appear for localised searches that match your business’s information. There are three core reasons why your profile is important:

• Your GMB profile is important because the information you provide to Google is factored into local search results. One critical example of this is the ‘Google Maps Pack’ which will be explained later in the article.
• Customers look at your profile as a source of truth. It helps to determine whether your business is professional, trustworthy, responsive and customer-friendly. Potential customers want to research and investigate before buying. They might look for insights such as how you respond to negative reviews and whether you have legitimate photos of your office or warehouse.
• Your listing features business contact details that potential customers might need. A research study by BrightLocal showed that “64% of consumers used Google My Business to find contact details for a local business.” It also found that “5% of Google My Business listing views result in a website click, call, or direction request.” This is why having an update to date profile will help you get into a conversation with potential customers.

What is local SEO and how does Google My Business optimisation fit in?

Local SEO is strategic work taken to enhance your business’ visibility on search engine platforms namely Google for searches that are location-oriented. It is a huge opportunity to show your company ‘billboard’ towards searches looking for something within their neighbourhood. This is supported by the statistic that 72% of Google searchers visit a store within 8 kilometres after conducting a search. If your business has poor exposure on Google then it will be very hard for customers to find your business.

Not only that, Google utilises your Google My Business information to populate your company listing in search results.

Your business will see increased interactions if it gets placed in the ‘Google Maps Pack’ or ‘Google 3 Pack.’ Only the top 3 businesses are shown in these listings based on factors that determine local ranking. Did you know that42% of local searchers click on the Google Maps Pack? This is why this section is considered prime real estate in local search results.

Google recommends that businesses update their profile information to maximise the visibility of their business in local search results. And they have good reason to, in 2019,statistics from Google showed that mobile searches with local intent grew over 200% in 2 years. This tells us that searches are increasingly interested in finding local businesses.

Optimise your GMB listing because it can help you win sales by propping up your visibility in local search results.

Why is it important that I update my Google My Business Profile?

Because your GMB information is factored into local search results. A strong Google My Business listing will better position your business to show in the ‘Google Maps Pack.’ That is why it is important to comprehensively address all the sections in the GMB profile. Having positive reviews as well as responding to them regularly can increase the chances of your listing to be featured. 

Key Features of Google My Business

There are six key components that you must provide to make your business profile on Google look professional:

1. Core details including your business: website link, name, address and contact phone number. 
2. Nominate the relevant primary and secondary business categories your business falls under.
3. Business hours should be listed.
4. Professional and high-resolution photographs of your business, including interior and exteriors of your business headquarters.
5. Summary of your businesses core products and or services.
6. Timely and helpful responses to customer online reviews and questions.

How can I track interactions with my GMB profile?

It is possible to track interactions with your Google My Business profile by creating a UTM parameter. By adding the UTM parameter to your website URL, visitors who clicked on your profile and were taken to your website can be identified and analysed separately in your Google Analytics.

Do I have to constantly manage my Google My Business profile?

At Arcadian Digital, we help businesses with Google My Business optimisation. We save you time by optimising your profile for you so you can work on growing other aspects of your business. We help you stay ahead of your competitors by taking advantage of the latest Google My Business features. Leave us a message and we will be in touch!