Tag: Google My Business

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Digital Marketing

How To Best Utilize Google’s Business Messaging

The opportunity to communicate with clients and customers on an individual level from across time zones is not unique to the age of the Internet, but it’s certainly never been as easy or convenient as it is today.

Google’s Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) has allowed business owners to enable in-app messaging through its mobile app for years, but has only recently enabled the feature on desktop. But what use does Google’s Business Messaging feature really have? Let’s take a look.

What is Google’s My Business Messaging? 

Like other customer-facing messaging functions, Google’s Business Messaging feature lets companies receive inquiries from search users who find their business via Google search.

The benefit of GMB Messaging over some other messaging avenues is that users can immediately engage in a conversation with a business from the search page without looking for the business specifically.

For example, looking for auto repair shops in your neighborhood might lead you to see the business profile for Martin’s Auto Shop, complete with their address, contact number, store opening and closing times, and a messaging feature. This helps put potential customers in touch with your business – provided you’ve optimized your Google business profile and have enabled the messaging feature.

Why You Need to Utilize This Feature

It’s always a good idea to take advantage of more opportunities for customers to reach out to you. While we all need personal boundaries, business messaging systems aren’t quite the same as your personal direct messaging connection.

Customers are given an expected timeframe within which your business will typically reply, will be sent a customary or automatic greeting (which you can edit to include a phone number for more immediate concerns), and while it is treated as an instant messaging feature, it is better to think of Google’s business messaging and other similar customer-facing messaging features as a support hotline in text form.

Sometimes, customers will send in a message just to ask for a price list or inquire about a basic service. Sometimes, they’ll need to send in a few pictures or provide a more detailed account of what they’re looking for. Messaging through Google is faster than email, and more feature-rich than a phone call.

Interactions Can Fuel Repeat Business

Enabling messages through your Google Business Profile also allows you to respond individually to customer concerns, which gives your business an additional chance to make a good impression. That impression can last longer than any marketing campaign.

Customers typically don’t remember most ads, especially ones they come across online. But an interaction with a customer representative on a messaging platform? That’s much more memorable, both in a positive and negative sense.

Helps Alleviate Customer Concerns

There’s nothing more frustrating than making a purchase or receiving a service and being left unfulfilled. Perhaps there’s some confusion on how to utilize the product, or you have a question about the service itself.

Your concerns might not necessarily be negative – but left unaddressed, they can turn into a major irritation. That sort of an experience can reflect poorly on your business.

In addition to a phone number, a message allows users to send you quick questions that you can address at a moment’s notice, or in bulk later in the day, without being inundated by ringing phones at all working hours.

It’s not productive for a customer’s phone call to go unanswered, or for your staff to be interrupted every ten minutes, especially if you run a smaller business.

Getting Started

A Google Business Profile is not difficult to set up. It’s free, and you start through the Google Business Profile Manager.

  • Log into your Google account
  • Add your business via the Business Profile Manager
  • Input your location and a few other key info points
  • Fill out your contact information for potential customers to see
  • Add a mailing address to legitimize and verify your company. This requires a real physical address (not a PO box) and is just used by Google to verify your business. It will be hidden from the public

You will be sent a code via physical mail to input into the Google Business Profile Manager, and can then get started on customizing your profile.

In addition to basic information about your business, you can also feature product and location pictures, manage and view your business as it appears in Google Search and Google Maps, send an invite to other business manager accounts that you would like to give access to, and create posts from your business.

Among the options on the left side menu, you will also find the Messages tab. This is where you can enable and customize your messaging.

Best Practices for Google’s Business Messaging

Like any customer interaction, there are dos and don’ts.

  • Respond quickly. Google keeps track of how quickly you get back to customers. Try to give an answer to any question within about 24 hours. Poor response times will lead to Google actually turning off your messaging feature. You can turn it back on if you so choose.
  • Keep yourself notified. A good way to stay on top of things is to keep your notifications on, both on desktop and on your phone.
  • Block unwanted messages. Any messaging feature on the Internet that doesn’t require a lot of information on the messenger’s part will inevitably lead to some spam. Don’t ignore these messages, or Google might penalize you. Report and block them.
  • Remember that it is a professional feature. Don’t get heated, don’t get personal. Keep things concise and relevant.
  • Don’t conduct business over messaging. Google warns you about this, but it bears repeating – no important information should be shared over the messaging function. Any transactional information, customer info, or purchase details should be conducted through proper channels.

There are other ways to boost your usage of GMB Messaging. Like other customer-facing messaging features, such as those for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram, Google’s My Business Messaging lets companies set greeting messages for every customer engagement.

The right greeting can make a difference. Don’t waste space – use your greeting not only to get the ball rolling (i.e., “how can we help you today?”), but also to remind interested customers about your offering (i.e., a B2B company might want to greet with “let’s grow your business together.”)

Messaging options help businesses connect with customers on an individual level, beyond what might be possible via social media, and on a much more convenient and faster level than email. Customers feel heard and seen, and businesses can get a chance to build lasting relationships.

Optimizing your customer-facing strategies online is important. Let us help you make the most of your opportunities to create repeat business online.

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Digital Marketing

Google My Business Is Now Google Business Profile

Alongside a number of other changes made this year, Google continues to revise and rebrand its toolkit for online businesses and internet retailers by changing Google My Business into the Google Business Profile.

While little more than a name change on the surface, a deeper dive into the announcement reveals Google’s long-term plans for Google Business Profile, and how the product can benefit small businesses, customers, and advertisers alike.

Why the Change?

The name change might be an attempt by Google to help clear up what Google My Business is designed to do, and make it clear to businesses with multiple branches and locations that Google is providing them with a means to better analyze and control their web presence on the search engine giant.

Additionally, the name change is coming with a few additional features. While Google Business Profile is functionally the same thing as Google My Business, a few things are being expanded upon.

Most notably, Google is including greater customer communication tools, an easier way to respond to and manage reviews and questions, as well as streamlining the onboarding and management process for newcomers to Google Business Profile, so you can claim and begin improving on your business’ web presence right away.

What Is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is, ultimately, the latest in a long line of names for the same or similar products aimed at helping local businesses establish and curate profiles that Google can use to improve search results. Previously, Google My Business was effectively Google Places, Google+ Local, and Google Local, among a few other iterative name changes.

Aside from the rebrand, Google Business Profile is a web-based platform business owners will have access to, in order to claim and verify their businesses, manage their business profiles on Google Maps and Google Search, interact with customer reviews, answer customer questions, receive and send messages as a business via Google, and even monitor and analyze performance metrics for inbound customer calls (such as call length, caller information, missed calls, and much more.

Managing Your Online Presence

The principles of how best to represent your business on Google via Google My Business haven’t changed. Google Business Profile still relies on unseen metrics to rank you against the competition.

It’s important to remember the basics of how search engine ranking works, and why SEO is becoming ever more complicated and involved.

There are thousands of factors that go into ranking any given site on any given search query, nearly all of which play a role in Google’s secret sauce in-house algorithms. Things like how quickly your website loads, your company’s location relative to the location of the user who initiated the search, your bounce rate (or how long people stay on your page), the readability of your website, the quality of your content, and the consistency with which you can gather and retain an audience and loyal following are just a handful of examples.

Coming out on top when ranked as a business in Search or Maps is much the same way, albeit with a few metrics skewed to adjust for relevance. For example, it’s safe to presume that Google places even greater importance on location when ranking different small businesses.

Making Use of Google

Online retailers and other small businesses with eCommerce capabilities can further leverage Google’s new tools to drive up sales during the holiday season, and beyond. Google wisely rolled these changes out just weeks prior to Black Friday, although it’s likely expected that the full impact of the rebrand will take shape in 2022, as Google slowly sunsets Google My Business and makes way for Google Business Profile to replace it entirely.

If you don’t already have your own Google Business Profile set up and ready to go, it’s worth noting that it likely exists anyway. That’s not always a good thing.

You Probably Already Have a Web Presence

The thing about the internet is that if you run a business, you’re on it. The question isn’t whether you have a web presence, to begin with, but whether you are in control of it.

Google Business Profile seems to be a more manageable and deliberate attempt at getting users to customize and curate their business profiles, both for their benefit, and to improve Google Search by bringing more accurate data to customers and advertisers.

How This Might Affect You

The biggest question to ask yourself in all of this is: why should I bother? And thankfully, the answer is quite straightforward. The more you control how your business is represented on Google, the better your chances of ranking above the competition, getting local traffic, and having new loyal customers make their way into your office.

Additionally, Google Business Profile is a direct pipeline for businesses with or without websites and social network profiles to benefit from the ubiquitous nature of Google on today’s Internet.

What’s the first thing you do when you need a recommendation for a service or product a friend can’t advise you on? Chances are that you look it up online. Or, you ask someone who did. This means that if someone in your vicinity looks for a service that you provide, there’s a good chance they’ll see the name of your business – alongside every other similar company and service provider in the area.

The better your business ranks via reviews, curated answers, response times, customer interactions and impressions, the more likely you are to be Google’s top recommended pick for that search.

On the other hand, the opposite can be just as easily true for businesses that rank poorly, with bad or few reviews, little to no interaction with customers, and no pictures or additional information to help a potential customer make an informed decision. Don’t let Google describe your company for you. Take charge of how you’re represented online and take full advantage of the new Google Business Profile.

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Digital Marketing

Google My Business Fields That Matter

From an SEO perspective, there are several Google My Business fields that have a more significant impact than others. Key fields include accurate business name, address, and phone number (NAP), which ensure consistency across listings. Categories and attributes effectively describe services, enhancing relevance. High-quality, updated photos and regular posting of updates or offers engage users. Importantly, encouraging and responding to customer reviews builds trust and authority, boosting local SEO performance and online presence.

With the number of customization options in your Google My Business Profile, it can be hard to decide what to focus your efforts on. But when it comes to ranking in the search engine result, they’re really only four fields that influence where your business will end up.

In this article, we explore the Google My Business fields that matter most for SEO.

Before we take a look, you might want to check out this guide for some helpful SEO tips for local business visibility.

Business Name

This field seems to have the strongest effect on rankings, which is less than ideal for people who don’t have keywords in their business names. Since it’s not easy (or worth it) to change your business name, you’ll only see an advantage here if you happen to have keywords in your business name. Why not add some keywords? Because it’s against Google guidelines.

So what can you do? Search for your competitors. If they’re adding descriptive keywords to their business name, you can report it to Google with the Google Business complaint redressal form. It’ll at least level the playing field, so you have a better chance of ranking.

It’s worth mentioning that you can include descriptors in your business name in your Bing Places business listing, so feel free to do it there.

Categories

Categories are the second most important ranking fact, according to available tests and analysis. It may seem pretty easy since you’re the one who gets to go pick the ones you can use. After all, you can use up to 10 of them.

The thing is – Google has about 4,000 categories to choose from, and they continue to add categories. But sometimes, they remove them, too. Moz data suggests Google removes anywhere from two to 10 (on average) every month. Sometimes, Google adds categories that didn’t exist before. In the last year, they found that there was a lot of auto dealer and restaurant categories, but the dental industry got a new one (dental implants), too.

That means you need to be keeping track of all the categories you’re using in your Google My Business listing, as well as how your options change. If Google deletes a category you were using, you’re missing out on that 10th spot – and you may find the category replaced with something more relevant to your audience. Keeping track of them will let you know if you need to make adjustments.

Website

Your website field is the third most important factor. It’s perfectly fine to link to your home page. But, for businesses with multiple locations, it is sometimes better to link to a specific location page.

That’s why testing the page on your website that you link to is important. If you’re a business with lots of different listings – such as departmental or practitioner listings, try to make sure you link those to different webpages across your site. This maximizes your exposure while making sure you’re not simply trying to rank all your listings for the same thing. That won’t happen – as Google will filter them. Test and see what works best for your industry and your company.

Reviews

Perhaps no surprise really, your reviews matter. The number of reviews has an impact on your ranking, but it does have diminishing returns. If you go from zero reviews to 30 reviews, you’ll see your business rank better. But let’s say you go from 30 to 70 reviews. You likely won’t see the same kind of increase you did with the first one.

That’s why working with your customers to encourage reviews is important. People rely on reviews to determine if they want to do business with you – so putting your best foot forward matters. If you get some bad reviews here and there, it’s not the end of the world. It’s how you respond that makes all the difference.

You may be tempted to get angry in your response, especially if you know the reviewer is stretching the truth or outright lying. Save that frustration for off the screen, and away from your place of business. At the same time, though, you don’t want to completely ignore the bad review…. Or any of your reviews for that matter.

It’s best practice to reply to all your reviews. It not only shows your customers that you’re paying attention and appreciative of the time they took to leave the review but also tells Google that you’re paying attention and proactive in your business.

When responding to a negative review, keep the tone polite and helpful. Apologize for the issue and invite the person to take the conversation to email or phone, so that further conversation takes place outside of the public forum. This way, your unhappy customer has a chance to speak their peace and you can make an effort to solve the problem. And, any people who come along and read the review see that you have made an effort to rectify the issue, which helps them keep the faith in your business.

What about the other fields? Should you ignore them? No, definitely not. The more complete your profile is – with services, Q&A, and other information, the more you can tell your potential customers about your company. The main issue is that those fields won’t necessarily do anything to help improve your ranking – but they are still important for customer experience.

Do you monitor your GMB ranking on a regular basis? Would you like to learn more about how to rank it better? Get in touch today!

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SEO

Google My Business: FAQs for Multiple Businesses at the Same Address

There are several FAQs for managing multiple businesses at the same address on Google My Business. These address common concerns like differentiating individual listings, handling shared phone numbers, and specifying distinct business hours. Each business needs to maintain unique, accurate information to avoid confusion and ensure a clear online presence, aiding in better search visibility and customer understanding in local search results.

If you have multiple businesses at the same address, you may be wondering how you create Google My Business listing (now called Google Business Profile). You may also wonder how many listings you’re eligible for if you are legitimately running more than one business at your location.

You may be wondering about what determines eligibility and what penalties you may incur if you make a mistake as well as how to name your businesses at the same address.

You’ll find a wide variety of frequently asked questions surrounding this topic in local SEO forums all over the web every year. The guidelines for representing your business on Google contain most of the answers you’re looking for about complicated businesses. Still, sometimes they can err on the side of too little detail, thus creating confusion.

To help demystify the process, we will answer some of the most common frequently asked questions that business owners and marketers deal with.

Question: I have more than one business at the same address. Can I have more than one Google my business listing?

Answer: Yes, But…

To have more than one Google my business listing at the same address, you must be legitimately operating multiple legally distinct businesses. It’s not all that uncommon for more than one business to be located at a shared address but you need to keep reading for more provisions and details.

Question: Are my multiple businesses located at the same address distinct enough to be eligible for separate GMB listings?

Answer: Look at Your Business Structure

If each brick and mortar business you operate is registered separately with the appropriate state and federal agencies, and has its own unique tax ID, which you file separate taxes and meet face-to-face with customers with a unique phone number, then it is generally eligible for a distinct GMB listing. But you want to keep reading for more information.

Question: Do suite numbers help convince Google that I have two locations so I can have multiple GMB listings?

Answer: No, Google does not pay attention to suite numbers, whether they are legitimate or created fictitiously.

Don’t waste time attempting to make a single location appear to be multiple locations by assigning different suite numbers to the entities in hopes that you will qualify for multiple listings.

Question: What makes me ineligible for more than one GMB listing at the same address?

Answer:  if your businesses are not legally registered as distinct entities, or if you do not have unique phone numbers for them, you cannot list them separately.

Suppose your businesses are simply representative of different product lines or services under a single umbrella-like a handyman who repairs both air conditioners and water heaters. In that case, you are not eligible for separate listings. You should not list multiple businesses at virtual offices, mailboxes at remote locations, or any location you do not have the authority to represent.

Question: Is there a penalty for listing multiple ineligible businesses at the same address?

Answer: You may be penalized. Google could issue a hard suspension on one or more of your listings at any time.

If you get a hard suspension, it means that Google has removed your listing and its associated reviews. This could affect your search engine rankings.

Question: Can service-area businesses list multiple businesses at the same address?

Answer: Historically, Google has treated service area businesses differently than brick-and-mortar businesses.

There is no official guideline that forbids listing multiple service area businesses, such as blacksmiths and plumbers at the same location, it is not considered industry best practice. Google appears to be more active in issuing suspensions to service area businesses in this situation, even if the businesses are distinct and legitimate. Because of this, it’s better not to co-locate service area businesses.

Question: What if I work out of a Co-Working Space?

Answer: If your business has a direct unique phone number answered by you and you are staffing the co-working space with your own staff at your listed hours, then yes you are eligible for a GMB listing.

However, suppose there are any other businesses at the shared location in your categories or businesses that are competing for the same search terms. In that case, it is likely that you or your competitors will be filtered out of the mapping product because of the shared elements.

Question: How many listings can I have if there are multiple seasonal businesses at my address?

Answer: If your business hosts an organic fruit stand in the summer and a Christmas tree farm in the winter, you must closely follow Google’s requirements for seasonal businesses.

In order for each entity to qualify for its own listing, it must have year-round signage and set and then remove its hours at the opening and closing of Its season. Each entity needs to have a distinct name, phone number, and Google categories.

Question: How Should I Name My Businesses on Multiple GMB Listings?

Answer: To decrease the risk of filtering or penalties, co-located businesses have to pay attention to the allowed naming conventions.

Questions about this typically fall into one of these categories:

If one business is inside another as in the case of a restaurant located inside a Walmart, the Google My Business names should be “Subway” and “Walmart”  rather than “Subway in Walmart”.

Is Prague located Brands such as a Taco Bell in Dunkin Donuts share the same location, they do not need to combine their brand names for the listing. Alternatively, they should create a single listing with just one of the brand names, or if the brands operate independently, a unique listing for each separate brand.

If multiple listings reflect eligible departments within a business such as the sales and parts department of a Ford dealership, then it’s correct to name the listings for sale department and Ford parts department. No penalty should result from the shared branding elements as long as the different departments out of distinct words in their names, distinct phone numbers, and distinct categories.

If your brand sells another brand’s products don’t include the branding of the product being sold in the Google My Business name. However, Google says that if a business location is an authorized and fully dedicated seller of the brand’s product or service, such as a franchisee, you may use the underlying brand name when creating the listing.

If you are starting out with several new businesses at the same location, it is a best practice to keep their names distinct. For instance, a person operating a Pottery Studio and a pet grooming business out of the same building can reduce the chance of filters, penalties, and other problems, by avoiding Name-O and conventions like Sunshine Pottery and Sunshine Pet Grooming at the same location.

Question: Is it possible to create separate listings for events, classes, or meetings that share a location?

Answer: The guidelines on this topic don’t provide definition. Google says that you should not create listings for locations that you do not own or have the authority to represent.

Even if you do own the building, the guidelines can create confusion. For instance, a college can create a separate listing for different departments on campus, but should not create a listing for each class being offered even if the owners of the college do have the authority to represent it.

Let’s say a yoga instructor teaches at three different locations. If the building owners give the instructor permission to list themselves at the locations along with other instructors, the guidelines then appear to allow creating multiple listings of this nature. However, this kind of activity could be perceived as spam and filter it out because of the shared elements with other yoga classes at a location and therefore could end up competing with the building’s own listing.

Since the guidelines are not clear here, there is a bit of leeway in this area. Use your discretion in creating listings and view them as experimental in the event that Google should remove them at some point in the future.

If you have any questions that I haven’t covered here, be sure to ask them in the comments.

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SEO

Google Changes GMB Listings

Whenever Google changes GMB listings, you must check your listings to ensure they’re live and accurate. Google made significant changes to Google My Business (GMB) listings, enhancing the platform’s usefulness for businesses and consumers. Updates included more options for business categories, attributes, and posts, enabling businesses to provide detailed information. Enhanced features for booking services, messaging, and Q&A improved interaction with customers. These changes help businesses better manage their online presence and customer engagement.

Google recently announced they will be automatically applying changes to Google My Business listings with distance-based service areas.

The last remaining distance based service areas will be removed. Moving forward, service area businesses currently based on distance are to be automatically converted to the closest named areas. For instance, if your service area includes obscure towns such as Norris, South Carolina, Google will update it to mention Liberty, Central, Clemson, and so on.

Managers of Google My Business listings that are affected by this change will have the chance to review the updates after they log into their account.

If your account is one that has been affected by the changes, you’ll see an update from Google at the top of the page the next time you log in.

At that point you’ll have the option to either accept the changes Google has made or provide a new service area based on zip code, city, or other attributes.

Though it may seem like it is not a sudden change because Google has been in the process of phasing out the distance based service areas since last year. Google is making this change to accommodate businesses that provide services outside of set distance from where they’re physically located. This change is good for businesses that do not serve customers at a physical location.

Google has been encouraging businesses to apply the changes on their own and were given an ample amount of time to do so. Now, Google is forcing the changes on any listings that still has distance based service areas.

If you do not accept the change Google automatically applied, you can provide a new service area. You should receive an email notification about the change.

The change should not have any effect on how your listing appears in the search results. It is a good idea to review Google’s changes to ensure that your listing still shows up in the areas where you serve your customers.

Adding or Editing Your Service Area in Response to the Changes

If your business serves customers within a specific local area, you can list that area on your Google my business listing. Listing the service area how’s your customers know where you’ll go to deliver to them or visit them and helps ensure your listing shows up in the right local searches.

Though you can no longer say your service area as a distance around your business, you’ll be able to specify your service area by ZIP code city, or other areas. This way, you can cover your entire service area or delivery radius using the city names and zip codes in the area.

  1. Sign in to Google My Business.
  2. If you have multiple business locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
  3. If you need to verify your pure services listing, find the verification needed card and click “Verify now.”
  4.  Enter your address and click next.
  5.  Choose the verification off option to finish your verification process.

When you update your business information, it’s important to remember that if you do not serve customers at your business address, you must leave the address field blank and only enter your service area.

If you serve customers at your business address but also have other service areas, enter both your address and your service area.

As a pure service area business, you should not enter your address under the info tab in the Google my business dashboard. Leave the business location field blank.

To edit your service area:

  1. Sign in to Google my business and open the location you’d like to manage.
  2. Click “Info” from the menu.
  3. Click “Edit” in the service area section.
  4. Enter your service area information based on the cities, zip codes, or other areas you serve.
  5. Click “Apply”.

To remove a service area:

You can only remove a service area if you’ve enjoyed your business address.

  1. Sign in to Google my business and open the location you’d like to manage.
  2. Click “Info” from the menu.
  3. Click “Edit” in the service area section.
  4. Click remove next to each service area you want to remove. To remove all service areas at once, click “Clear service areas”
  5. Click “Apply”

Ultimately, this gives you more control over the specific areas you’re advertising your services in. Adding additional locations based on zip code or city will also help your local SEO efforts because you can choose the areas with the least amount of competition.

Categories
Digital Marketing

Google Launches New Small Business Portal

Recently in conjunction with International Small Business Day, Google launched a new website that will suggest its products that seem like a good fit for specific businesses. The Google for Small Business portal was announced at the Grow with Google Learning Center in New York city where the company  hosts a number of classes and workshops.

Google’s global product director for small business ads, Kim Spalding, says the website, “gives everyone a place to start with Google products. Small business owners struggle with time” and don’t  necessarily have the time or resources to become digital marketing experts.

Businesses can visit the Google for Small Business portal and enter their company name and if they have won their website. From there they’ll answer a few questions about their business and their goals. At the end, Google will create a customized and prioritized list of actions which may include launching ad campaigns, building up their online presence, or installing Google Analytics.

This tool could be particularly useful for small businesses that are just getting started but it also could be helpful for established businesses that are working to develop a better digital strategy.

Google for Small Business can recommend a variety of products, but Spalding suggested two “Hero” tools: Google My Business and Smart Campaigns. Google My Business allows business owners to create their own profiles and websites for free. Smart Campaigns, launched by Google last year is used to automate the ad buying process.

How Google My Business Works

Even though Sachs Marketing Group has been operating since 2011 and we are digital marketing experts, I decided to give it a try myself. I entered “Sachs Marketing” and got a list of businesses that could match. It was interesting to see that there is a Sachs Marketing Group LLC in Bellbrook, Ohio but I also found my company Sachs Marketing Group, on the list. I suspect that businesses that have not yet claimed their Google My Business listing will not be able to find their name in the list.

Business Goals

From there, I was presented with four options in regards to the business goal that I want to focus on. The website tells me that my plan will help me meet all these goals but will lead with the primary goal.  my options are:

  • Help me stand out online
  • Tell me how I can reach more customers
  • Show me how to work more efficiently
  • I’m not sure

For the sake of this exercise, I’m going to choose “Show me how to work more efficiently.” I’ll see what the plan tells me then go back and change it to I’m not sure and see if there are any major differences worth pointing out.

After I selected my goal, the tool populated my website. For businesses that do not have a website yet, there’s always the option to click the “I don’t have a website yet” button.

Next, Google asks where I primarily serve my customers. My answer options are:

  • At my store, office or home: Retail shops, cafes, dentist, doctor’s office, etc.
  • Online: Online retailer, virtual consultant, etc.
  • Online and offline: Retailer with a storefront and a website
  • Across an area: For businesses such as food trucks, locksmiths, pdumbers, etc.

Because we have two office locations and serve our clients online even though we are not technically a retailer, I selected the online and offline option.

My Personalized Plan

After answering this question Google started analyzing my business and developing my personalized plan.

Based on my answers they suggested three steps with their top product recommendations to help me reach my goal.

Step One:  Easily Connect With Customers on Google for Free

Google noted that I have verified my free business profile on Google Search and Maps. It’s suggesting that I connect to customers and new ways by downloading the Google My Business app. By downloading the app, they say I can manage my profile even easier than before.

Step Two: Make Your Dollar Stretch Further With Smart Online Advertising

Google is suggesting that I use Google Ads as “an easy, efficient way to attract more customers.” Google does not disclose if the business is using Google Ads and recommends online advertising in general to help a business grow.

Step Three: Create Videos to Show What Makes Your Business Unique

According to Google, over 90% of people say they discover new products or brands on YouTube. Google is suggesting that I claim my free YouTube channel to reach and connect with more customers through video.

Under each of the recommendations, there is the option to click to learn more about each specific option. There’s also a small area where I can hover over to find out why I got this recommendation.

Sachs Marketing Group does have a YouTube channel though admittedly it isn’t very active. (We’re busy creating content for the blog and taking care of tasks for our clients.)  I was wondering why I got that recommendation considering we have already claimed our channel and uploaded content to it. When I have heard over the “Why is this recommended?” option, It said “for privacy reasons we will not disclose if this business has an associated YouTube account. We recommend YouTube for businesses looking to tell their story with video.”

From there I am given the option to enter my email So the plan is delivered to my email. it claims that I will be able to uncover the next few products Google recommends to help me reach my goal.

Does the Plan Change Based on Primary Goal?

All other information left the same, I changed my primary goal to “I’m not sure. I got the exact same plan  as I did the first time around. I decided to check one more time, this time choosing, “Help me stand out online.” I still received the exact same plan.

That told me I needed to check out another business to see what kind of other recommendations they offer. So, I went with a big corporate business – Microsoft. I chose the Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, and the “Help Me Stand Out Online” option, along with the “at my store:”

Guess what? They got the same plan I did. It makes me wonder if there are any other recommendations they give – or if everyone gets the same plan. I’d venture to say other recommendations are more common to businesses that are just starting out – such as those who don’t have Google Analytics on their website yet and who have not claimed their Google My Business Listing.

Have you tried this tool yet? What kind of recommendations did you receive? Share your experience in the comments below.

Categories
Digital Marketing

Google My Business Adds More Branding Tools

In terms of local SEO, Google My Business has always been an important and valuable tool. The platform launched in 2014 and continues to grow in importance for both businesses and consumers. Having a verified, complete, and accurate profile is critical to SEO. Google My Business is evolving to include transactions and engagement between businesses and their customers.

In June 2019, Google shared some Google My Business data, including the fact that Google facilitates “3 billion direct connections between merchants and users every month.” The company also indicated that there are 3 million monthly bookings through Google. And now, 95 million people across the world participate in the Local Guides program.

Google My Business Is Releasing More Branding and Promotional Tools

As part of Google’s announcement, they listed new features that businesses can take advantage of to improve their presence on the platform. These include:

  • Add a logo: Businesses will be able to display their logo on the upper right portion of their profile.
  • Add a cover photo: Businesses will be able to choose a cover photo that users will see when they bring up the profile.
  • Welcome offers: These offers can be sent to prospects and customers who opt to follow a business.
  • Dynamic photo module: This is a slideshow or carousel module that will give businesses the ability to add captions to the photos they wish to highlight.
  • Promotional assets: Google has now launched a new site that allows businesses to create and order free stickers, posters, and other promotional items to make business promotion easier.

Google did not disclose the percentage of US businesses that have verified their Google My Business profiles. However, a recent report from Brand Muscle indicated that an estimated 61% of local businesses who participated in the survey had claimed their listings. Under the assumption that is accurate, that means nearly 40% of businesses haven’t taken the time to do it.

Local Favorites and Short Names

All the new features are meant to assist businesses brand themselves and promote more effectively on Google My Business and beyond. However, the announcement included two additional things that could ultimately prove more significant for businesses.

Local favorite badges will be awarded to the top 5% of local businesses in a category. However, Google was  vague about the criteria they will use to determine who qualifies. Generally speaking, Google will reward businesses that keep their profiles updated and are responsive to their customers. We can expect to find out more about how this feature works in the future. Achieving local favorite status and badging may offer a significant competitive advantage for the winners, but it may not. It depends on how and where the badge is presented and how customers respond.

The other important feature is the option to use short names or URLs that will be searchable in Google and Google Maps. To use short names, your business will have to be verified with Google My Business. Short names will be presented in two forms: g.page/shortname and @shortname. Businesses should now be eligible to register their desired name. Google says there won’t be any kind of “domain squatting” because you must have a verified profile in order to get one.

When a user searches or enters the URL, it takes them directly to the merchants Google My Business profile. In the future, users will be able to search Google Maps using the business’ short name to bring up the profile as well.

Google says this is a global namespace so a restaurant in Los Angeles could easily compete against a restaurant with a similar name in Paris or London. However, Google, without going into detail maintains that it has a process to address these issues and prevent conflicts.

The feature is a result of merchant feedback and the desire for a short URL to better promote their businesses. Google envisions local businesses putting their g.page URL on promotional materials. There wasn’t any discussion on how to use it in digital advertising but this could be another potential application. It’s also not yet understood whether they would be any reporting on traffic to the short URLs.

Why This Matters for Businesses and Marketers

Google My Business has evolved from a way to obtain accurate data for Google search results into a more complex and Powerful tool. Google now considers the platform as a local engagement platform which increasingly allows transactions such as Reserve with Google. In April, Google surveyed some of its small business  customers and partners about charging for the services. While it drew a mixed response from local search engine optimization agencies, as suggested potential future product direction.

In the coming months and years, it’s likely that we will see more direct communication tools and commerce capabilities added to Google My Business. The challenge for Google will be adding useful features without creating more complexity and confusion for these local businesses.

Actions to Take Now

If you haven’t already, make sure to verify your business with Google My Business so that you can reserve your short name. Periodically check your business profile to ensure the information is accurate and complete. As you check to ensure profile completeness, take advantage of the new features available to you..

If you need assistance creating and maintaining your Google My Business profile, reach out to us here at Sachs Marketing Group.

Categories
Digital Marketing

6 Ways to Make the Best of GMB Posts

Google has been announcing (and re-announcing) the decline and ultimate demise of the Google Plus platform for quite some time. With the disappearance of the platform looking like it will actually happen later this year, some business owners are focused on what to do next. Many were still using the partially-defunct social platform for marketing purposes.

Google My Business (GMB) has been around for quite some time as a toolbox for local business owners who want to control their business listings. While the disappearance of Google Plus will no longer allow for a controlled social feed, the GMB platform does now have a place for posts — and you definitely need to use them.

What is a Google My Business Post?

The post section on the Google My Business listing actually launched back in 2016. It was initially reserved for political candidates and then in early 2017 was released to all business owners in 2017.

GMB posts are different than social media posts. When a person does a Google search and sees a business listing in the sidebar, they are often presented with quite a bit of information.  In addition to address and contact information, visitors see Google reviews, questions & answers, and then posts.

Posts usually show on the business listing for seven days and then disappear. Because of this, it’s important to update them regularly as the most recent post won’t show on the listing indefinitely.

Posts are made from within the Google My Business listing manager. You need to optimize your posts with an image, sized 720 pixels wide by 540 pixels tall. Each post can also be enhanced with a call-to-action button.

Take a look at a few Google listings and you will find that quite a number of businesses are still not utilizing this space. So what can you do to make sure yours stand out?

Post Regularly

One of the biggest mistakes people make with GMB posts is a lack of frequency. The space for a post on your listing will remain blank if you don’t post at least once a week. You can post more than once per week. Google will show one post in full, a partial view of the second post, and then an arrow to scroll to any additional posts that are still visible (up to ten).

There is currently no way to schedule GMB posts in advance. To compensate, set someone up (who is associated with your business) to stay on top of them regularly.

Your posts need to be authentic and personable. No one wants to see just another advertisement. Give your visitors a sneak peek at what you’re doing and what you have to offer; an incentive to click through and visit your website or ask for more information. Create posts that are timely and relevant. This isn’t another social platform, so don’t just copy what you’re doing on Facebook and other sites.

Stay On Brand

Even though you don’t want to completely copy what you’re doing on your social platforms, your message needs to be consistent. This means staying on brand in terms of your general message, voice, and style. You can certainly tailor your copy and images to the audience you think is going to find you by conducting a Google search, but the overall message can’t stray so far from your brand that your website looks like a foreign object when they click through.

Leverage the Call-to-Action Button

Most platforms only offer call-to-action buttons on posts if you’re paying for an ad. GMB posts allow for several different options, making it easy for your readers to do exactly what you want them to do in one simple click. You can ask them to learn more, reserve, sign up, buy, or get an offer; then include the link to the landing page you’d like them to visit. Keep your posts simple and you’ll be amazed at how much response you can get. Your visitors will click without even thinking of going back out to the web to see what your competition is offering first.

Optimize Your Images

The image size we mentioned above is important. Google will cut off your images and crop them funny if they aren’t tailored properly to the platform. Take a little extra time to make sure your images are sized properly so they have the best visual impact. Make sure your images are centered so you don’t end up with important info chopped off if Google does make an adjustment.

Above all else, remember this: imagery should grab a user’s attention as soon as they land on your listing. Your image will make a huge difference whether or not someone will click your call-to-action button.

Simplify Your Text

All GMB posts are shortened on the main search page. You have to click the post itself to expand the text, and there isn’t always a prompt to do so. This means you need to make the biggest impact in your first 100 characters to ensure your visitors are intrigued enough to explore more. Don’t create text walls; they just won’t work.

Track Your Posts

Tracking your GMB posts is just as important as tracking any other ad campaign or traffic driver you’ve implemented. Your GMB dashboard will show you how many times your post has been viewed as well as how many times a potential customer has clicked your button. You can also use custom URLs to track which website actions were a result of a visitor that came from your GMB listing.

As a local business owner with a Google My Business listing, it’s important to take advantage of every tool you’re given to make your profile stand out. The more complete your profile, including posts, the more your listing will stand when compared to your competitors.

Although it isn’t yet obvious, the activity you get on your business listing may at some point even impact your overall website ranking, too. Either way, it’s a good idea to implement any free tool you can if it results in customer engagement and interaction!

Categories
Digital Marketing

All the Facts You Need to Know on Google My Business API

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about Google My Business. This unified tool lets businesses manage their online presence across multiple Google-owned interfaces across the web, including Search, Maps, Reviews, and even Google +. It’s handy, easy to use, and a fantastic tool to have in your SEO toolbox – as long as you use it right.

GMB isn’t new; in fact, Google first rolled the tool out in 2014, it didn’t pick up in popularity with most agencies until later in 2016. By mid-2017, agencies were actively recommending catering to GMB because results were showcasing just how much weight a solid presence had on SEO.

If you’re new to GMB, or you’re still finding yourself a little stymied by all the excitement, rest assured you aren’t alone. There’s nearly as much assumption and conjecture out there about how to use GMB and how it benefits SEO as there are real-world benefits. This short guide will help you get to know the tool so you can make it a solid part of every campaign.

How to Access Google My Business

First things first: just how the heck do you access the GMB platform? Fortunately, you don’t need to log into each individual sector of Google’s services; that’s the beauty of the GMB tool. Instead, you log into a single access point here, using your Google account email to access the information you need.

If you’ve never used GMB before, and you don’t currently have any listings on Search, Maps, or Reviews, you can create your listing after logging into the platform. If you already have a listing, or if someone else listed your business, you can claim it and identify yourself as the owner instead.

To register your business, sign in or create an account, then follow the prompts and enter your business name, address, and contact information. GMB will prompt you through the rest of the information needed to get you set up.

Alternative Methods for Map Entries

There is an alternative method for claiming your business, especially if it’s already listed on Google Maps. This method works whether it was you who claimed the business in the first place or someone else (like an agency and/or past employee).

First, search your business on GMB. Then, look for the text that says “Claim this business.” Google will require that you take a telephone call or a postcard; this process can take some time. Once you complete it, the business information is in your hands.

If it appears that someone else has claimed your business, you still have options. Follow the instructions here to request ownership. Note that you can appeal a denial if you have documents proving ownership, but Google does still make you walk through the initial request process first.

Editing Your Google My Business Listings

Once you’re into the tool and you have ownership of your listings, it’s time to tweak. Editing your listings for accuracy and SEO is highly recommended; not only will it improve your SEO results and search accuracy for people attempting to engage with your niche, but it will also make your business appear more polished and professional when they do find you.

The GMB tool lets you edit a long list of options:

  • Business name
  • Business address
  • Date of creation
  • Hours of operation
  • Special hours (e.g., holidays)
  • Telephone/fax/email contact
  • Website URL
  • Social media links
  • Appointment URL (if relevant)
  • Service list (with pricing, if desired)
  • Special attributes (e.g., “offers WiFi”)
  • Description (short, 75 to 100 words max)

Carefully go through the tool and correct or add information for as many of the options available as you possibly can. A fully-developed profile is much more compelling and far more likely to convince a customer to actually buy or visit your business. Even simple facts like your creation date can help to show searchers you put effort into reaching them – and there’s good evidence it benefits your rank, too.

Categories

GMB also gives businesses the option to categorize themselves using niche keywords and phrases. If you look at the entry for Sachs Marketing Group, found here, you’ll see that ours is listed as “Internet Marketing Service.” Try your best to match your category as closely to what your business actually provides as you can, keeping SEO best practices in mind.

Not sure what to list as a category? Have a look at your competitors. Often, they’ll target similar key phrases and category designations. Just remember that competitiveness also matters here, just as it does on Adwords and other platforms. If you’re still a baby in terms of growth, it may be more profitable to target a slightly less competitive category.

If you “fit,” it’s also worth listing yourself as one of these high-ROI industries. These categories are among some of the most searched in the world, and should get you seen at least part of the time.

Industry Specifics

Another really interesting and useful GMB feature is industry specific information. Depending on your niche or industry, you may have the option to enter additional information about your business once you identify your category.

For example, GMB often provides restaurant owners with an option to give a menu URL or link to an online ordering and reservations tool. Similarly, healthcare facilities often have a space to enter telephone numbers for after-hours care and/or links to appointment-setting platforms.

The only effective way to see which industry-specific information slots the GMB platform gives you is to completely fill in all available information. Additional slots will become available as you fill out sections like category or location. Use these to your advantage whenever you can; today’s customers want to feel informed, and more information is almost always a good thing.

Photos

Yes, GMB is also media-rich, too. The platform provides plenty of space for photos, videos, and other media formats, so don’t be afraid to upload those gorgeous snaps of your storefront or images from the last community event. That said, you do need to be aware that, like other social media platforms, there are restrictions on photo size and dimensions.

Here’s the standard best-practice dimensions:

  • Profile photos: 250 x 250 pixels to 5200 x 5300 px
  • Cover photos: 1080 x 608 pixels to 2120 x 1192 pixels
  • Posted images: 497 x 373 pixels to 2048 x 2048 pixels

As with other platforms, just because you can use bigger or smaller images, doesn’t mean you should. Images that are too large will often be truncated or experience loss on upload. Images that are too small will render hard for visitors to see, making them useless. You want crisp, clean images in excellent quality without skewing too far in either direction.

One small tip many business owners discover the hard way: GMB photos display in a 4:3 ratio. Keep this in mind when adding photos and try to structure the ratio of each picture similarly. Otherwise, you may find your images cut off or truncated on the main GMB listing display.

Posts

Last but not least: GMB’s new post feature. Like Google +, GMB also gives your business the option to create posts and updates. These posts link to Search, Maps, Google +, and other GMB-linked services. But it’s much less of a pain to create them because you can create the post once from the tool and roll it out across all Google services at the same time.

GMB posts are limited to between 100 and 300 words – be snappy, concise, and get to the point quickly. SEO best practices apply here, so don’t be afraid to use keyphrases and words that have shown campaign success in the past.

GMB also gives posters the option to add a call-to-action (CTA) button. Unfortunately, you can’t self-define the message, but you do have a few different options:

  • Buy
  • Book
  • Sign-Up
  • Get Offer
  • Learn More
  • Order Online

Choose whichever is best for your business or service needs, and then enter in any CTA-driven action info requested (such as a link to a booking app).

Finally, let’s talk turkey about how you should use GMB posts. First, GMB isn’t the same as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even LinkedIn. People aren’t browsing GMB listings in an attempt to see what your business is up to; they’re usually looking to find answers to a problem or locate a service/product provider. Structure your posts around this desire whenever you can.

Posts that work well include sales information, critical business updates (such as a move), coupon links, and other helpful information for visitors. Avoid anything overly pushy, extremely salesy, or obviously SEO-driven. Instead, be conversational, helpful, and include images every time.

Something else to be aware of: GMB only generally shows around the first 50 to 100 words of your post, even on full-scale PCs and large, high-definition monitors. Although you have up to 300 words to work with, you should keep your posts much shorter than this unless you have something critical to share. Truthfully, most visitors aren’t going to click on the link to see the full post, anyway – they’ll just read what’s immediately available and then move on.

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