Google My Business (GMB) is Google’s unique platform that allows businesses to create their own business listings and to provide users with information about their business, which then gets displayed in the Google search engines results pages.
GMB has also been known by other names in the past, such as Google Local and Google Places, however, the platform has evolved and as such, has become a vital tool for all businesses.
The average monthly views of a Google My Business listing in Google Search is 943
What Are the Benefits of Google My Business?
There’s a few good reasons why Google My Business has become so popular and so effective for businesses and their online presence, here’s why:
According to a recent BrightLocal study, it was found that the Average Monthly Views on Google Search was 943 and Google Maps was 317 per Google My Business Listing. That’s a lot of scope for some new business!
The stats noted in the above dot point really highlight just how much additional exposure that your business can get. And while the exposure may not lead to new business immediately, it does increase brand awareness, and trust, which is important in the decision-making process for users when choosing a business.
Having a GMB listing ensures that your customers and prospective customers can find information about you as easily and as quickly as possible. This might include contact information, directions, reviews and more!
There’s no doubt about it, people trust Google. We trust Google everyday by typing our needs into the search engine and clicking on the results that they deliver.
So if your business is listed on GMB, users will take you seriously and are more likely to engage with you or your listing and its information – just make sure that you keep the listing up to date to continue that trust!
By having a Google My Business listing, not only can you provide users with all the information they could need within the search results, but you also have the opportunity to appear in Google Maps and Google Local Packs which all have highly valuable real estate in the Google SERPS.
One of GMB’s massive draw cards is the customer review portal. Reviews have become a crucial way for businesses to get new business and are often the deciding factor in doing so.
By using Google My Business, you can collect reviews from customers which are then displayed under your listing. Reviews have also been used to determine where/if your business can rank in the Google SERP
How Do I Know How My Google My Business Listing is Performing?
Not convinced about all those great benefits? Then just take a look at your Google My Business Insights page to see exactly how your listing is performing.
The GMB insights panel can show you a number of stacks of useful data which you can then use in your strategic decisions moving forward, such as:
- The number of views your profile, photos, and posts receives.
- The search queries which people are using to find your business.
- The engagement.
- A profile of your audience (age groups, gender, and countries).
- The number of website clicks, phone calls, and direction queries.
- The days and times of day users were interacting with your GMB listing.
Do I Need a Physical Address to create a Google My Business Listing?
Thankfully, the days of having to have a physical address displayed in Google are over. This is thanks to many businesses who simply do not need a store-front to operate, such as a local plumber, or even people working from home wanting to respect their privacy.
Instead, to claim your Google My Business page or create a listing, you can still provide the physical storefront address of your business, or you can simply provide an address to verify your listing and then choose not to display this address in the listing.
If you choose to hide your address, your listing will then most likely tell customers that you service customers at their address, and may even include a proximity e.g. 25km from Brisbane CBD, or a select number of suburbs.
Conclusion
If you don’t already have a Google My Business listing, then we suggest you jump over to Google and create one immediately and start taking advantage of all that GMB has to offer.
If you need a little help with your listing or want to take it a step further to enhance its performance, then our GMB Management services might be just the thing for you!
We’re here to help local businesses if you need us, just call (07) 3535 0633.