Small businesses are always on the run to get more traffic and drive more sales. The best way to begin is learning about Google My Business and getting the hang of local SEO. Local SEO is an important tool to enhance your reach, traffic and customer interaction. While Google My Business will help small businesses manage how their business appears on Google Search and Maps.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB) is a complementary tool for small businesses to manage the appearance of their business on Google Search and Maps. Google My Business requires businesses to add their business name, address, location and operational hours. The main purpose of Google My Business is to manage customer reviews and answering queries as soon as possible.
Google My Business is an ideal tool for small businesses looking to expand their business and are completely unaware of the world of local SEO and eCommerce. Whenever a customer makes a product search, they are most likely to make a purchase. To make your business visible when people search, you need to be precise and clear with the information you provide on Google.
How is Google My Business Important?
- Visibility: Google My Business listing is designed to aid small businesses create a mark for themselves in the search results. Google My Business aims to feature your business and make sure people find your business, both online and offline. A concrete, well-planned and enhanced GMB listing will help you feature in the top search results, which can be an excellent way to drive traffic to your website and increase sales and revenue.
- Local SEO Search: Google My Business aims primarily at local search, which involves searches by potential customers nearby your location, or search from a faraway location, but the location name is specified in the search. For instance, if a person wants to search for Gadget stores, all the gadget stores in the nearby location will show up. Whereas, if a person is visiting a particular area, they will type a electronics store in Newbury St and get a listing of the Newbury St., Boston area.
- Mobile Search: Most customers prefer smartphones to make a local search online. The maximum number of searches are made from mobiles, and it is important to focus on Google My Business to be compatible with smartphones. Google My Business has a key role in dominating the mobile search results.
- Convenience: Google My Business listings key information to customers and help them in finding the appropriate business. Customers can get crucial details like operational store hours, address and contact information which will drive them in the direction of a purchase. When customers get proper information about their desired product, they are more likely to visit the store and make a purchase.
- Credibility: It is a common scenario for users to find a business on Google search. Finding your business on Google My Business will enhance the credibility and give a professional outlook to it. The GMB listing displays key information and lets the customers decide about the credibility of your business. Google My Business reviews are a great way to gain focus and increase credibility.
- Zero Expense and Easy: Google My Business offers numerous benefits, and the best thing is it is free. It is easy to set up and an excellent way to expand your business online. Online business will create an affirmative business profile and give a structure to your business.
How is Local SEO important for small businesses?
With digitization, people are relying more and more on digital devices to access information. Small businesses must focus on local SEO strategies to connect with mobile users, enhance sales, create a local following and boost traffic. A majority of Google searches are made from smartphones. Most of the Google searches have a local intent that clarifies that small businesses need to focus on local SEO to highlight their business and appear in the top search results.
Small businesses should use local SEO strategies to increase the traffic on their website and appear on the top search page results. Local SEO will help target local audiences in the nearby locations and connect with local people who are more likely to be potential buyers. There are various ways local and small businesses can boost their sales and optimize their presence using local SEO strategies. Local SEO benefits small businesses in the following ways:
- Reach Mobile Users: As mentioned above, the majority of Google searches are made from smartphones. Smartphones are the easiest medium to access digital information. 70% of the searches are made from smartphones which makes one thing clear. The audience is dependent on smart devices. Small businesses can use this fact to their advantage and target local SEO for smartphones.
Google aims to add more information to search page results, and local SEO is the best way to target local consumers. The customers looking for products through local SEO are more likely to purchase and drive up sales for small businesses.
- Build a Local Community: The main purpose of local SEO is to target local customers and build a community. Customers residing in nearby locations make up a large percentage of your business, and it is crucial to target them. However, don’t forget to focus on potential buyers who are new to the locality.
- Feature the main points of your company like what it does and where it is located.
- Include target locations by optimizing your title and Meta tags.
- Create individual pages for products and services.
- Increase Walk-in Rates: Around 60% of the potential customers will visit your website before physically coming to your store. The above data emphasizes how important it is to display concrete and precise information about your business with the help of local SEO. If the customer visits your website when looking for a product, they are more likely to visit your store and purchase. Always keep your business details concrete and appealing to increase foot traffic in your store.
- Generate Revenue: The main aim of any local SEO is to generate sales. When a business has an impeccable online presence on local search results, customers will be encouraged to visit the store and make a purchase. Optimizing local SEO for your small business and Google rankings will act as an incentive and produce a better chance at sales. Build strong local SEO strategies and boost your digital presence with video testimonials. Video testimonials can drive sales as people will be convinced by the experience of other customers.
Local SEO and Google My Business are excellent tools to target your potential customers. As the dependency on smartphones has increased, customers are more likely to look for products on their devices. Small businesses should prioritize SEO strategies that target local audiences and set up Google My Business listings to build a credible online presence. Small businesses with impactful Google listings and local SEO strategies have a stronghold and attract new customers.
If you looking Google My Business (GMB) Listing and Local SEO Services for your small business, feel free to contact us now.