A recent study revealed that 97% of consumers look online before purchasing locally. If this survey is anything to go by, then businesses ought to be devoting most of their local budget to the internet. But even so, many companies still fail to take advantage of Google My Business, a free-to-use platform.
Google My Business provides incredible benefits for local businesses, including enhancing online visibility, building brands, reducing business costs, among other benefits that we will list in this article. So, if you are still procrastinating about creating an account or are just getting started and are looking for ways to dominate your local search, this article will serve as an inspiration for you.
Keep in mind that the process can be somewhat involving – so, if you do not have time to create and manage your account, you may want to consider hiring a Google My Business Management specialist to help out. Top experts have experience, knowledge, and resources to help you dominate your local search. It’s even easier because now you get the time to focus on other important things, while at the same time, expanding your market reach.
Here are four Benefits of Google My Business for Small Businesses
It is cost effective
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to list your business on Google – one of the leading search engines online. What this means is that you get to place your business in front of hundreds of thousands of prospects, free of charge. Note that there are other well-known directories online. However, you’ll need to pay the price to list your business. Through your Google My Business platform, prospects can access your contact information, physical location and hours of operation with a touch of a button. Other incredible features include insights into your peak hours, business description, photos, call button, as well as review ratings. Isn’t that awesome for something free?
Show up in the local 3-pack
When you do a Google search, you may have seen the high-visibility panel at the top of the page (which usually highlights three local business listing and their details). This is often thanks to a complete and optimized listing on platforms like Google My Business. And the best part is, one click will direct your prospects to the rest of your content including your contacts, website, blog and so on.
Helps you earn customer trust
The biggest challenge that prospects face online is to build enough confidence to purchase something. As a business owner, your goal should be to help your potential customers jump as easily as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is by showing them that you have a physical location where they can find you. Besides, appearing on top of search engines places you as an authority. It is a proven fact that prospects think of the first few websites on Google pages as more authentic in their respective industry.
Ties everything together
Google My Business avails the best Google tools which you can use to bring in more people to your business. The platform ties in Insights, AdWords, Maps, Google+ and search, which makes it easier for you to manage your online presence.
