Do businesses need a Google My Business account?

Google My Business is designed to help local businesses create a competitive advantage and improve SEO. Particularly for businesses operating in a competitive local environment it can be a great way to stand out and to boost the online presence that your enterprise has. But do you really need to go to the effort of setting one up?

What does a Google My Business account offer?

Extending the reach of your online presence

Via Google My Business, you can reach out to customers without the need to drive them to your website. Once you’ve set up a profile searchers will be able to see key information, such as name and address, images and reviews without actually having to land on your website to do it. They will also be able to carry out tasks such as appointment bookings.

Improving your Google local rankings

Research has established that Google My Business “signals” are now one of the most significant factors for local pack rankings so you can boost your SEO with an active account.

Make your profile stand out

There are lots of ways to optimise a Google My Business profile to make yours stand out. For example, you can add a business description and images, include a set of FAQs and enable messaging with customers.

What about Google My Business posts?

If you have a Google My Business account then you can post too. There are a number of different topics that you can create posts on to further optimise your profile. For example, you can post about events and offers, as well as what’s new within your business. You can use posts to feature a call to action to drive customers towards taking key steps, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a booking.

Each post is made up of a combination of text and images and will appear next to your business profile whenever someone searches for your business’ name on Google or views your business’ Google My Business profile on Google Maps. A recent study found that just over 50% of businesses have posted a Google My Business Post on their profile. There are a number of key reasons for this, including:

Searchers engage with Google My Business posts

A strong post with a clear marketing message has the potential to convert searchers into customers.

The click rates for Google My Business posts are high

When you create a post, searchers will only see the first 100 words and will have to click on the post to read the rest. A recent case study found that on average a Google My Business post is clicked on almost 100% of the time.

Google My Business posts provide key insights

You’ll be able to track and monitor for yourself how well your posts are doing via the Google My Business dashboard.

For any business operating in a competitive local environment a Google My Business account is a great way to build profile and attract attention online. The use of posts also provides another key tool for reaching out to – and converting – potential customers.

If you’d like to find out more about Google My Business, contact our team today on 020 7100 0716.