Starting a small business is a gargantuan task. You plan around a great idea, spend a lot of money, only to end up with a low turnout of sales during your first few weeks or months. It is why intensive research is important to explore your options to maximise any resource for the least amount of money.
Google My Business (GMB) is one service you can explore to help you with your startup woes. And to benefit your business, it is not enough that you know it on its surface.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is an online platform that allows you to create and manage a business profile. It can accommodate any business of any size free of charge. It is especially helpful for startups with limited resources as this platform can be accessed by anyone and may be searched via the Google search bar.
The use of GMB for small businesses is essential for the initial branding and marketing content for Search Engine Optimisation purposes. In addition, because Google powers this platform, your business can potentially pop up from one Google search with the right strategy.
How can you maximise the use of Google My Business?
When starting a small business, you may find it difficult to drive traffic to your content initially. There will be less visibility with less traffic, translating to low sales. With these Google My Business hacks, your business SEO will be one thing to be hassled about.
- Fill in your profile. The first thing you should keep in mind about using GMB is that it helps you establish your brand and market your business. When a customer searches for a product or service, your profile is the first thing they will see.
A profile with incomplete information is sketchy and unreliable. Not to mention that potential customers may not have the means to contact you if they need more information about your services. It is why completing your profile should be your top priority before doing anything else.
- Choose the right category. If you’ve seen GMB or have already created an account, you would see that you need to put a category where your business falls under. But don’t think that your business fits into just one category.
Search up what categories your competitors listed their businesses in and use this as a reference to pick similar ones. There are multiple categories that your business is under so that you can increase the chances of your business popping up when searched.
- Treat GMB as a social media page. Your GMB page is the first thing that turns up when potential customers search for your products or services on Google. So, it is only fitting that you also post quality content here to establish your trust and credibility.
Realistically, people don’t read what you post on your GMB page. So, updating your page is for the Google algorithm to work in your favour in the sense that as you make regular updates, the algorithm detects regular activity in your page that can push you up to the top of the search results. Google My Business is a great stepping stone for any small business to establish credibility and trust towards your potential customers. It is a free platform, and you can expand your presence using these Google My Business hacks. Also, remember to do more research on more ways on how you can work the GMB algorithm in your favour.
