When I spoke at the Murdoch University alumni meeting, a number of people asked for my business card.
I didn’t have any to give them because I don’t normally carry any.
“Google me, you’ll find out what I’m about and what services I offer”. That normally works.
Would your prospects and clients find your business if they Google your business?
Do you know if you have a “Google My Business” Page?
You Mean “Google My Business” Is A Page?
It is. It’s a page you can set up for your local business so you have an additional public identity beside your own website. With this page you can appear on Google searches, Google Map searches and Google Plus searches (if your page has been optimized).
That’s free publicity for you in 3 important places.
In fact, if you key in your search phrase (or if you do a voice search), Google will show you the Google My Business page before the normal search results as shown in the diagram here.
Because Google My Business offers more information, it takes up more space and with photos, it draws much more attention than the normal search results.
Help Your Clients Find Out More About You Before They Find You
With this page, your prospects and clients can find out a lot about your business before they visit you.
Say someone is in an area near where your business is and they take out their smart phone to look for the nearest restaurant or cafe, would your cafe show up on the Google map on their phone?
If you have the Google My Business page set up, this is exactly what would happen.
They would be able to see where your business is located, you address, your opening hours, a link to your website and a “thumb friendly” phone icon that they can tab to make immediate connection with you, the owner. They can also see feedback that other customers have left at your site with star rated reviews.
But if you don’t have the page set up, your business will be invisible to the mobile users doing the search; they won’t know about your business. To them it does not exist. If your competitors have their pages set up and optimized then they will likely be getting these new clients.
In a recent interview with BFM radio, we chatted about the importance of using new media to stay visible and make it easy for prospects to find you.
In the BFM radio interview (originally published at the BFM radio site here), I also shared a case study where a group of Google plus evangelists and colleagues from Plus Your Business Academy helps put 15 businesses in Eagle County, Colorado onto the Google map so these businesses can be more easily found by international visitors coming to the 2015 FIS World Ski Alpine World Championship hosted at Vail/Beaver Creek.
Within a month of project kick off, 15 businesses have been verified and put onto the map on Eagle Town, ready to welcome the influx of visitors coming for the world championship. You can read more about our project here.
Market Your Presence Online
If you operate a small business, an NGO or a charitable organization, you probably don’t have deep pockets or huge advertising budgets. But you can make use of tools that Google has provided you with to help prospects find you more easily.
You can do this yourself and if you rather not bother with the hassle, you can always get external help especially when you have unique situations or complications that require special administration.
But whatever the case, make this a priority for your local business so you can benefit from local and mobile searches and get more visitors to your store. If you need any clarification or help, just get in touch.
Other BFM interviews include:
Multiply Your Talents, Teach Online
Growing Authentic, Heart-Centered Business
Debi Davis says
Starting at ~9:45 in the audio recording, the explanation of Google My Business and the case study that is being done elated to the FIS World Alpine Championships in Vail, CO really emphasizes the importance and purpose of a well-planned and well-written business listing. The best part about it, from the perspective of a business owner, is that it is FREE!
Louisa Chan says
I agree with you, Debi. New media has empowered independent and small businesses to rise up to new challengers. Google My Business gives every local business a fair chance of showing up to their visitors / prospects.
Be great to see more businesses on the map and more professionals on LinkedIn.
Martin Lindeskog says
Louise: I have to improve my “Google my business” presence. But I have a pretty good personal brand, and in a way, that is how I want to have it.
Louisa Chan says
Having your own Google My Business page is a good start. It now allows you to engage with your clients and prospects, Martin Lindeskog.