Importance of Setting up Google My Business for Small Businesses

In 2014, Google made it easier for small business owners to update and provide their audience with information in the search results with Google my Business.

You may have noticed these virtual “business cards” – Google calls these “Knowledge Panels” and they are displayed to the right of your search results. It is surprising that a lot of small businesses are not tapping into this free resource. Small businesses that do not have a Google My Business account are missing out! If you don’t already have a My Business account, here are some great reasons to set yours up today:

Knowledge Panels – easy to view, curated by Google

Google’s “Knowledge Panel” cards display your most pertinent information to a Google searcher. This information varies depending on your type of business and contains both items curated by you and those via crowd-sourcing. Within these cards, a person will be able to quickly digest information about your business and select actions such as viewing your website or giving you a call, if appropriate. They can also read reviews, look at your menu, and see your peak hours. Oftentimes this is the best place to also view what time you open and close and get directions if you have a physical location.

Keeps your information updated!

Google will automatically crawl the web looking for new and existing businesses to create these eye-catching “Knowledge Graph” cards. Without Google My Business, this information can easily be incorrect and may reflect poorly on your business. Claiming or creating your Google My Business will allow you to edit and curate your visible information This is vitally important for potential clients or customers who are forming their first impression of your business.

Community and Reviews!

With Google My Business, your community and customers can leave reviews and provide feedback. If you claim your business, you will be able to view/approve these reviews and respond. While negative reviews seem like a bad thing, they can work to your advantage. In allowing negative reviews to be posted and responding to them appropriately, you are shining a light on your excellent response time and resolution tactics. Viewers will see firsthand how you deal with customer service and quality issues, and this is your opportunity to earn your clients’ trust. To give you a greater boost in this area, Google also shows review ratings from other social media sites such as Facebook and Foursquare.

Better SEO

Lastly, with Google being the preferred search engine of most people, claiming your business on Google will improve the SEO results of your website. Not only will Google be keyed in to the people/searches you are targeting with the most up-to-date information you provide, but their search algorithms seem to prioritize Google My Business accounts. Darwel Shew over at Moz.com accounts Google My Business with 19% of the overall Local SEO Ranking factors (the highest percentage of all eight factors that he measured). With numbers like that, small businesses should sit up and take notice! Google My Business is a key SEO factor that can affect where your website falls in a Google search. Don’t ignore it!

Get Started

Are you ready to be seen? Head over to Google My Business to and click Start Now. The process is easy and the benefits are exponential. If you get stuck, Google’s FAQ section is phenomenal, or feel free to contact us at Pier5 and we will be happy to help.

Louis

I have a passion for using technology to make workflow and the day-to-day easier. Pier5 allows me to help businesses with digital technology, allowing them to focus more on what they love and are good at – their product or service!