It is completely free to use and the only requirement for using it is you must have some form of face-to-face interaction with your customers. Whether we like it or not, businesses of all sizes will have to keep paying attention and change along with the platform when needed if they want to continue reaching new customers.įorbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies.Google My Business (or GMB) is a local business listing service powered by Google. And as customer behavior continues to change, so will Google’s response and product offerings. No doubt, this has created mountains of customer data that are still being studied and will be used to implement new strategies soon. By some estimations, it’s pushed the digital marketing industry ahead worldwide by a global average of six years. The pandemic has had massive and perhaps long-lasting impacts on how customers shop and communicate with businesses. Looking ahead always has challenges, but we can make one prediction about Google’s offerings with complete confidence: There will be more changes. One Prediction You Can Count On: More Changes Some experts believe Google may one day attempt to make these listings paid, but there’s no concrete evidence that will happen anytime soon, if ever. But you can still communicate a lot about your business on Google without spending a dime - for now. No doubt, these ads are highly beneficial for some businesses when targeted correctly. The profile is free, although you’ll be given plenty of opportunities to learn about and use paid Google Ads. During the pandemic, many new attributes related to contactless payment and delivery were added, for example. There’s a wide range of other “attributes” businesses can add to their profile to share information with searchers - from details about wheelchair-accessible bathrooms to identifying as “women-owned” or “veteran-owned.” These options are also expanded regularly, so it’s a good idea to check them periodically. For example, if you want to post a menu, Google says you’ll need to be listed as a “food and drink” business. There are also category-specific features to keep in mind that is only available to businesses in certain categories. If you’re unsure of what to use, try searching for terms you want to place well for, and see what categories your competitors in the map section are using.įor example, if you own a shop that sells and repairs bicycles along with related gear and clothing, maybe you initially called your business a “store.” However, you could receive more inquiries by changing your primary category to “bicycle store” and including additional categories like “bicycle repair shop” and “sporting goods store.” Lists like this one can show you what’s available and will report recently added categories. Google offers over 3,000 categories to choose from and adds new ones regularly. One of the most important pieces of information on your profile is your business category, especially your primary category. Here are a few points to keep in mind when managing your profile. Whatever it’s called and however you access it, the importance of having a Google profile with the most accurate and complete information possible won’t change anytime soon. Since Google has offered only “more details on these changes in the months ahead,” we’ll all have to wait a bit to see the real outcome. Some speculate that Google is moving away from supporting small and medium-sized businesses, while others suggest that the impact to most small businesses will be minimal since the desktop platform is already being used primarily by agencies and multi-location businesses. Support Changes: Google’s post also included the news that the current GMB web portal would “transition to primarily support larger businesses with multiple locations.” This has led to mixed reactions from search optimization and digital marketing professionals.
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