As a business owner, one of the most essential things that you must do is to boost your online presence. Considering that more than quarter of the world’s population are already online, so are your target audiences. Experts in SEO in Houston, would agree that your online presence speaks about how you value your business growth. As to why, most businesses are investing so much on being updated, especially that technology never stops its progress. And no better way to stay on the track than having a Google My Business. As one of the most popular search engines across the globe, Google offers a platform where businesses can freely add their business information to ensure that their target audiences can easily locate them.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free and simple tool for managing a company’s or organization’s online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. You can verify your business and edit your business information to help customers find you and tell them your story. With a Google My Business Account, you get more than a business listing. Your free Business Profile lets you easily connect with customers across Google Search and Maps. SEO Companies Houston TX would agree that having a Google My Business account is beneficial for your business and would allow you to reach your target audiences easily.
How to Update Google My Business
It can be used to keep a business’s information up to date in search and maps. It can also be used to interact with customers and attract new ones. As an SEO marketing Houston specialist, businesses with verified Google My Business accounts will likely have a higher trust point from your target audiences compared to those who are not verified. That is why, we are urging business owners to ensure that you should pay attention to the information and other details you input on your Google My Business account.
Update Your Business Information
When updating your business information on Google My Business, ensure that you have claimed a listing. A listing claim refers to an ownership request from a particular user for a particular listing. The “Claim a listing” feature lets users claim a listing on your site as their listing.
Google My Business allows you to edit the following pieces of information:
- Business name
- Business category
- Hours of operation
- Phone number(s)
- Website URL
- Photos for your business
- Opening date (applicable to new businesses that haven’t yet opened)
- Physical address
Any changes or updates done to the account will go through the Google review team, and oftentimes it will take time for them to approve it especially as we are in the midst of global pandemic. There is no definite time frame for this approval, but most of the time as SEO Houston TX observes it, it may take at least a month.
Update your Office Hours
The best way to update your potential customers with your business hours is by updating your Google My Business and add both your opening and closing. Through this, you can provide a better service to your potential customers and avoid confusion.
To change your opening hours, follow these steps:
- Sign in to Google My Business (If you have multiple locations, open the location that you’d like to manage).
- Click the ☰ icon to the top-left.
- Click Info from the menu.
- Scroll down to the Hours section, which will be labelled as “Add hours” if you haven’t already added them.
- Use the toggle switches to define which days you’re open/closed.
- Set the open and closing times for each day you’re open.
- Use the “Add hours” to create multiple open times during the same day
To temporarily change your opening hours, click on the Add special hours section under your existing opening times. Here, you’ll see suggestions for special events that might result in unusual opening times – mostly public holidays.
Update Your Business Description
When updating your business description, you can include the products or services your business has to offer. Most SEO training Houston would agree that in order for you to reach your target audience, you need to be straightforward with your description. One of the most essential pieces of information as well is setting the right expectation especially on your operation, considering we are still in a pandemic, most businesses are deeply affected by it. So in order to avoid complaints, especially on your reviews, always set expectations.
Keep Your Content and Post Updated
Yes, as mentioned above you can add photos on your Google My Business, you can as well add content on it. One of the best things on posting updates is to notify users about important changes by creating posts in Google My Business, which display prominently under your local listing. Houston PPC is a great way to get people’s attention and provide important information.
Update Your Business Location
If you are trying to reach your local audience you should invest in your local SEO. Updating your business location will allow your business to be visible for your target audiences especially if they are doing a local focused search. To help customers accurately locate your business on Google Maps and Search, enter your business address in your Business Profile. You can also set the pin position for your business location. The business address you use shows publicly on your profile.
Is Google My Business really that important?
When talking about business growth, I guess we will all agree that online visibility is really important especially in promoting your business. Is all of this effort worthwhile? The simple answer is YES, whether you are a local, regional, national, or international company. Local search is an essential component of any comprehensive digital marketing campaign, and Google My Business is a significant and growing factor. Google My Business is more than just a listing you can see online, it provides a platform for all businesses whether a startup or an established one to become more relevant especially in this digital age.
