Google My Business is a free tool from the search engine giant and many businesses have been claiming and verifying their locations. There are several features and sections on GMB and, while all of them are important in drawing in customers to your website and establishment, there are some that require more attention than others. Here’s a quick list of Google My Business sections that you need to focus on this 2021 (and beyond).
1. Categories
Categories are one of the most important features when setting up your Google My Business for two specific reasons:
- They signal to your customers that you are what they’re looking for
- It helps Google index you in the right local search results
In fact, they are an additional requirement to fill out along with your NAP.
We have a post about GMB categories and how to correctly select the category that best describes your business. With almost 4,000 categories available on GMB, you have almost unlimited choices
Remember that you need one primary category when you claim your business. You can add eight additional categories should you feel your primary category doesn’t fully describe what your business stands for.
2. Reviews
If you want to focus on one section right now, it’d be getting more reviews on Google. Not only will they boost your reputation, but reviews will also help you improve your organic rankings. Google is a search engine after all, and the more reviews you have on your Google My Business, the better.
But is it enough to ask customers to leave reviews? Not exactly, as prospective buyers do look for something else aside from online reviews. You have to do some work yourself – you’ll need to respond to those reviews, positive or negative. It is as important as collecting them. Responding in a timely manner further improves customer trust in your brand.
You can take a look at our post on how to get quality reviews and how to respond to them.
Just a quick note: The number of positive online reviews also matters. A customer who sees more positive reviews on your GMB listing will more likely interact with you by either going to your website or visiting your store.
3. Q&A
The Q&A section of Google My Business can be tricky. For one thing, anyone can pose a question and answer it. Trolls could take advantage of this and, guess what, you can’t delete questions or their answers unless it really goes against Google’s community guidelines.
To avoid the trolls (or sneaky competitors who result in less ethical means to destroy your company’s reputation), you’ll need to populate this section yourself. Think of it as FAQs – list as many as you can and make it quick and easy to understand so that your customers who look at those questions will be satisfied and proceed to contact you.
Treat it like the reviews section – questions have to be answered in a timely manner, especially before anyone with malicious intent could answer.
4. Posts
Google Posts are like status messages on Google My Business and they’ll instantly appear on search results when someone searches with your brand name or brand terms. This is the more tedious feature but they have several uses such as:
- Announcing company updates
- Promoting events
- Advertising new products
- Highlighting seasonal offers
- Releasing COVID-19 updates (this feature is available until further notice)
You might be thinking that you can do these very same things on social media, especially when your audience is more engaged there. Actually, though, you can hit two birds with one stone: posting on Google My Business guarantees that you’ll be seen faster on search results.
When used properly, Google Posts will be one section that can really pull in your customers who will more likely interact with your brand.
Don’t forget to put an image, a quick caption, and your CTA link.
Focusing on these sections can secure more positive results when you’re trying to make the most out of Google My Business.
The DigitalMaas Platform can help you achieve this goal. Get these sections up and running in no time, attract customers with updated content right from the world’s biggest search engine. Sign up for an account today.
