The number of smartphone users in the UK is projected to hit a whopping 63.5 billion this year according to Statista.  Mobile Phones are widely and commonly used as a form of online shopping, with 73% of all online consumers using their mobile phones to checkout.

Coupled with many consumers being omni-channel shoppers that display mixing and matching of both online and offline components, businesses miss the hybrid trend to the detriment of themselves. In business, this means making offline companies work for the digital world, and one way of doing this is by using Google My Business (GMB).

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a tool provided for free by the world’s most popular search engine (you guessed it – Google). It allows businesses of all sizes to list themselves online, in local search results, and put their bricks and mortar premises on Google Maps. GMB is easy to set up, easy to use, and can be highly effective for marketing purposes. Better yet, it costs absolutely nothing to use.

Benefits of Google My Business

GMB has benefits for businesses of all sizes. It’s a great leveler, especially for smaller businesses that may not have the same marketing budgets as larger competitors. By having a GMB account you can get your business as much publicity on Google as on any other search platform.

Gone are the days of Google ‘just’ being a search engine. Businesses can now use Google to actively promote themselves through search engine optimisation, the use of reviews, and enabling customers to find you in the ‘real’ world.

How Google My Business Improves Online Business Visibility

We all know how important ranking high on SERPs is and for success with Google, a good GMB is essential. There are several ways that GMB can be used to improve your business’s visibility on Google:

Google Maps and Local Three-Pack

Get your Business on Google Maps! When your business is registered with a GMB account, it will appear on a map at the top of the SERP when there’s a related search (with the right optimisation of course). It’ll also draw in useful and helpful information about your business.

Often referred to as a ‘local three-pack’, which is when three businesses are shown on and underneath the map, it’s a valuable space that you can get for free and is certain to help you attract more traffic from Google, even when online users are not directly Googling you.

A Platform to Gather Reviews

Online reviews have become an important part of digital marketing strategies for businesses. They allow customers to express how they feel about the business and allow businesses to engage with their customers, respond to issues, and attract new customers. Not only are reviews often used by customers that are looking to understand more about a business before they use it, but they are also recognised by Google algorithms that determine where a business ranks in the SERP.

A business with a GMB account makes it easy for customers to leave reviews and displays them prominently, allowing you to directly reply to them. Having strong communication and developing a conversation with customers is the kind of proactivity that consumers and Google appreciate.

Providing Key Marketing Insights

One of the most valuable features of a GMB account is the insights it provides. Google can provide you with information relating to your audience engagement and can help you to develop your online marketing strategies, boost your data-driven optimisation, and give you a better understanding of your customer backgrounds.

Some of the information provided includes:

• The number of views your business’s profile and GMB content gets
• The search queries that are sending customers to your profile
• How people are interacting with your posts
• The demographics of the people that are engaging with your posts
• and the number of links that are on your website’s URL

Armed with this information, you can decide how best to market your business online, and who to.

Improving Interactivity Through Different Media

Content creation is essential for a booming business in 2022. Customers are becoming increasingly engaged with online content such as videos and regular post updates. A GMB account enables you to add this content to your business profile, helping to boost online user engagement. Furthermore, staying up-to-date and relevant is key to attracting new customers.