How has Google My Business been
updated?
Google My Business is a Google service platform where companies can show their customers who they are. When a company appears on Google during a search, you will see exactly what they can do for you in their business profile. The company in question largely determines what the customer sees. Google My Business has been around for a while, but typical of Google they have not been idle. Thanks to new features such as the follow button, being able to quickly share positive reviews and the best company photos, the Google My Business account of a company has become the business card of today. In this blog you will read exactly how Google My Business has renewed itself, and why it has become so important right now.
Companies get back in control with Google My Business
As a company you want to look good when you appear in a search query. Especially since a Google search is often the start of the process that a potential customer uses when looking for a specific product or service. The good thing is that in the updated version of Google My Business, companies have a higher degree of control over their visible information than ever before. For example, it is now possible for a company to indicate which photo they want to show as a profile photo. This is especially useful when a company is undergoing an update or wants to recommend a certain promotion.
The most important company information is dominant
What exactly does a customer want to know about a company? Based on this question, the layout of Google My Business has now been set up so that the most important company information is the first to be visible. This involves information such as the exact opening hours of a branch, the address, and of course the telephone number. But a company also wants its logo to be clearly visible to the customer in order to show its brand and identity. Good news: in addition to the basic information, Google My Business now displays the logo of the relevant company immediately. Branding is dominant from the first click!
As a company, upload photos directly to your profile
In its updated version, Google My Business has made room in the company profile for photos that the company can upload itself. Do you have a new offer? Upload it in the gallery. Are there certain products that you would like to show or is there a new collection? Then you have the space here to get the customer excited about it. The great thing is that Google will soon make an extra feature available for these photos which is adding a caption. In this way you as a company can give some extra context to the photo to address the customer even more directly!
Generate social media posts from positive reviews
Whether you are a small, medium or large company, receiving positive reviews always remains one of the best forms of recognition there is. Within Google My Business you now have the option to share positive reviews that are left on your business profile on other social media channels. Google not only offers the option to copy the bare text, but helps you with templates and other functions to make the post visually attractive. You can also print this post and display it in the offline branch! After all, word-of-mouth advertising has proven time again to be the most effective form of advertising, and Google My Business facilitates this!
Send separate welcome offers to customers
Recently Google My Business has made the option to follow a business available. This ‘follow’ button is immediately visible when a potential customer clicks on the company. As soon as a customer follows your company, you can tempt them to take the next step by sending an offer to your new follower. For example, enter a discount code on the next order. As a company, it is also easier to see which channels provide the most conversion.
Badges for the best
Are you doing well as a company and do you have a lot of good ratings and positive reviews? Then you qualify for a special mention and badge when searching for companies within your category. The best 5% in their field receive digital (and sometimes even physical) badges that distinguish their excellence. For example, your company can be marked as a ‘local favorite’ or ‘Google guarantee’. Such additional markings have a lot of influence on the choices of potential customers.
Don’t leave any customers behind!
With the new features of Google My Business, Google is making it more attractive, more informative and more rewarding for customers to get to know a company through this profile. Thanks to the new functions, the company now has much more control over what these customers see, and therefore are much more likely to attract new customers! Don’t ignore these customers, and use this new service to optimise the promotion of your company.
Do we have your attention?
Did you get inspired by reading our post? Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level? We are ready to help! Contact us to see what we can do to get your business on track!