How to use Google My Business to get more customers

A robust online search presence may be necessary when growing your start-up.

With Google being the most popular search engine, with over 93% of the UK’s total searches in April 2023, it could be an important tool to leverage in your digital marketing efforts.

Digital marketing could be an effective way for start-ups to attract potential customers on a large scale and with a limited budget.

Besides Google Analytics, Google also offers another tool to help small businesses increase their reach and gain customers – Google My Business.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free online tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence on Google.

This means businesses can update their details so customers can easily find them, increase their online visibility, collect, and manage reviews, and verify their business.

How to set up a Google My Business profile

Before registering your business with Google My Business, you will need a Google account to log in.

If you don’t have a Google account specifically for your business, it may be sensible to create an account specifically for business use that is separate from your personal account, even if you’re operating as a sole trader.

Once logged in, you can search for your business by typing in the name and address.

Most businesses are already on Google, however, if you cannot find your business, simply type in the name, and click ‘next’ – you can add more details later.

You will then have your business’s listing.

Here you can upload a logo and add more details, including opening hours, contact details, and images.

To verify your business address and listing, Google will send a physical postcard to your listed business address with a verification code, which you’ll need to enter into your Google My Business profile.

Your Google My Business listing will not go live or be verified until you enter the verification code.

Optimising your Google My Business profile

With an optimised profile, you may see an increase in traffic to your Google My Business profile from potential local customers.

1. Choose a business category

Selecting the correct business category is a simple way to optimise your profile.

This will ensure that your business shows up alongside your competitors and helps ensure your company appears when people search for your type of business.

2. Add high-quality images

Adding high-quality images to your Google My Business listing may help your business appear more legitimate, such as showing your storefront or interior shots of your restaurant.

Images give potential customers a clear idea of what to expect from your business and may help encourage Google to promote your business’s profile.

3. Add a description

Another way to optimise your profile is to add a detailed business description.

Potential customers can view this description as they scroll down on your listing.

In this section of your profile, you could include details such as the products and services you offer, how long you have been in business, your values, and your start-up story.

This may help make your business more relatable to potential customers and provides them with additional attractive information.

Managing and responding to reviews

Reviews left by customers can be found on your Google My Business profile.

Customers can also give your business a rating out of five stars.

Customer ratings and reviews are public and can be influential when building brand trust and reputation – and it can be a good idea to ensure you manage and respond to reviews.

If you receive a positive review, a short ‘thank you’ response may be a good idea to help show your appreciation and that you actively communicate with your customers.

Consider responding positively and apologising for negative reviews rather than posting a defensive response.

It may be a good idea to ask the reviewer to contact your business so you can resolve the issue.

Using Google My Business Features

Google My Business has several features designed to help your business attract customers.

• Posts – short-form content your business can share on its Google My Business profile, commonly including announcements, offers, new product or service launches, and calls to action.
• Q&A – this is used to answer frequently asked questions potential customers may have, which can help show that your business understands what customers want.
• Booking button – depending on your business’s services, the booking button will direct potential customers to your online booking system, making booking services or reservations simple.
• Special features – this feature adds “badges” to your profile that indicate certain things about your business, such as if it has free WiFi, or has disability access.
• Website – the website button allows potential customers to directly access your website, rather than requiring them to do another Google search to find it.

Tracking results

It can be hard to optimise your Google My Business profile when you don’t know how well something is working.

This is why monitoring insights could be key when making your Google My Business profile more effective.

The ‘Insights’ feature on your profile can show you valuable customer data such as:

• how many clicks your profile gets
• what customers searched for to find your business
• customer actions
• search queries
• where customers find you on Google.

You could track this information to help you optimise your profile to reach your target audience better, updating descriptions, images, and FAQs to address customer interests.