Many local businesses think walk-in traffic is all they need, or that advertising on social media is the best method online for traffic. But what if I told you that you can get hundreds even thousands of FREE traffic to your business? Google, Bing, and map service providers all want good data. They want reputable companies to suggest to their users who are looking for businesses like yours!
So what you need to do is make sure you look like a business people would want to visit when they search for your service or product type. Aside from having a website and spending money on proper SEO, which can cost many thousands of dollars to be done right. Setting up your GMB(Google My Business) on google is easy and free!
Setting up your Google listing…
If you are already listed but haven’t claimed your business. You need to associate it with your Google account. Open Google Maps and search for your business. Choose the right one, and then click “Claim this business” and then “I own or manage this business”.
If you don’t currently have a Google listing. Then within Google Maps click the menu button(3 lines in the browser or your profile picture in the mobile app). Choose the “Add your business” option. From there you’ll be adding your business name, category, and other info.
You’ll be asked to confirm your listing by calling the business phone number. Once this is all done you’ll be connected to your listing.
Configuring your Google listing…
If you don’t fill out all your business details Google won’t rank to its potential. So the more information you provide the better. It can mean the difference between a customer finding you or your competitor. Here are some important things to check:
- Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are accurate. And match what is on your website and other business directories.
- Set the primary category to your main business type, and add other relevant categories that describe your business. Add your company logo.
- Use a well-written description with the proper keywords you want to be ranked for.
- Add details like business hours, amenities, payments, and any other information that relates to your business
- Add photos and videos(360 video), spending extra money for professional pictures is a good investment
- Enable chat for your business so users can message you directly
- Watch and respond to reviews to show you appreciate positive and negative comments and remember to always remain polite.
- Encourage customers to leave reviews with keywords you want to rank for, its good to maintain a rating of 4.7 – 4.9
- Post updates/offers/events linking back to your website.
- Even if you don’t have a website, link back to your social media page.
Other Tips…
If you have a website, make sure you get your developer to add structured data for a business listing. While Google Maps brings the majority of traffic. Others like Apple Maps, Yelp, Yellowpages, and many more also provide great backlinks and confirmation of your business and its validity.
Being active on social media is also another great tool, to get people engaging in your content. Offer discounts to customers who follow, check-in, and share your content. The more people talk about your business, the better Google sees you as a reputable trustworthy business.
For tasks like creating a well-designed logo or even getting other business listings created, you can use gigs on Fiverr. This is a cheaper way of outsourcing tasks for a good price. When using people on Fiverr make sure to pay attention to how many reviews that gig has and their ratings.
Final Thoughts…
There are hundreds of businesses like yours around you depending on the size of your city/town. So the more information you provide and the more people talk about your business, the higher you will rank above other competitors. Don’t be afraid to put some work into growing your customers or investing some money in a website or SEO work. It takes time and money to grow, but it’s always worth investing in yourself!