Hello, all business minds out there! Doing business takes a lot of courage, enthusiasm, dedication, and passion, but how do we make sure that we reach our target audience effectively? We want to come on top when somebody googles us, isn’t it? Let’s take an example: if somebody wants to buy furniture or even a dish, we want our brand to appear at the top right in a Google search. But what are the things that will ensure our top appearance in the Google search channel? Well, many factors are deciding this, but here are a few that are a basic demand from the digital presence end. So. Let’s take a deep look into those.
Google Business Profile, or GBP, is simply a free tool provided by Google, and now there are various Google platforms such as Google Maps, Google Search, etc. where business holders need to maintain authentic data about their company. They need to make sure that a few of the basic components are present on such a platform, such as contact information, location, a properly defined address, positive Google reviews, regular postings, and updates. It’s not only being customer-updated on Google Reviews but something to look after from business-holder ends as well. There are several other features of the Google Business Profile, such as responding to customer queries or messages, replying to them on time with a positive gesture, and providing solutions. This activity ensures great communication with them and builds trust. It must be clear by now how important the Google Business Profile, is, but do you know that out of 170 billion Google searches, only a handful—1260 views—is the average view of any business profile at a time, and out of those, less than 6% take action, so where’s the lag then? It’s not about just making our business profile but also how to maximize your visibility, and your presence, and attract more and more customers consistently while maintaining a positive reputation. Come let’s have a deep into some of the strategies that will help us.
- Complete and update information – First create an account and link to the profile and update all the must-filled information such as Name, contact no. Address, website, working hours, which category you belong to, your products and services, Home page, and about section, some sections will be very dynamic such as postings, reviews, and queries which need to be looked after regularly and on time. Now, here is the catch, many business holders commit some small mistakes where their actual store information does not align well with the online published one. One must also ensure that the phone number that is given is active and accessible. While other entries such as actual working and closing hours are up-to-date. Description is something again needs to be eye-catching and should be short and clear. Keeping any slogan specific to your business profile would be an add-on factor to build your brand.
- Reviews collection and response – This is something which has got the maximum eyes on it. Imagine when somebody buys something either from a business website or third-party holders such as Amazon or Flipkart, reviews and ratings are something that have got maximum eyes as that is the way to judge the product first-hand right. So, one needs to make sure that customers are posting their positive reviews and if there’s any query then must receive a response as soon as possible. In a few cases, many avoid responding to negative reviews but this should not be avoided too. This will only lead to a bad impact and hence needs a humble and gentle reply. This will automatically ensure our trust and genuine nature towards the customer and even if there are some ups and downs, it will be taken care of by the feedback value.
- Regular updates – This is something that most of the holders miss out on as this is the most time-consuming activity but also the most fruitful. Imagine someone is trying to buy something and all they see is the last post done years ago, this is indeed going to leave a bad impression and will be a quick turn-off for them. That is the reason this section needs to be updated regularly. Keep posting regular pictures, reviews, thanks messages, and any updates on new things coming up, as regular postings will keep alarming Google that you are active, and when somebody looks for your category, google will make sure to fetch your name on top. This allows customers to get easy access to your profile and again builds good trust.
- Customer engagement – This is something that happens on the ground but does not leave its mark on Google as again this is the job of one dedicated person. Engaging customers is a great way to fill in the gap. Be It your latest news or new services, that message must reach the customer either in terms of posts, videos, or text but should be properly communicated to them. Make sure to post them about your latest offers or any discount, something which is commonly seen in person but not online. Keep adding some promotional videos or trailers for your coming products and make sure that customers are well engaged in a fashion that the trust builds in the initial steps itself and keep that excitement alive in them so that during the actual launch, it will be easy to bring them back.
- Feature usage – This section is as important as others as this will provide customers well-defined route to you. Whether to ask any query or any updates, make sure to easily amazing features such as messaging which is a great feature to connect one-to-one. Booking an appointment or resolving their queries will prominently give your company a better outlook and trust. This overall enhances customer relations and experience.
So, these were a few strategies that can be looked after to maximize Google’s business profile and fetch us on top of the list.
