Ah, Valentine’s Day. A day where people worldwide look to find love for one special night.
The affections people crave, however, don’t have to be limited to a significant other. Around this time of year, people are eagerly looking for ways to introduce something – anything – new into their lives. Maybe they’re looking for that hidden gem of a location that could be considered “their spot,” or for the perfect place to purchase the right memento to mark a new beginning.
With there being no shortage of search engines for individuals (potentially future customers?) to find what they’re looking for. It’s important for business owners to display the correct company information online and to keep it up-to-date, starting with Google MyBusiness directory.
What is a Google MyBusiness directory?
If you’ve ever used Google to look for a location or business, chances are you’ve already seen the Google Map widget near the top of the search results. Those listings are featured from Google’s local search, which pulls from their Google MyBusiness directory platform instead of crawling the internet for weblinks like their traditional organic search. Google will automatically create and populate a listing for your business, so it is important for owners to make sure they create a Google MyBusiness account, if they haven’t already, and claim their listing so they may edit their records as needed.
Aside from the basic location and contact information that is necessary for every directory page, Google’s platform offers a wide variety of display options to make your business more approachable and eye-catching to curious future customers.
Questions and answers
On Google’s local search, there is a section for people to ask questions about the listed business and for the owner to respond. This feature is perfect for those who love to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve. Owners can even utilize this section to create a frequently asked questions list for the ease of the customer.
Services and menus
Give searchers a clear view of what you have to offer by adding a cohesive menu option to your Google listing. The new addition of the services list allows the business owner to categorize and present all the services or menu items they provide, along with pricing and descriptions so the customer will be able to plan their visit accordingly.
Reviews and responses
Online reviews are not just important for building a reputation for your business – they are also helpful for making your listing stick out to potential customers. Claiming yourself as the business owner on Google MyBusiness opens the door for you to respond to incoming reviews and maintain a positive character to those seeing how you handle the negative ones. Having a high Google review rating can affect both your local search listing ranking and click rate, so be sure to respond to those two-star reviews!
Finding love can be hard, but finding your business should be as easy as possible. The more time and energy you put into the synchronization of your business listing, the updating of your relevant business information and the timely responses to all reviews, the easier it will be for all those star-crossed lovers to follow their hearts straight to your doorstep. This Valentine’s Day, show some love to your MyBusiness listing. You’ll be surprised at how your MyBusiness listing shows its love back to you, too.