It's a fact that the pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of companies, and what was once considered a "differentiator" is now FUNDAMENTAL. And all these changes in consumers' daily lives—less frequent visits to physical stores, remote work, and, consequently, the increasingly prevalent digitalization—have drastically changed the consumer's purchasing journey.
To give you an idea of this change, if before your website was the online showcase of your physical store, today this role is played by Google My Business listings !
Once you're properly registered with Google My Business , you can provide a wealth of information about your business: opening hours, services offered, posts (e.g., news and discount coupons), service scheduling, product catalog, and your company's COVID-19 policy (special opening hours, delivery options, hygiene information, prevention protocols, etc.). All for free!
The pandemic has taught us that every step of the way requires more decision-making and planning from consumers. Consumers, in turn, are more suspicious, demanding, and thirsty for more information from stores. Having your store listed on Google My Business directly impacts the ZMOT , the consumer's zero moment of truth, the moment they begin their purchasing journey by "Googling" the store.
You need to ensure that your store appears at the top of the search results, with all information complete and up-to-date, and instilling confidence in the consumer so that they choose you .
According to Google, 30% of searches made on cell phones, for example, are linked to location, which can lead to a referral to your physical store.
That's why it's crucial to keep your business information just a click away . This is the crucial role Google My Business plays as your store's digital storefront:
- attract the consumer at the exact moment they are looking for you,
- provide all the necessary information for him to make the purchasing decision and
- convey confidence so that he chooses you and not the competitor.
Managing Google My Business profiles: how to appear at the top of the results and attract more customers to your physical stores
Managing your Google listings is essential to strengthening your online presence and generating more sales in physical stores.
According to Google, the following are carried out monthly:
- 5 billion searches for restaurants;
- 3 billion hotel searches;
- 1 billion searches for clothing stores;
- 600 million searches for beauty salons;
- and 5 million searches for coffee shops.
One of the 3 main factors for being more found and rising in Google's Local ranking is the RELEVANCE of the establishment.
Relevance is how closely your establishment matches what a consumer is looking for at that moment.
Adding and updating complete and detailed business information helps Google better understand your business and, consequently, better position it.
You can act on four fronts to become more relevant, outperform the competition, and attract more customers to your stores. Check them out below:
- Optimization of Google My Business listings;
- Responding to and requesting reviews;
- Updating location images;
- Making Google Posts;
1) How to optimize your Google My Business listings
The more complete and up-to-date your Google My Business listings are, the more information Google will have about your business. This will help it better understand your business, making it more relevant to Google and putting you ahead of the competition.
Below you will find a checklist of the data you need to keep updated on your records:
- Standardized nomenclature (the name of the card must be the same in all its units);
- Descriptive using important and strategic keywords for the business
- Correct business category
- Correct address
- Schedules
- Special schedules
- Services
- Telephone
- Website
- Logo
- Cover image
We've prepared a powerful and easy step-by-step guide for you to follow: Impeccable Listing on Google My Business: Learn how to set up and achieve top results in local search.
Don't miss our webinar: Google My Business: How to optimize your strategy to attract more customers
2) Requesting and responding to Google reviews
Google My Business reviews are one of the main factors influencing search results . The more recent and responded reviews (tip: use keywords relevant to your business when responding) your store has, the greater the likelihood that Google will rank your store organically (without investing in AdWords).
Responding to Google My Business reviews brings even more benefits, as 89% of consumers read business responses and 45% are more likely to buy from brands that respond to their customers accurately.
Think with me:
A customer left a negative review of your store, and you left it unanswered. Future customers who visit your Google My Business listing will be unsure whether the issue still exists and may abandon their purchase.
Now imagine this other situation:
The same customer left a negative review of your store, but this time you promptly put yourself in their shoes, actually resolved the reported situation, and responded to the negative review by apologizing and reinforcing that the situation will not happen again.
Do you notice the difference?
By responding to that single customer, you won't be responding to them, but rather to thousands of other customers who will see both the negative review and the store's stance when responding.
3) Updating store images on Google My Business
Photos are essential to your store's performance on Google My Business and can influence the amount of traffic to your website.
According to Google , businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions to their store and 35% more clicks to their websites than businesses without photos.
For example, if your images get more views, you can safely continue posting in that vein. Fewer views mean you need to rethink your approach.
4) What is the Google Posts tool?
Google Post is a creative tool that allows your business to quickly publish important additional information about your services.
The tool offers several post formats, including images, videos, polls, and events. These posts help you connect more easily with people searching for your online stores.
Each post is composed of three elements:
- A short text: write an attractive, short text that shows the subject to be discussed;
- Image, video, or GIF: Use an attractive visual element that matches your business;
- Link to other content: Link to provide more information related to the topic covered in the post.
By default, your posts stay active for 7 days, but they can last up to 14 days. Google Tip: Publish relevant content regularly.
Remember to include interesting images, be objective with your text, and include an obvious CTA, such as “Buy.”
Check out the step-by-step guide to creating posts on Google and get started today!
I hope this post helped you and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments! 😀
