It's a fact that the pandemic accelerated the digitalization of companies, and what was once considered a "differentiating factor" is now FUNDAMENTAL. All these changes in the consumer's daily life – less frequent visits to physical stores, remote work, and consequently, the ever-increasing presence of digitalization – have drastically changed the consumer's purchasing journey.
To give you an idea of this change, if before your website was the online storefront of your physical store, today this role is played by Google My Business listings!
Once properly registered with Google My Business, you can make numerous details about your business available: opening hours, services offered, posts (with news and discount coupons, for example), service scheduling, product catalog, and the company's COVID-19 policy (special opening hours, whether there is delivery, hygiene information, prevention protocols, etc.). All for free!
The pandemic has taught us that every trip out of the house requires more decision-making and planning from the consumer. In turn, consumers are more distrustful, demanding, and eager for more information from stores. Having your store listed on Google My Business directly impacts the ZMOT, the zero moment of truth for the consumer, the moment they begin their buying journey by "Googling" it.
You need to ensure that your store appears at the top of the search results, having all the information complete and up-to-date, and inspiring confidence in the consumer so that they choose you.
According to Google, 30% of searches made on mobile phones, for example, are location-based, which can lead to referrals to your physical store.
That's why it's essential to keep your business information just a click away. This is the crucial role that Google My Business plays, acting as the digital storefront for your store:
- attract the consumer at the exact moment they are searching for you,
- pass on all the necessary information for him to make the purchase decision and
- Convey confidence so that he chooses you and not the competitor.
Managing your Google My Business profile: how to appear at the top of search results and attract more customers to your physical stores
Managing your Google listings is essential for 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 searches for hotels;
- 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 easily found and rising in Google's Local ranking is the RELEVANCE of the establishment.
Relevance is how well 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 company and, consequently, rank it higher.
You can work on 4 fronts to become more relevant, outmaneuver the competition, and attract more customers to your stores. Check them out below:
- Optimizing Google My Business listings;
- Responding to and requesting reviews;
- Updating images of the location;
- Creating 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 allows Google to better understand your company, making it more relevant in Google's eyes and putting you ahead of the competition.
Below is a checklist of the information you need to keep updated in your records:
- Standardized nomenclature (the name of the form must be the same in all its units);
- Description using important and strategic keywords for the business
- Correct business category
- Correct address
- Schedules
- Special schedules
- Services
- Telephone
- Site
- Logo
- Cover image
We've prepared a powerful and easy step-by-step guide for you to follow: Flawless Google My Business Listing: Learn how to set it up and achieve top local search results.
Be sure to check out 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 answered reviews (tip: use keywords relevant to your business when answering) a store has, the more likely Google is to rank the store in the top organic search results (without investing in AdWords).
Responding to Google My Business reviews brings even more advantages, since 89% of consumers read business responses and 45% are more likely to buy from brands that respond to their customers correctly.
Think about it:
A customer left a negative review for your store, and you left that review unanswered. Future customers who visit your Google My Business listing will be unsure if that problem still persists 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 apologizing and reinforcing that the situation will not happen again
Do you notice the difference?
By responding to that single customer, you're not responding to them, but to thousands of other customers who will see both the negative review and the store's response.
3) Updating store images on Google My Business
Photos are essential for 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 on their websites than businesses without photos.
For example, if your images receive more views, you can safely continue posting along those same lines. Fewer views mean you'll need to rethink your approach.
4) What is the Google Posts tool?
Google Post is a content creation tool that allows stores to quickly publish important additional information about their services.
The tool provides various post formats, including images, videos, polls, and events. These posts help you connect more easily with people who are searching for your online stores.
Each post consists of three elements:
- A short text: write an engaging, concise text that clearly shows the topic to be discussed;
- Image, video, or GIF: use an attractive visual element that matches your business;
- Link to other content: provide a link so the person can find more information related to the topic discussed in the post.
By default, your posts remain active for 7 days, but this can last up to 14 days. Google tip: publish relevant content regularly.
Remember to include interesting images, be concise in your text, and include an obvious CTA, such as "Buy Now".
Check out the step-by-step guide here to create posts on Google and get started today!
I hope this post has helped you, and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments! 😀