Google My Business

Lead Generation

Using Google My Business as a Lead Generation Tool

What exactly is Google My Business?

This is what an "ice cream near me" search looks like from Google My Business.

google my business search near me analytics that profit

Here are a few easy things you can do as a business owner to take advantage of this FREE lead generation tool called Google My Business.

Verify Your Google My Business Page

It is FREE. Your business contact information, hours, phone, website, reviews, photos, etc. are posted for the world to see at no charge to you.

Post on your Google My Business page

Read this article for the step by step details.

Set up messaging on your Google My Business page

- Check out this blog post for step by step instructions.

Think of your Google My Business page as a mini website. It must be fed with content to keep it relevant. Google will send reminders when they think you need to post new content.

How To Use Google My Business As A Lead Generation Tool

What's New - this is a great medium to promote blog content, white papers, or announcements.

Events - promote your open house, webinar, trainings, etc.

Offers - coupons, specials, sales, etc.

Product - what you have and what it costs.

Think of your Google My Business page as a mini website. It will need fresh content and management. It is not a "set it and forget it" platform. The good news is that Google will send you a reminder when you need fresh content.

google my business email reminder analytics that profit

At Analytics That Profit we are convinced that Google My Business must be a part your SEO and Lead Generation strategy. We include Google My Business page optimization and management with every client retainer. We have seen the results firsthand for our clients.

google my business results analytics that profit

Do you want more phone calls to your business?

Need more website visitors?

More visits to your location?

How To Post on Google My Business

How To Create A Post On Google My Business

Here are the Step By Step instructions

to

create a post on your

Google My Business Page.

Once you have logged in, Click the Blue Business icon next to the three dots on the far right.

After you click the blue icon, you will see a menu like the one below.

Click Posts.

Depending on the size of your image you may see a box covering part of your image. You can slide the box to position your image.

If you are not happy with the appearance of your image after sliding the box around, we recommend you upload a 540 x405.

This size will fit completely in the box without cropping.

Once you are satisfied with your image, click, "Write your post."

Now tell the world all the great things you want them to know about your business. You can use between 100-300 words.

Remember your audience.

Be conscious of mobile users.

You probably don't need 300 words to get your message across effectively.

You can make a video post on your Google My Business page.

← You can make this an event.

← You can create a button as your Call To Action.

When you click, "Add a Button," you will have several Call To Action choices.

Now click the preview button to see how your post will appear to the world.

Now simply hit, "Publish" and the world will see your post!

Don't worry if you find a mistake.

You can delete or edit the post on your Google My Business page after it is published.

How to set up Messenger

Here are the Step By Step instructions

to

set up messenger on your

Google My Business Page.

Once you have logged in, click the Blue Business icon next to the three dots on the far right.

After you click the blue icon, you will see a menu like the one below.

Click, "Messaging."

how to set up messaging on google my business verify your number analytics that profit.png

Then enter the number you want to use and click, "Next."

Next, enter your confirmation code.

Google My Business will now let you know if you were successful.

You can now set up a personalized greeting for those that want to chat with you via your Google My Business page.

If you click you should see the main page again.

←

If you want to change the number to use for messaging on your Google My Business account, you click, "Edit Number."

Worried about receiving messages 24 hours a day? Click, "Messaging" in the main menu and you should see this:

You can turn Chat off.

To turn Chat back on in your Google My Business Page, just click the toggle (Don't forget to save).

Google My Business Verification

Why Successful Business Verify Their Google Page.

Here are some quick tips to help with Google My Business verification.

It is FREE. Your business contact information, hours, phone, website, reviews, photos, etc. are posted for the world to see at no charge to you. Sweet Deal! Have you verified your Google Page? Continue reading to find out what can happen if you don't.

It's Friday afternoon and I get a panic call from a franchisee of training services.

" I understand you are an expert in all things Google and I need your help, now."

Due to business growth, they had recently relocated to a much larger and better facility. Corporate had recently unified all franchisee websites to a standard template and had migrated their website to the new format. This particular branch was well established and had great local branding. Almost overnight they went from page one to page none on Google.

Don't worry I told this brand new client. Do you have access to your Google My Business page, I asked. Yes. Great. Let's log in and update the information and get all the pieces talking to each other again. We login. They had never verified their Google My Business Page. In fact, there were multiple addresses and phone numbers on different pages as they had grown and relocated over the years. NONE were verified. A simple process just became unnecessarily complex.

Do you have access to your Google Analytics account? We can verify your page and delete the old ones. They did not have access to their Google Analytics and were not sure who did. This created a BIGGER problem. After numerous phone calls, we were able to find out who could grant access to their Google Analytics and as I write this blog we are still waiting on an email for access. They are still invisible on Google.

ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!

Here is what you need to do to prevent this from happening to your business.

VERIFY YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE.
KNOW THE LOGIN & PASSWORD FOR YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE.
TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR GOOGLE ANALYTICS BY KNOWING THE LOGIN & PASSWORD.

Check out this helpful video from Google.

How To Get Positive Google Reviews

How To Get Business Reviews On Google

Your Google My Business listing will appear whenever someone searches for your business in your local area. Mine even appears when I search for my own name.

Now, if your business is virtual and your customers are outside your area, you may be thinking that you don’t need a local listing. Au contraire ma chérie! You never know when a great customer is going to be referred to you and that person searches Google to check you out. It’s the smart thing to do to take advantage of every bit of visibility you can, especially when it’s free. And, as they say in New York, “It couldn’t hurt!”

Take advantage of every bit of visibility you can, especially when it’s free.

Your Google My Business listing will appear in many types of searches, not just when someone searches for your business by name.

google my business map_analytics that profit

Back to your listing. The first step is to check to see if Google has already set up a listing for your business. The best way is to simply Google your business name and include your city and state, like so:

google my business listing_analytics that profit

If a Google My Business listing appears for your business you need to claim it. If nothing appears, then you need to create a listing. Google provides very easy instructions for doing both. (You’ll want to complete your listing as much as possible, adding your address, images, a link to your website, etc.).

But wait!

You work from home and don’t want your home address plastered all over Google, right? Unfortunately, Google won’t allow a listing without a street address. However, you can exclude your address from public visibility if you don't have a bricks and mortar storefront. In our case, we have a bricks and mortar office, but our business is primarily virtual so we choose not to show our address.

google my business map_analytics that profit-1

Go ahead and complete your listing as thoroughly as possible (you can go back and edit it anytime). Then come back to this blog to learn how to get reviews on Google My Business.

Create a link for customers to write reviews

Sign in to Google My Business.
If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
Click Share your Business Profile

When customers click your link, they'll be able to rate your business and leave a review. Learn how to read and reply to customer reviews.

reviews on Google My Business

Keep in mind that it’s against Google review policies to solicit reviews from customers by offering incentives or setting up review stations at your place of business. Reviews that violate the policy may be removed.

Source: Google

google my business reviews_analytics that profit

Get reviews on Google

Reviews on Google provide valuable information about your business to both you and your customers. Business reviews appear next to your listing in Maps and Search, and can help your business stand out on Google.

You can request reviews from customers through a short URL that’s specific to your business. To get reviews on Google, encourage your customers to spread the word about your business by following these best practices:

Remind your customers to leave reviews. Let them know that it’s quick and easy to leave business reviews on mobile devices or desktop computers. Learn how to leave Google reviews
Reply to reviews to build your customers' trust. Your customers will notice that your business values their input, and possibly leave more reviews in the future. You can also create and share a link that customers can click to leave a review. Learn how to read and reply to reviews
Verify your business so your information is eligible to appear on Maps, Search, and other Google services. Only verified businesses can respond to reviews. Learn how to verify your business

Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. (For example, business owners shouldn't offer incentives to customers in exchange for reviews.) Read more in our review posting guidelines. If you see a review that’s inappropriate or that violates our policies, you can flag it for removal.

Source: Google

There you have it! How to get reviews on Google My Business. I hope this blog was helpful to manage (and understand) your listing. Oh, I almost forgot to mention a very important thing! You can repurpose the reviews on Google My Business and publish them on your website. Because once they’re public, you can use them anywhere.

Repurpose the reviews on Google My Business and publish them on your website.

Now, let’s impress your ideal customers with great reviews on Google!

Pro Tip: If you are a HubSpot user you can create an email template.

google my business review analytics that profit.com

Google My Business

Lead Generation

Using Google My Business as a Lead Generation Tool

Verify Your Google My Business Page

Post on your Google My Business page

Set up messaging on your Google My Business page

How To Use Google My Business As A Lead Generation Tool

How To Post on Google My Business

How To Create A Post On Google My Business

Here are the Step By Step instructions

to

create a post on your

Google My Business Page.

Now simply hit, "Publish" and the world will see your post!

Don't worry if you find a mistake.

You can delete or edit the post on your Google My Business page after it is published.

How to set up Messenger

How To Set Up Messenger On Google My Business

Here are the Step By Step instructions

to

set up messenger on your

Google My Business Page.

Then enter the number you want to use and click, "Next."

Next, enter your confirmation code.

If you want to change the number to use for messaging on your Google My Business account, you click, "Edit Number."

Worried about receiving messages 24 hours a day? Click, "Messaging" in the main menu and you should see this:

You can turn Chat off.

To turn Chat back on in your Google My Business Page, just click the toggle (Don't forget to save).

Google My Business Verification

Why Successful Business Verify Their Google Page.

Here are some quick tips to help with Google My Business verification.

ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!

VERIFY YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE.

KNOW THE LOGIN & PASSWORD FOR YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE.

TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR GOOGLE ANALYTICS BY KNOWING THE LOGIN & PASSWORD.

Check out this helpful video from Google.

How To Get Positive Google Reviews

How To Get Business Reviews On Google

Get reviews on Google

Pro Tip: If you are a HubSpot user you can create an email template.

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