I did a post last week about Google My Business and how beneficial it can be for your business, regardless of your industry. If you have had a business name for some time, Google will automatically make a business page for you and then it's up to you to either claim the page or create a new one. But I also noticed that a lot of people didn't understand the difference between Google business, Google places, and Google+. Yes, it is confusing, but let me see if I can break this down a little bit better.
Google Places for Business – basically this is the prerequisite for what are now termed as just Google My Business or GMB. This is where you could look up a business by the Google maps or even Google+ and find phone numbers, a website, reviews, and directions. But now, places have moved into Google My Business, which allows for all of these features.
If are going to play in the Google sandbox we have to play by their rules, and unfortunately means adapting to changes, updates, algorithm shifts.
Google+ was really Google's response to Facebook. They wanted to create their own social network to connect all Google users. If you have a Google+ account you could create a Google My Business page but now it's just another feature of the "dashboard". Your business, as well as your personal Google+ account, can share posts and pictures and interact with groups and communities of similar interests. Google+ works very similarly to most social networks and if you have a Google account, a Google my business account, or even a Gmail address, you're probably already a part of Google+. But, just because you have one of these accounts, doesn't mean you necessarily have a My Business page.
"As a first time home purchaser, I was initially overwhelmed by the process necessary to go through buying a home. Erika Phelan of the Buyers Broker of Florida helped each and every step of the way to ensure that I found a house that I loved and that the process was as easy as possible. " - Google Review About Orlando Buyers Broker Erika Phelan
As I mentioned in the previous post, you'll want to verify your location. Most businesses have a location, whether it's a home office or business setting. If you are unsure your business has a My Business page, Google the address or your business name, or you can search for the address on Google maps. If you find your address you can claim your listing. If someone else already has your listing, you can claim a new page through your own name (this works when there are multiple agents in the same office with the same address).
Once you have claimed and verified your listing either by phone, text, email, or snail mail, you'll want to add as much information as possible. Add images, phone numbers, hours, descriptions and virtual tours. You'll also want to collect reviews and Google does take this into account for your SEO. Customers are greatly influenced by those reviews. If you have some crazy person that you've never done business with give you a one star or perhaps review a different agent in your office, you'll want to quickly resolve this by responding to the reviewer. Either mentioned that you are not the agent that is getting the review or kindly asked them to remove. If you have a legitimate negative review, I urge you to quickly respond and resolve any issues before more potential buyers find a negative mark on your Google My Business page.
"What can I say!!!! I was looking for a last-minute buyer's agent to visit an open house the very next day. It was 8:30 pm the day before and I found him on Google with some really good reviews. " - About Bruce Simon West Bloomfield Michigan
While both Google My Business/places and Google + are both for desktop, mobile is using these more than ever, specifically the GMB. Mobile is crucial and if you've been approved for mobile indexing, which is random, verify that your website is mobile compliant because the more mobile compliant see your website produces, the higher chances of it showing up on the first page of Google on mobile devices.
Now more than ever people are referring to Google for everything including how to contact a company, reviews, and directions. They'll find pretty much everything they need right from the search engine results page, so it only makes sense that what they find is accurate, impressive, and worthy of a call to action.
More Resources:
More Info on how Google My Business can improve leads
To compete you have to know your competition
Online Marketing tips that actually work
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