When it comes to search, Google is the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world, getting an average of 40,000 search queries per second or roughly a whopping 3.5 billion searches a day. This makes Google an incredibly powerful tool for businesses to gain brand awareness, improve website traffic, acquire new leads and more. 

Below we discuss seven ways to use Google My Business to increase customers. If you haven’t already set up your Google My Business account, we suggest you do so now. It’s free, so why not?

1. Become more visible online, aka rank better in search results.

Google likes business that are trustworthy and offer high quality goods or services. By setting up a Google My Business account, you are letting the search engine know that you are a legit business that has disclosed accurate information about your company. Your unique information helps you stand out from your competitors and can help you rank higher. 

2. Increase trust and credibility with customers.

There are many Google My Business features that can make your listing more appealing to viewers and credible to potential customers. You can upload different types of photos to show off your physical space, your products or services and more. There’s even an option to publish an indoor Street View as a virtual tour of your business. Is it worth the effort to enhance your Google My Business listing? Yes!  Listings with photos and a virtual tour are twice as likely to generate interest. As far as increasing your online credibility, customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a Google My Business listing and 29% more likely to buy something. 

3. Show customer reviews.

These days, online customer reviews can make or break a business. In fact, 87% of potential customers won’t even consider businesses with low customer ratings. Google My Business not only allows you to display customer ratings, it allows you to respond to customer feedback and reviews, which gives you the opportunity to resolve problems and demonstrate great customer service. 

4. Improve discoverability/visibility.

Almost everyone starts with search to find your business or products. Make it easier for them to do that. A Google My Business account ensures that when someone searches for your company or product online, your company shows up on Google Search and Google Maps. Once it does, your listing has all the information they are after, like website, location, contact info, how to visit, etc. 

5. Keep customers quickly and easily informed.

Having your company’s information clearly displayed on your Google My Business listing helps customers get important information instantly. But beyond listing helpful things like your address, hours of operation and contact info, Google My Business allows you inform customers of updates, like that you’ve expanded your services, temporarily closed or fully reopened. This is a valuable feature, as updates like these can help avoid customer confusion and build trust.

6. Be discoverable on local searches.

When someone searches for a restaurant using search terms like, “restaurants near me” or “restaurants in…” Google displays local listings. These local listings have seen an increase in visibility over or organic search results. So having your accurate info in Google My Business is the best way for your company to be discovered when people are looking for products or services in your area. 

7. Customize your listing to perform best.

We’ve discussed how you can use Google My Business to increase sales, boost traffic and elevate your search rankings, but you can customize your listing to make it do even more. Add your business phone number to enable people to contact you in a click. Or consider adding buttons like “Share,” “Make a Reservation” and “Call Now” to allow people to take immediate action. 

Google My Business is a powerful resource to put to work for your company. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to set up, which makes it a no brainer. Ready to step up your search game? This is a good place to start.