Businesses must communicate with their customers about their services more than ever. Google My Business (GMB), one of Google's most powerful offerings, is a great alternative to the days when potential customers had to search through phone books and print MapQuest directions in order to find what they were looking for. GMB allows businesses the opportunity to be more visible to a wider audience by using Google My Business categories.
Google My Business, a free platform, was created by Google to enable businesses to create profiles that include information about themselves such as their location and hours of operation. A restaurant listing will often contain a menu and information about whether indoor dining or curbside pickup is available. GMB was not an actual entity before COVID-19. However, the pandemic demonstrated the importance of businesses being capable of quickly communicating changes to their schedules and other options to their customers.
GMB allows you to interact with people who have reviewed your business on Google Maps. Your profile will be made public to Google Maps. This will allow users to search for your business using a specific location. It will also appear in relevant searches. Google will likely have provided a list of GMB profiles that are sushi restaurants near you to anyone who has searched for "sushi near my location".
You will be asked to choose your Google My Business Categories when you create your profile. This is to allow Google to show potential customers your business. This is where things can get tricky, as sometimes the first category that comes to your mind won't give you the results you want.
It is important to maximize the effectiveness of your category. There are many ways to do this.
Google My Business quickly became the most popular platform for people to locate businesses within their locality. This makes it imperative to use GMB to help customers find your business.
Although it's easy to create a Google My Business account, professional marketers understand the importance of updating information, choosing your Google My Business Categories and monitoring their effectiveness. They also know how to use GMB to interact more effectively with customers as Google releases new tools.
AHIT has been using Google My Business since its inception to help build brands for our clients. We also use it daily to get leads from our clients' local communities. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you grow your business online in 2022.
If at all possible, we recommend that you use all ten categories to get the most out of GMB and all of the search engine ranking benefits it can provide. Just make sure they're all relevant to your company! If you're a cafe, don't put yourself in the supermarket category.
.Sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and Limited Liability Company, or LLC, are the four main types of business entities.
.You can choose up to ten categories for your business on Google.
.A business category is a high-level business area that aids in the organization of terms used in the business world. Information Governance Catalog (IGC) defines business categories provided by IBM Industry Models as categories with properties that describe the meaning of the business category in business language.
.Your company is divided into categories. They put you in touch with customers who are looking for your products or services. If your primary category is "Pizza restaurant," for example, Google may show your business in local search results when someone searches for Restaurants, Italian Restaurants, or Pizza.
.Follow these steps to change your primary Google Business Profile category:
"'Google My Business' will be renamed 'Google Business Profile' to keep things simple," wrote Matt Madrigal, VP/GM Merchant Shopping, in the official announcement. "And in 2022, we'll retire the Google My Business app so that more merchants can benefit from the improved Search and Maps experience," he added.
.Yes, creating a Google Business Profile is completely free. Create a free profile, and you'll be able to manage your business from Google Search and Maps, allowing you to reach out to more customers.
.So, how frequently should I update my Google My Business profile? You should post on Google My Business at least once every seven days. Many businesses have seen positive results and improved rankings by posting once per day. Businesses that frequently use Google products are viewed favorably by Google.
.Google My Business has changed its name to Google Business Profile. By bringing Google Search, Google Maps, and their respective apps directly from Google My Business apps, small businesses will be able to better manage their profiles and engage with their customers.
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