From Yellow Pages to Online Directories: Reaching Your Customers with a Google My Business Listing
Remember the days of looking up phone numbers in either the White Pages or Yellow Pages of your local phone book?
(If you're younger than 25 years old, you may not even know what I'm talking about! 🤦♀️)
If you ARE old enough to remember using a phone book to find phone numbers, you knew to look in the Yellow Pages for business listings. They were broken down by categories to make them easier to find, even when we couldn't remember the name of the business.
Well, those days are pretty much over and as the Internet has taken over, Google has become the new "Yellow Pages" for businesses.
I've recently learned about an amazing tool to help your business be seen by more potential customers/clients who may not have been able to find you otherwise.
I have a client who SWEARS by the success he has had with this undervalued and underutilized service that is available to ANYONE for FREE!
It's the Google My Business Listing! Do you have one set up yet?
Whether you have one set up already or not, here are a few BENEFITS of having one, as well as some tips to make sure your listing is optimized to reach your customers/clients:
1. Showing up in Google Map searches - One of the first things consumers look for when choosing a local business is how close it is to where they currently are. By creating a FREE Google My Business Listing and completing the verification steps, you'll start to pop up in these searches more often, which increases the likelihood they'll stop in for a visit!
2. Earn Customers Trust - People trust Google! So when your business pops up in a search, you're gaining their trust. With the thorough verification steps each business needs to take to get a Listing, Google creates a trustworthy platform that users can rely on.
3. Star Ratings to Boost Your Reputation - Customers will be able to post reviews and feedback which gains you stars next to your business on Google! This can be the most nerve wrecking part, but as long as you're providing quality services/products and customer satisfaction is of the upmost importance to you, you'll start seeing those positive reviews! (Responding to the reviews helps boost your listing even more.)
4. Increase Website/Foot Traffic and Sales - This is an area a lot of businesses struggle with and having a Google My Business Listing can help boost these numbers. Google has found that your business is about 70% more likely to bring in foot traffic and up to 50% in more sales due to having a Google My Business listing! When someone has a craving for ice cream or cupcakes and your Bakery is one of the first to pop up with appealing photos and info, where do you think they're going to go?
5. Your Customers Can Easily Engage With You - Potential customers can access your website, book an appointment, reserve a table and call you all from your Google My Business Listing. Making sure all of the information your potential customer may need is included in your listing will help your customers reach you at the touch of a button!
I've recently created my own Google My Business Listing and am excited to see how it performs for a "Virtual" Business like mine! I'd love to see you over there! Feel free to click over and follow my business at https://g.page/staceysvaservices?we.
If we've worked together or you've found any of the information I've provided useful, I'd love to hear how it has helped you by posting a review!
Be sure to share your listing with me so I can support you!
