Every business knows the importance of finding and keeping in touch with customers particularly since the advent of the Internet. It is for this purpose that the world’s search engine giant introduced Google My Business, a free and easy way for businesses of all sizes to find and connect with their customers on the move. Google My Business brings Google Places for Business, Google Local and Google+ Pages Dashboard which has been used, somewhat disjointedly, to manage customer business information in the past, under one roof. By doing so, new and existing users of these services (who will also get their accounts automatically upgraded to Google My Business) are expected to find it easier to update their information across Search, Maps and Google+.
Benefits of Google My Business
Google My Business complements your existing website by giving your business a public identity and presence on Google. The following are some additional ways Google expect businesses to benefit from their free Google My Business accounts.
Build long lasting relationships with customers by sharing information such as updates, news and special offers, and responding to feedbacks.
Publish correct and up-to-date business information on Search, Maps and Google+ so that customers can get in touch on computers, mobile phones or tablets.
Organise face-to-face video chat via Google Hangout to connect with customers lets you connect with your customers that are far away.
Showcase products or services with beautiful pictures (e.g. a profile photo, cover image or album) and videos.
Increase the number of company followers that can receive instant notification when you share special offers and updates through the Google Follow Button.
Gain insights on how people find your business from a single dashboard.
How to Set Up Google My Business
To set up Google My Business is easy. Just click on the “Get on Google” button at the top of the My Business homepage, and follow the steps to add your business information. However, note that any edits will not appear on Google until you verify your business.
Furthermore, with Google My Business Locations, you can manage multiple locations from one place with a simple bulk location management tool. Hence, businesses with 10 or more locations, or those with multiple accounts such as Digital Agencies can make use of the Google My Business Locations tool to edit or make bulk uploads.
Google My Business App
Users can log in to their accounts to update and share information on the go with the Google My Business app. This means that activities such as checking customer insights, changing business hours, managing online reputation, tracking customer ratings, and sharing latest photos, can all be done from a mobile phone or tablet.
