GrowMap

Map Your Path To Grow Your Business

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • G.A.S.P
  • Press
  • Portfolio
  • GrowMap Services
  • PostsComments

Google My Business: A Free Marketing Tool for Entrepreneurs

December 18, 2017 By Alex Hamilton 33 Comments

Back in 2014, Google released Google My Business (GMB), a free tool for businesses and entrepreneurs to provide quick and accurate business information to customers.

google my business entrepreneurs marketing

GMB gives you another way to engage with your target audience, and it appears instantly when people are searching for information about your business. While many entrepreneurs have started utilizing Google My Business, they might not be using it to its full potential.

google my business add business listing information

Table of Contents

  • How to Set GMB Up for Your Business
  • Creating GMB Posts
    • Include a Photo 
    • Write a Description
    • Schedule an Event
    • Add a Button
  • Understanding GMB Insights
    • How Customers Search for Your Business
    • Where Customers View Your Business
    • Customer Actions
  • So Why Should I Use Google My Business?
      • Alex Hamilton
      • Latest posts by Alex Hamilton (see all)

How to Set GMB Up for Your Business

After signing into your Google account, create a business listing.

Google will guide you through all the relevant information you should include, such as business details and images of your products or services.

Some entrepreneurs in the early stages of their start-up ventures might operate from home.

If you would prefer that customers contact you online rather than visiting your home address, you can hide your business address through GMB so it won’t show.

Once you’ve finished creating your listing, keep it up to date with recent information and GMB posts.

Creating GMB Posts

Google My Business gives you the option to add time-restricted (appearing for one week) posts so you can let customers and potential investors know about your current activities.

You can also use GMB posts to promote an event or special offers you’ll be running. The posts will appear in both Google search and Google maps results, encouraging people to interact with your business.

Include a Photo add google my business post

Adding photos to your posts will make them stand out and appeal to potential investors and customers.

The images you use need to be a minimum of 400×300 pixels.

However, we recommend you use images that are a minimum of 750×750 pixels.

Try to use images that you have personally taken that show your current activities.

Write a Description

Google posts also give the option to add a 100-300 word (up to 1500 character) description.

Use this opportunity to write about what’s happening with your company or to explain the reason why people should visit your site.

After the first 100 characters, your description could be cut off, so make the first few sentences count.

Schedule an Event

If you are planning to make an event, maybe a pitch of your idea or product, you can use this function to put in a start and end date and time.

Add a Button

Finally, GMB posts allow you to add a call-to-action (CTA) in the form of a button. You have the option to add a button titled “learn more,” “reserve,” “sign up,” “buy,” or “get offer.” This button will link to a page you specify on your website.

Although GMB posts take minimal time and effort to create, they tend to work better for certain products and businesses, while providing minimal benefits for others.

A way to track the success of your posts is to include a unique URL for each post using Google’s Custom URL Builder. This tool will allow you to track the clicks and online conversions through Google Analytics.

Understanding GMB Insights

Some entrepreneurs don’t have time to focus on tracking their online marketing efforts in detail. So GMB gives quick and easy to digest information on how people are interacting with your business listing.

This, of course, is not to discredit the in-depth insights Google Analytics offers. All good start-ups and entrepreneurs should focus on analysing their online marketing efforts in detail.

google my business insights

Google My Business insights can give you a weekly, monthly, or quarterly overview of the following:

How Customers Search for Your Business

This insight will tell you the total amount of times your business listing has been shown to customers.

The data includes both direct search (people who found your listing by searching for your business name or address) and discovery (people who found you when searching for a category, product, or service).

Where Customers View Your Business

Your listing has the ability to show up in both Google search and maps results. This insight will allow you to see how customers have come to find your business, either by searching through Google or looking for your location on maps.

Customer Actions

When analyzing your insights, Google will show you how many people have used your GMB listing to visit your website, request directions to your premises, or call you.

This information will give you a quick and accurate overview of how people have been interacting with your listing.

So Why Should I Use Google My Business?

Google My Business is a completely free tool offered by Google, no strings attached. It allows you to interact with potential customers and investors by providing them with quick and reliable information, including updates on what’s happening with your start-up.

Creating a GMB listing will also help with local SEO, that is, the ability for your business to appear higher in local search results.

GMB also houses your Google reviews, which are a key factor when customers are considering whether or not to deal with your business.

Positive Google reviews are vital for assuring customers that you’re a reputable and trustworthy business, so read up on some ways you can get more Google reviews.

Finally, Google My Business gives you great insights into how people are interacting with your listing so that you can make changes to further increase your reach.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Alex Hamilton

Online Marketing Executive at White Chalk Road
Alex in a content creator and blogger who loves writing about actionable tips and recommendations for small to medium sized businesses. Alex understands that businesses need quick and easy access to quality and relevant information online and hopes to provide this information through publishing detailed articles for business professionals.
My Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Latest posts by Alex Hamilton (see all)

  • How to Empower Your Workforce to Succeed – 4 Simple Steps - February 7, 2018
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance for Business – Pointers and Pitfalls - January 22, 2018
  • Indemnity or Malpractice Insurance for New Medical Practices - January 3, 2018
Tweet
Share
Share26
Pin104
Share
Share
Pocket
Flip
130 Shares
« 3 Easy Steps to the Best Healthcare for Small Business
12 E-Commerce Marketing Tools to Get More Sales in Less Time »

Filed Under: Free Ways to Get Traffic, Local Search, SEO / Google / Organic Traffic, Small Business Advice Tagged With: entrepreneurship, GMB, google, Google my business, Local Search

Comments

  1. Mansoor Bhanpurawala says

    December 12, 2019 at 9:13 am

    Thanks, Alex, for the explanation. Google My Business is a Great & Efficient way to start your business online & offline.
    Mansoor Bhanpurawala would love you to read ..A Complete Guide & FAQs On Google My Business OptimizationMy Profile

    Reply
  2. ebaraha says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:52 am

    Really nice info for business. Most of them don’t know how to create a business page for their website I hope this will help them.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      July 29, 2018 at 10:27 pm

      Thanks ebaraha!

      Reply
  3. Sajib says

    January 8, 2018 at 7:52 am

    Good job Alex Hamilton. Now this day Google is most important for all businesses. Your post is making it easy to create a business page for new users. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      July 29, 2018 at 10:26 pm

      Great to hear my article helped 🙂

      Reply
  4. Aquafresh Water Purifier says

    January 4, 2018 at 3:42 am

    Wow! A great idea to grow your business. I will definitely implement. Thank you for sharing wonderful article.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      July 29, 2018 at 10:26 pm

      Thanks for the comment,

      Google My Business is so powerful, and Google keep improving it’s functionality.

      Have you found it useful so far?

      Reply
  5. Eureka Forbes RO says

    January 2, 2018 at 5:18 am

    Google My Business: A Great & Efficient way to start your business venture online, offline and all your social media way Supportive solution to see you prosper.

    Thanks for this post Alex

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      July 29, 2018 at 10:25 pm

      Thanks for leaving a reply, it’s really an amazing tool!

      Reply
  6. Sunny says

    January 2, 2018 at 12:15 am

    It’s a very informative blog-thanks for sharing. I hope you will be share another great post.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      January 2, 2018 at 6:34 pm

      Thanks Sunny!

      I try to continually provide some great content for viewers on GrowMap! I hope I can provide some more useful information in 2018!

      Have a great year!

      Reply
  7. Aquaguard RO says

    January 1, 2018 at 11:01 pm

    Thank you so much for this article. I will definitely try out all those steps to help my website and business grow.
    Happy New Year 2k18

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      January 2, 2018 at 6:33 pm

      Thanks for the comment! Definitely use GMB in the New Year!

      I wish you all the best for 2018!

      Reply
  8. dalbano says

    December 31, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    i Wasn’t aware of this google MB full potential,
    but now ..woahhh
    its powerfull and free

    hope its useful to my littleshop

    thank’s alex

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      January 2, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      Definitely get involved in GMB! And enjoy the free insights and local SEO help! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Emma Victoria says

    December 30, 2017 at 5:02 am

    i’m not here this before you about google my business
    thanks alex for share this tool with us

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      January 2, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      Thanks for the comment!

      I’m surprised how many people had not heard of Google My Business until now, but it’s great to see people actively learning more about online marketing by reading articles such as my own! Innovation is key!

      Reply
  10. Ray says

    December 26, 2017 at 6:27 am

    That’s actually pretty cool. I’ve had webmaster tools, analytics, adwords, and those other google tools, but this is the first time I’ve heard of this one.
    Ray would love you to read ..Happy Holidays!My Profile

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      January 2, 2018 at 5:42 pm

      Definitely start using GMB! It’s a great tool and completely FREE!

      Reply
  11. Syed Ahxn says

    December 21, 2017 at 5:42 am

    The most important thing about GMB is that it is easy and free, and this tool also helpful in increasing rankings in search engine locally.

    Thumbs up. Carry on the great work.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 21, 2017 at 7:03 pm

      Thanks for the comment.

      That’s it, free and easy, perfect for all small businesses!

      Reply
  12. Fred says

    December 20, 2017 at 5:02 pm

    Google My Business is great, until you randomly get a 1 star review from a newly created account with no profile picture or history of any sort. And then Google refuses to remove it… As much as we like to hate on Yelp, at least they do a good job of getting rid of fake reviews.
    Fred would love you to read ..Best Instagram Bot & Liker (2018 Edition) – How to Use Automation for More FollowersMy Profile

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 20, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      Very frustrating indeed.

      And unfortunately there is no way to get around it. What I usually recommend to clients is to use sites such as White Spark to help create review handouts to customers. This helps your business gain more positive reviews!

      Thanks for the comment Fred

      Reply
    • John Kent says

      December 21, 2017 at 7:15 pm

      The goal for any business is to have as many reviews as possible. A one star review when you have 5 total will invariably affect you more than one when you have twenty.

      Additionally, today’s consumer is discerning and will take the time to read the reviews. Encourage your reviewers to leave a write up as well. That way when a potential client sees the poor review, you have something to counter with.

      One last thing is to always respond to reviews, whether good or bad. The way you respond to a poor review will sway some people more than a bunch of good reviews. You can fake reviews, but you can’t fake your response.

      Reply
      • Alex Hamilton says

        January 2, 2018 at 5:41 pm

        That’s some great information John!

        I agree with everything you’ve said wholeheartedly. I recently received a review on Google for one of my clients from a “customer” who the company never dealt with. They left a 1 star review from a new account without any description of what the problem was. I replied asking about what issue they had to try and resolve it with no response.

        Unfortunately in this case, more could be done by Google requiring customers to at least include a short description when leaving a review. At least this way the company can respond to the problem and provide a solution.

        Thanks again for your comment, it gives some additional great information to the article!

        Reply
  13. Imran says

    December 19, 2017 at 7:05 am

    This sounds very very good i arranging a entrepreneurs festival in Faisalabad 2017 so i found this blog in a very right time i added your information in festival agenda Thanks for the post! Keep Sharing Information!

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 19, 2017 at 7:15 pm

      Thanks Imran!

      Glad you found the information useful.

      Reply
  14. Sandeep says

    December 19, 2017 at 2:17 am

    it’s great way to get all details for website, google business page is the great idea for startup online business. thanks for sharing the post.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 19, 2017 at 7:15 pm

      Thanks Sandeep.

      And the best part is it’s free! Really worth looking into for every business!

      Reply
  15. Jina says

    December 19, 2017 at 2:14 am

    yes, absolutely right! Good way to start online with google my business, lots of details you can grab from the google. thanks for sharing the good article.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 19, 2017 at 7:16 pm

      Thanks Jina for your comment 🙂

      Reply
  16. Lucas Smith says

    December 18, 2017 at 9:15 pm

    This sounds interesting and amazing. Wasn’t really aware of GMB’s full potential. I didn’t know it could help with local SEO and boost online visibility.

    Thanks for this post Alex.

    Will start exploring GMB to find out more of what it could offer.

    Reply
    • Alex Hamilton says

      December 18, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      Thanks Lucas!

      Yes, it’s great and they only keep improving it!

      Definitely look into it, it’s only going to get better 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts
You can add a link to follow you on twitter if you put your username in this box.
Only needs to be added once (unless you change your username). No http or @

Search

UPC CODES don't fall for fakes

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Getting Paid to Write – It’s More Than Just Writing
  • How a Small Business Can Compete with a Major Brand Selling Similar Products [Infographic]
  • Regular Live Online Small Business Events Tues and Wed
  • Small Business Websites: How to Make Yours More Compelling [Infographic + Video]
  • Minimizing Your Vulnerability to Online Security Risks [Infographic]
Don't Miss Your Path to Growth!
Enter your email to receive new
blog posts:

Did MOZ Drop Your Site’s DA?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv_cL50MpZA

Popular Posts

Small Business Websites: How to Make Yours More Compelling [Infographic + Video]Small Business Websites: How to Make Yours More Compelling [Infographic + Video]
Minimizing Your Vulnerability to Online Security Risks [Infographic]Minimizing Your Vulnerability to Online Security Risks [Infographic]
Career Choices: How to Find Work in the Remote Economy [Infographics]Career Choices: How to Find Work in the Remote Economy [Infographics]
Getting Paid to Write – It’s More Than Just WritingGetting Paid to Write – It’s More Than Just Writing
5 Best Inventory Control Techniques to Improve Your Bottom Line [Infographic]5 Best Inventory Control Techniques to Improve Your Bottom Line [Infographic]
How a Small Business Can Compete with a Major Brand Selling Similar Products [Infographic]How a Small Business Can Compete with a Major Brand Selling Similar Products [Infographic]
How to Use Local SEO to Boost Your Real ‎Estate BusinessHow to Use Local SEO to Boost Your Real ‎Estate Business
How to Use Martech to Ace Your Influencer Marketing CampaignsHow to Use Martech to Ace Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns
10 Motivational Podcasts for the Modern Salesperson10 Motivational Podcasts for the Modern Salesperson
Regular Live Online Small Business Events Tues and WedRegular Live Online Small Business Events Tues and Wed

Greatest eCommerce Competitive Risks to Small Businesses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=bmlJmDYaax0

Serpstat: What it Does

https://youtu.be/rjIfKdIWk7M

GrowMap Policies

  • Disclosure Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • GrowMap Guest Blogging Guidelines

Connect With Growmap

growmap on twitter growmap on g plus growmap on linkedin growmap on pinterest growmap on facebook growmap on stumbleupon growmap on skype

Copyright © 2008-2021 Growmap · Centric Mobile Responsive Theme by StudioPress · Genesis Framework · Site maintaned By MarketingTilt

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

GrowMap
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side. Read our complete privacy policy.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.