Featured In The March 2021 Edition Of Massage Magazine
Asked to contribute to the leading magazine in the massage industry on why Google My Business is important, I offer the following tips, advice, and strategy to grow your business.
Why Google My Business Is Important
Google is the world’s largest search engine, and it rewards you for being loyal, just like you reward other people who shop at your business. In tech terms, loyalty is derived through engagement, algorithms, relevance, location, and reputation. Understanding this, it’s important that you take the time to create and maintain your Google My Business page, especially if you have a physical location.
I always advise my clients to Google their personal name and their business name; then, see what comes up on Google and in search, including the tabs up top – All, Images, Video, etc. so you understand the data Google has on you and your business.
From there, invest some time and energy into creating the image you want, and keeping your brand profile up to date.
Google also uses geolocation on most people’s smartphones because they have that on for convenience, so when people search for your business, if you have current hours, location, and relevant Google reviews, you will rank higher in search results as Google offers the most relevant results within the area being searched, for example, spa near me. If you do not have a VPN on your phone and you are using local cellular data with geolocation turned on, try this and see what comes up, and if your competition has you beat, look at the information they’ve filled out and check their online presence.
Managing Your Online Presence On Google Search
While listing your business on Google is a great step, there are numerous things that must also be done to ensure your online presence is solid, including a nicely designed website with an intuitive user experience to drive more appointments; a reputation management plan to respond to every customer review to build transparency; and a customer loyalty program to encourage organic conversations about your brand on social media channels, there are a lot of pieces to having a holistic brand marketing strategy in place today to grow your business.
Understanding what pieces to prioritize within your budget is the first step towards creating a comprehensive business growth strategy in today’s environment where traditional marketing meets digital marketing.
No matter what you do, take the action necessary to list your business on relevant social media channels, Google My Business, and have a modern website that is mobile friendly to move your business in the right direction this year!
For more tips to grow your business, read my book Grow It Now! The Business Leader’s Handbook to Driving Revenue, Engagement, and New Opportunities for a deeper dive on this important topic and schedule a call to explore more ways to grow your business.
