Google My Business: is it really that important?

If your website appears among the first results of a Google search, you could say you’re doing great, right? You’re highly visible to search engine users… so front and center… right? Of course. No one can question that your SEO strategies are doing their job. But (unfortunately there’s always a but) making it onto Google’s podium of results is no longer enough on its own. Here’s why…

A recent SparkToro study, cited by the Local Search Association (LSA), reveals surprising data about the number of Google searches that result in no clicks at all. On desktop, these have reached 33% of total searches, up 9.5% from 2016, while on mobile they’ve hit a record 62%, 11% more than two years ago. In case the scale of these numbers didn’t come through: 3 out of 5 Google searches performed from a smartphone don’t produce a single click! On the other hand, clicks on ads are sharply increasing: compared to early 2016, up 126% on mobile and 44% on desktop.

What’s behind these numbers? We can attribute them almost entirely to the innovations, updates and integrations Google has introduced in recent years. Between the enrichment of Knowledge Panels (GMB listings), the shift from the Local 7-Pack to the Local 3-Pack (the top three results from a search highlighted), and the integration of the so-called Position-0 (a snippet of organic content shown above the list of results), Google is making it increasingly easy for its users to get answers to their questions without having to click any link. In short, without having to leave the Google ecosystem. This way, the owners of the traffic remain Google, even if not of the content used to generate it.

These revelations, and the growing Google monopoly they point to, might bother us. But it’s not all bad news. Quite the opposite. We simply need to pay attention to the changes Google introduces and learn to make the most of them. Especially for local businesses whose goal is to attract customers into their stores, an optimized use of Google’s constantly improving services could bring major advantages. Google My Business in particular will become one of the biggest points of focus, even more than it already is.

Before diving into the details of how to go about this optimization, it’s important to remember that Google My Business listings should not be thought of as a replacement for your website, but rather as an additional element that completes it. For retail chains, the individual store’s page, containing all the information users need, remains important.

So how do you make the most of GMB listings?

By using all the features available to you! Obviously the essential thing is that the information about your stores shown in your GMB listings is correct and complete. That means address, phone numbers, opening hours, website link, etc. Also vitally important, as always, is review management, which with these changes will be given even more prominence. These are the basics. Now you need to go further. There’s actually a lot more you can do to improve your GMB listings.

RetailTune makes this job easier, letting you standardize all your store data and keep it consistently correct and up to date across your various business touchpoints, GMB included!

Not only that, a series of alerts can flag changes made by users, as well as reviews submitted, giving you the ability to reply to them directly on the platform.

Which GMB features should you make the most of?

– Question & Answer, to begin with, which lets brands answer questions asked by users, which are then shown within the GMB listing and absolutely need to be managed, to avoid having other users answer them, possibly incorrectly.

– Google Posts, which lets you publish posts directly on the GMB listing, so they’re immediately visible to anyone searching for your brand, with the possibility of including promotions or various types of CTAs.

Ultimately, it’s important to make full use of everything Google offers. On one hand, because, in the short term, the image of our brand that forms in consumers’ minds will increasingly be shaped by the information the search engine shows them at first glance. But also because by optimizing our use of GMB, we’ll be rewarded by Google, which will rank us higher in its results.

Claudio Agazzi, Founder & MD at RetailTune.ai