Google My Business - how to set up your online business card

You have a florist in Karlslunde where you sell beautiful bouquets. Unfortunately, you have neglected your Google My Business. And as a result, you're missing out on a sale.

One day a man is driving through Karslunde, hoping to find a shop where he can buy a bouquet. However, he doesn't know the town very well, so he searches for "florist" on Google.

However, Google shows that the nearest open shop is in Hvidovre - despite the fact that your shop with the perfect bouquet is just around the corner. Google just doesn't know because your Google My Business isn't set up correctly.

So how do you set up your Google My Business correctly?

First of all, make sure you fill in all the basic information. The information that Google My Business needs is essentially the same information that you've put on your website - information that a potential customer will need to either contact or visit your business.

The following information lays the foundation for a well-functioning Google My Business and is based on the fictional entrepreneur Jørgen Jensen, who runs a reputable YoYo store.

Company name and category describing the services your company offers. Google has already predefined a wide range of business categories. Since YoYo store is not a category that exists in this collection, Jørgen chooses the closest one; toy store.

Your business addresswhich is extremely important. It's what your customers need to find your business. Google Maps, which many people use to find their way around, pulls data from Google My Business, so it's important that the address is entered correctly - otherwise you risk ending up in the same situation as the florist from Karslunde. Jørgen doesn't want that to happen, so he's entered his company's address.

Shop opening hours ensures that a customer does not go to a closed shop in vain. It is of course important to set your normal opening hours - but also to update them regularly for public holidays or other changes. For example, Jørgen likes to spend his weekends and Easter without working - and every now and then he has to attend a Yoyo conference. So he tells his customers.

Contact information should be set up so that customers know how to find your products and/or services. Contact information involves the shop's telephone number and website. This way, your customers can quickly contact you with relevant questions, as well as quickly access your website and see everything your business offers. Jørgen wants to make it easy for customers, so he inserts his contact information.

Introduce your companyand make your customers want to see what you have to offer. Like Jørgen, you can use the company description as a conversation starter between you as a shop owner and a potential customer looking for the products you sell. That's why it's important to express yourself in a way that makes passing Google users want to see more of your business. Jørgen has done just that with a short and compelling description of his business.

Once you've filled in the basic information in your Google My Business, you've created the fundamental basis for a successful business profile on Google. Once the foundations are in place, it's time to finish building the house - and you'll do that with reviews and visual content in the form of images of your business.

By posting photos on your Google My Business profile, you give your potential customers a virtual tour of your business before they've visited it physically. It gives them a sense of whether it's a place they want to visit - and, best case scenario, shop.

Images can show different elements of your business. It could be the stocked shelves, the happy staff, the atmosphere during a normal day and/or the shop front, so customers know what they're looking for if they decide to pop in for 'a little look'.

Another extra task that will make your Google My Business profile complete is the good publicity. Customers listen to each other and use good reviews when they need the same product or service themselves. That's why it's a good move to ask your customers to review their visit to you and 'create some buzz' for your business. Because it really does matter in the end.

In fact, stores that receive frequent and good reviews on their Google My Business are more likely to increase their visibility in search results. Indeed, a potential customer is not interested in seeing a business that neither has reviews nor updates its Google My Business regularly.

Learn how to deal with bad reviews online.

If you sell physical products, like Jørgen sells YoYoer, it is very relevant for you to create products in your Google My Business. Here you allow Google - and the users who have found your business on Google - to see what products or services you can offer. Below, Jørgen has created his most popular product; Super YoYo.

Besides products, there are other ways to invite passers-by into your business. For example, you can post about milestones or other important items that are worth highlighting. Similarly, there may be a big event just around the corner that you want to tell your customers about - for example, the shop's birthday, a warehouse sale or something else that your customers will find interesting.

If you need help either setting up or fixing your Google My Business, we at Webamp are here to help.

Please contact us at 70 60 50 28 or info@webamp.dkif you need
advice on your Google My Business.