Have you set up a Google My Business account? If you’ve been following this blog for very long, you’ll remember I’ve talked about this free feature of Google Suite a time or two. If you don’t already use it, I encourage you to get started!
Google My Business is a fantastic tool small businesses should use to build an online presence. It basically gives a quick rundown of your business’s most important details in the side panel of a Google search, and you control what information shows up.
This pizza shop in a university town lists hours of service, location, and contact info, plus the panel gives a quick summary about how this eatery stands out from area restaurants.
Recently, I wrote about both Google Analytics and rankings, but Google My Business Insights gives different information to check your website’s ability to generate leads. What makes these insights an important part of your marketing strategy?
Also Read: How Hawaii Businesses Can Control Random Changes to Their Google My Business Listing
Gaining Leads Builds Your Customer Base
Though other methods attract leads for your business, Google My Business drives significantly more leads than organic searches—and no, they aren’t paying me to say all this. Leads include prospects’ communication through your business’s website, such as calls, chats, form submissions, or any contact initiated through the website. Businesses should work to grow the number of leads they receive.
Keeping up with leads will help you, the business owner, know which areas of your online marketing strategy make the most difference. You also see which areas need special attention to increase their productivity.
Gaining more leads means you increase the number of interactions your business has with potential customers, improving the probability of making a sale with each one. Successful interactions with customers through your site help build their familiarity and confidence with your business.
You can check insights on a monthly basis to see how your leads trend over time, then compare those statistics with the revenue earned at each point. It may take a few months to really get a grasp on how GMB works for you, but with time, you’ll start to see how you can better shape your listing to improve those clicks!
Below are three tips to gain and track more leads through your website.
Also Read: SEO Link Building
3 Ways to Generate Leads with SEO
I’ve got three tips for you as you think about improving your SEO:
- Use Google My Business Insights to Track Leads
GMB Insights shows you the results of your business’s leads. These include direct listing searches, searches for categories, products, or services, and brand searches based on products you sell. You can access the number of views your GMB profile receives, as well as see various customer actions, like clicks to phone calls, chats, and directions.
Phone call statistics may not be entirely accurate, because GMB only tracks calls from direct clicks. It can’t track those from people who type in the number as they see it on your webpage. However, it gives you a solid idea of the trends.
If you get confused about the graphs and charts in Google My Business, they offer plenty of tips and tutorials to help you navigate the information they provide.
- Keep Your Website Up-to-Date
If a customer gets confused because of incorrect information (or a lack of it altogether) from a search result—or worse, on your website—they may just give up and try another business. You’ll lose your chance with a lead before it even starts!
Because GMB pulls information from your website to fill out the panel, make sure your website has all the most recent and perfectly accurate information about your business. Consider giving one of your employees the responsibility of managing that information. That way, a designated individual can always ensure consistency across the site, and they can make the necessary changes when they happen.
I get frustrated when I can’t easily figure out which city a business is located in by the information on their website or social media profiles. Adding the location and contact information is such an easy detail to fix, but one so many businesses whiff. It’s a loss for their leads—and ultimately, their revenue!
- Hire an SEO Expert
Do you want to know the very best way to optimize your website for lead generation with ease? Hire an expert to do it for you. You won’t have to spend the time mining your website to plant accurate and revenue-boosting keywords. The experts will take care of all these concerns!
They’ll use their knowledge and experience to evaluate all the available or missing information on your website, giving it the best possible impression to potential customers. Expanding the number of viewers your site receives will ultimately build your customer base, which of course will boost your sales and profits.
Some businesses don’t realize how simple it is to get started with a digital marketing agency.
Through our SEO services, we optimize Google My Business listings as well as your website. If you want to learn more about this or want help getting set up, reach out to us today!
Further Reading: How Hawaii Businesses Generate Leads Using Inbound Marketing
Photos Courtesy of Peter Thomas and John Schnobrich