How To Use Google My Business To Generate Local
A study by Bright Local Research in 2019 reveals that 5% of people who view a business’s profile on Google My Business (GMB) contact it, view its website, or request directions. In simple words, 5% of GMB profile viewers turn into leads. Therefore, you can generate over 50 leads for your business with only 1000 listing views if you do everything correctly.
How can you get more views towards your Google My Business listing? How can you convince viewers to take the desired action? This guide will cover strategies for generating local leads and tracking your leads generated from Google My Business. We’ll also look into how to track your leads generated from Google My Business.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB) is a tool or platform that lets users create and manage their business profiles on Google. Your listing on GMB refers to Business Profile and appears in local search results and Google Maps.
Creating a GMB profile is similar to adding a place in Google Maps. It requires a business name, location, and category. Once Google approves your provided details, it publishes the Business Profile and attaches it to your provided location.
Once created, any Google user can interact with your Business Profile by leaving reviews, adding photos, and more. It is worth noting that unless you have a Google My Business account, you won’t be able to manage the content displayed on your Business Profile. Once you create one, you’re free to customize and manage your Business Profile on Google.
How to Get Leads From Google My Business
Here are the seven top tips for turning your GMB profile into a lead-generating system.
Keyword Research and Placement
If you want to capture leads from Google My Business, you’ll want it to rank for the keywords your target consumers might be searching for. For instance, Community Phone, a landline service provider, should use keywords like “landline service” and “home phone service” to make the most out of their listing.
A good solution is to compile a list of keywords and terms your target audience tends to search for. Then, sprinkle those keywords into your GMB profile to help it rank for them when searched on Google or Google Maps.
Competitor Analysis
Analyzing your competitors is a great way to optimize your listing for better keywords and more leads. Simply create a list of your competitors and visit their listings to see which keywords they frequently target, their popular times, and more. Doing so will help you provide more practical information to your viewers and outrun your competitors.
Accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
If a consumer cannot reach your local business in one way or another, it’s unlikely they’ll ever consider it again. So, you must write your business name, location, and contact details correctly. Moreover, the details like open hours, days, and service options also impact your viewer’s buying journey.
Upload Images
According to a Search Engine Land study of 2019, businesses with over 100 photos get 520% more calls than regular businesses. It makes clear how crucial images are in attracting customers. Naturally, you’ll want people to upload photographs to your profile. However, you also need to add photos.
Business Category
It’s not uncommon for consumers to use terms like “restaurant near me” when they feel hungry. As a rule of thumb, you’ll want your local business to appear on top in its niche. But that won’t be possible if you don’t categorize your local business correctly.
Get Reviews
According to ReviewsTracker Online Survey Review, 63% of consumers are likely to check Google Reviews before visiting a business. This is sufficient evidence that reviews are a practical approach to outperforming your rivals and raising your lead generation prospects.
Update Local Directories
Updating your business’s local directories will improve your link profile, leading to better Google rankings. So, make sure to list your business across various directories and update its profiles from time to time.
Track Lead Generation From GMB
Google My Business offers quite a few features to help you track your leads and their actions to improve your chances of making sales.
Search Visibility Insights
Google My Business offers a dedicated Insights tab where you can find information regarding how often your business shows up in specific searches. You’ll learn which keywords work best for you and which don’t. Moreover, you can look into how many total views you got versus how many leads you got to determine the conversion rate.
Customer Action Insights
Another great function of GMB is tracking the number of viewers who perform any desired actions. It can assist you in identifying errors in your listing so you can improve its lead generation capabilities. You’ll also see how many of them clicked on your website’s URL, how many requested directions, and more.
Destination Goals With Google Analytics
Google Analytics integrates well with GMB to give you an overview of how users engage once they land on your website. It can be helpful in several ways, like determining your most popular product/service. You’ll learn how much traffic you got, how long users stay on your website, and which pages are visited most frequently. By setting up destination goals, you’ll know whenever a user takes a particular action, like making a purchase.
Event Goals With Google Tag Manager
Event goals differ from common goals, as the former gives you information based on user interactions on your website. They’re specific expected outcomes from certain events. You can set up event goals via Google Tag Manager and add and update your tags for tracking various activities that’ll help you optimize your listing.
4 Tips For Successful Google My Business Campaigns
Here are four tips to help you manage your GMB campaigns successfully.
- Stay Connected With Customers
Your customers must be satisfied with your product or service to succeed on Google My Business. Happy customers are prone to leave glowing reviews on your GMB listing. Encourage them to leave feedback on your GMB profile.
- Review Management
You don’t want your competitors to have people leave bad reviews on your GMB listing, as it can badly affect your lead generation. So, keeping an eye on the reviews you gather is essential. Even if you get unpleasant feedback on your GMB profile, respond to it calmly, so its effect on your prospect’s buying decision is nothing but positive.
- Optimize and Reoptimize
Optimizing your GMB listing is the key to ranking for relevant terms on Google and Google Maps. But to keep up with the competition, you’ll need to regularly optimize your profile for the trending keywords to grab maximum attention from your prospects.
- Hire a Marketing Agency
Building a robust online presence is essential to outscore your competition. It includes social media platforms; your business profiles on directories and GMB matter equally. Hiring an efficient marketing agency is the most effective way to class up your lead generation game without spending hours on it.
Before you begin working with an agency, make sure they write up a business proposal that includes a detailed breakdown of their activities and scope of work. It will ensure the agency understands your exact needs and how they plan to fix them.
Other Ways To Find Leads For Your Business
Social Media Campaigns
As the first social media platform, Facebook is among the most acceptable ad platforms you can use. With over 4.62 billion active social media users, there’s no way you can ignore social platforms for marketing your local business. Of course, you can’t target billions of people, but you can indeed advertise your business to thousands of potential consumers who live nearby.
Email Marketing
Though email marketing requires collecting the email accounts of your potential customers first, it’s highly profitable in the long run. Having an email list will help you inform your customers about discounts, events, and new products so you can make them rebuy from you. According to Constant Contact’s Email Marketing Statistics from 2022, the average ROI of email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent.
Google Local Service Ads
Running Google ads campaigns will help you rank on top of relevant search results. For instance, if you’re a garage owner, you can optimize your ads for keywords like “workshop.” When a resident searches for this keyword or relevant terms, your ad will likely appear on the top, boosting your chances of getting more sales.
Final Words
The popularity of Google My Business (GMB) is on the rise. Users find it convenient to search for local businesses. On the flip side, it has also enabled companies to:
- Generate local leads through their GMB profile
- See and respond to reviews
- Perform thorough competitor analysis
- Gain insight into visibility and customer actions
- Stay connected to their customers
Ervin Kalemi
