Are You Posting on Google My Business?
Effective April 2nd 2019, Google+ is DEAD. Long Live Google My Business!
Local Online Marketing Throughout Michigan & the World!
Now that Google+ is all but dead and buried, Google is shifting a lot of focus to Google My Business. If you haven’t done so already – you need to Claim Your Google My Business Profile. GMB is quickly becoming one of the most important ranking tools Google looks at for local business marketing. It can dramatically affect the quality of your Search Engine Reports and how potential customers find your business!
Claiming your Google My Business profile is great – chances are pretty good you’re ahead of the curve if you’ve done that. But it’s not enough to optimize it and fill out the relevant information and include a couple of pictures – you have to regularly add posts!
Crafting A Kickass Google My Business Post!
There’s a mindset we want you to get into when you approach your Google My Business posts – This is FREE Advertising! As you’re about to see, Google has effectively given you a platform to promote your products or services, call attention to an event, or offer a discount – all for FREE. It’s a great way to not only reach potential new customers, but those who have been considering your products or services may be enticed to make a purchase!
First, you’re going to have to choose what kind of post you want to make. Google has given you four options:
The awesome thing here is no matter what post you make – an event, product, or a blast about what’s new in your shop – you get 1,500 characters of text! Provide as much detail as you can – keep folks informed and include a compelling call to action to entice potential customers to click on your page or get in touch with you directly – which they can literally do with a click of a button on their mobile device!
Super Important Note: When you see your Google My Business profile in search results, roughly the first 100 characters of a post are visible - so you’re going to want to give EXTRA priority to those to catch the viewer’s attention and get them to click!
Next, you’re going to want to include a picture or a 10 - 30-second video. And as we suggested, when you’re creating your Google My Business profile – DON’T USE STOCK IMAGES! You want to get a good quality original picture that’s bright, bold, and eye-catching. The teaser of your post on the search results page is tiny – so make that image and headline MIGHTY.
Before you publish, you’re going to want to add a button. Technically speaking it’s an optional function, but you should treat it as a requirement. Button options include:
1. Book
2. Order Online
3. Buy
4. Learn More
5. Sign Up
6. Call Now
As part of our online marketing in Ann Arbor, Michigan initiative, our local clients tend to use the “Learn More” button to encourage people to read the latest article they’ve published or an important piece of news about their business that links directly to their website. But the juicy thing here is that Google has basically given people the chance to order your products or schedule your services WITHOUT having to go to your website or clicking on a Google Ad! Crazy stuff right!?!
How Often Should You Post on Your Google My Business Profile?
Google has a 7-day “expiration” for posts, except for Event and Offer posts (because of their built-in timeframe). Your posts won’t disappear completely, but they’ll stop showing up in your profile’s default view. To keep your Google My Business profile looking fresh, we recommend that you post 2-3 times per week. As we mentioned in our article about scheduling your social media marketing, add this to your routine and you’ll soon find it takes no time at all to craft a post and get it published.
Right now, there aren’t any free services out there that let you schedule your Google My Business posts in advance, so you’ve got to stay on top of it. Hopefully, that will change soon and this process will become easier. For now, schedule a short amount of time 2-3 days a week to craft a post and you’ll be in amazing shape!
Professional Online Marketing for Michigan Businesses
If you don’t have the time to do this yourself, we can help! At Michigan SEO Group, we help businesses throughout Michigan and the world improve their online presence through proven best SEO techniques and social media management including crafting and publishing Google My Business posts! To get started, Contact Us or give us a call at 734-619-0736 for a free website evaluation!
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Best SEO Practices and Online Marketing in Ann Arbor, MI