Do you have a Google Listing For Your Business?
It is so important and really helps your SEO - search engine optimization to have a google listing set up for your business. An active listing helps google recognize that you are a legitimate business, and therefore pushes your profile up the rankings when someone say types in "bookstore napier".
It is also another way of sending potential clients to your website, where you can show them your other offerings. So say someone is looking for a "bookstore in napier" your business comes up - you have an actual store but you also sell books online and you offer writing courses to aspiring authors. Your business does not actually have to have a store front. You can have a service based business listing which gives potential customers all the information they need, then they can contact you either directly through your Google listing or click on through to your website.
When you set it up use the exact same name if possible as your website, your Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Pinterest profiles as this helps Google recognize all your platforms. Then if you post consistently - even if it's only once a week the Facebook, Instagram etc icons will pop up on your Google Profile listing so clients/customers can follow you or find out more about you on your other platforms. This takes awhile and they can pop off again if you stop posting for a bit. So be consistent.
Another great aspect of utilizing your Google listing is that if you are just starting out in business, you can use this as your actual website! It makes sense, that way you are not forking out a big chunk of money for a website straight away, you can use this free one to get found online while you get some capital behind you!
If you set it all up via your laptop it gives you the option to publish your Google website for free! Once you do this you can post regular updates to tell people about your business, load photos of you at work, use it the same as a FB page. Create some Canva templates which you can re-use to have a steady stream of content to post. I have some Canva editable templates available for purchase or can make them up for you as required. Make sure you are logging in once a week - posting something, and making sure everything is up to date. You just have to be mindful of Google's quite strict post guidelines, it does not like spammy ad type of posts but also sometimes Google will take down a post and you just have no idea why. Just have a good read of the guidelines anyway.
Go through and add information about your business everywhere you can on your listing, don't leave anything not filled in. Add your services, products, hours you operate. And remember to update this for public holidays or if you go away on holiday, there is nothing worse than Googling to see if a business is open, then you turn up or call and it is not actually open, they just haven't updated their business hours!
You will also need to get reviews which again helps your SEO, the more reviews you have on your profile the higher up your business will be shown in search results. So if you get the opportunity ask your customers to give you a review. You can add a quick line at the end of an email campaign eg: "Happy with our services? Would you mind leaving us a review", or this is a great one I came across from an online help chat - "PS. If you're happy and you know it drop a 🤩! - then a link to their feedback page. So you could keep it light and quirky then add your review link from your Google Business Profile.
To create your Google Business Profile, you just Google - Google Business Profile and follow the steps. If you need help setting it up give me a yell!
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