Common misconceptions and myths surrounding the importance of Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business) abound. Believing this inaccurate information can cost your business customers and harm its reputation. Below are five misconceptions that we frequently hear at The Digital People along with real facts that you need to know.
1. Claiming And Filling Out Your Google Business Profiles Is Not Important Because Most People Don’t Pay Attention To These Listings.
Quite the opposite is true. Your business’s Google Business Profile is a key part of getting your information out to potential and current customers on a search platform that sees 3.5 billion web searches per day.
With an average of 56% of Google Business Profile interactions resulting in website visits, it’s important that you take full advantage of this free digital real estate to get correct and helpful information out about your business. Accurate phone numbers, addresses, operating hours, website links, product and service descriptions, and engaging photos are so important.
Don’t miss out on free exposure, start your Google Business Profile today!
2. It is okay for an employee to set up your Google Business Profile with their personal email if they add the owner as a manager on the account.
Definitely not! We have lost track (or mentally blocked out) the number of hours that we have spent helping people try to recover access to their business’s digital assets from a former employee who is disgruntled or simply cannot be reached.
Your business’s Google Business Profile should be set up or claimed if a profile already exists using an email address that the business owners control. Simply click here to check if your business has a profile if you are unsure.
3. I should rank number one in and around my town since I properly filled out my profile.
Although filling out your profile and keeping it updated will help you reach the top, there are other important variables when it comes to where you rank. One of the biggest variables is the location of the customer. For example, if there are two mechanic shops in the same town, with similar Google Business Profile presence, depending on the location of the customer it will vary which mechanic shop ranks higher. When the customer search occurs, the results will factor in their distance to each mechanic shop.
4. Answering reviews on Google Business Profile should be considered optional. You just answer them from time to time.
Regularly answering reviews left on your Google Business Profile is critically important. Google reviews give your business credibility when customers are researching products or services. Be sure to answer both positive and negative reviews. Google considers those reviews and your interaction with them as a factor in where your business ranks in the local results.
5. Failing to claim your business won’t harm your business.
Failing to claim your Google Business Profile can lead to an unwanted hassle later. An unclaimed business profile can result in inaccurate information about your business being displayed, or worse, someone unaffiliated trying to claim it. You want to be the one in the driver’s seat when it comes to the information that is being put out on the web about your business.
For more information on Google Business Profiles, check out this article.
