How to Use Google My Business for Ecommerce & Shopify
Nowadays you don't need to be a large company to have a large social media account, or a highly visited website, or even be able to be found around the world through Google Maps. In order to take our online store to the next level, Google created Google My Business .
Google Business is a perfect tool that will help your potential customers access your online store website more easily. In this post we tell you how to configure it to reach as many people as possible and all the benefits it offers.
What is Google My Business?
It is a platform where you can include all the details of your e-commerce . It is complemented by Google Maps (when you fill out the form that the tool gives you, Google includes your business on the corresponding map), so you can give a greater boost to the local SEO positioning of your business.
Google My Business is the best option for local searches since it prefers to show information from real sites on the map and that get good reviews from customers. Once Google has recognized your business, you will appear in a sidebar in the search engine, where you will be much more visible to users.
Therefore, to access Google My Business we will have to fill out a form for our business where you include essential information such as the address, hours and, above all, the different reviews that other customers have wanted to leave to comment on their experience. As you will understand, it is an ideal alternative to promote your store.
How do you sign up for Google My Business?
To get started and create an account in the tool, you just have to enter Google and select the “My Business” option.
- The usual thing is that it asks you for a Gmail address to access , if you already have one it is enough since a Gmail account will allow us to access all Google products.
- Once inside, sign up by selecting the “add your company to Google” option.
- This will be when you begin to fill out the Google My Business file with the information requested, such as the name of your business, company name and physical address, if you have it or want to include it.
- The search engine will offer you a series of options from already registered companies. If this is your first time registering, select the “none of the options match the company” option .
- Now comes the most important moment: choosing the exact location of your business . To do this, you just have to use the Google Maps screen and move the red dot wherever you decide.
- All you have to do is complete your Google My Business profile indicating if you ship outside your city and add the contact information that best suits you.
Before you can use the Google My Business platform, you need to request that a postcard be sent to the address you indicate. It will be after receiving it that you will have access to all the functionalities available on the platform.
Once the process is complete, check that you appear in searches by entering the name of your business in the search engine or searching for it on Google Maps.
Benefits of using Google My Business
GMB or Google My Business is a free tool that allows us to manage the way our business is seen to users when performing a search on both maps and the organic search engine. Some of the advantages or benefits that we can find when applying the GMB tool to our ecommerce are:
- Easy administration of our business data since we can edit any information at any time.
- Interaction with users through reviews. Allows users to leave a review about their experience. Google will take this into account when positioning itself in local searches.
- Transmit trust. It is related to the previous benefit. It is proven that the more information a user has about a business and the greater their interaction with the brand, the more confidence potential customers will have in accessing it.
- Presence on Maps. A tool that is used worldwide in more than 200 countries.
- GMB allows you to include features such as photos, prices, busiest hours..., business information and the different products that makes it a form of showcase for your ecommerce store.
- Improves SEO positioning. GMB works on Local SEO positioning directly and in turn this influences general SEO positioning by obtaining different reviews and ratings from real users. Google takes this data with great weight when offering search results.
How can you manage reviews?
Remember that this platform makes use of the Data Driven philosophy . That is, your business generates a series of data that will directly affect your positioning. Therefore, you have to check the reviews continually (just access the "reviews" option in the control panel). If they are positive, perfect, since you will get potential clients to trust your proposal. If they are negative, do not hesitate to offer effective alternatives to resolve any incident. Remember that doing so publicly can work in your favor, since it confirms your concern for achieving maximum satisfaction for each client.
Is it possible to integrate Google My Business into Shopify?
Yes. In fact, the entire process lasts less than five minutes and consists of the four steps that we now explain to you:
- Start by authenticating your account on each of the platforms.
- Select one of the available applications to begin the integration. There are several and they consist of receiving a notification when someone writes a new review, abandons the shopping cart or cancels it, makes their purchase or becomes a new customer.
- Choose the type of reaction that each of the platforms should have when a change occurs in the chosen applications.
- Select the data you want to share on each platform.
As you have seen, it is up to you to choose the type of message you want to convey. We recommend that you focus on the reviews and solutions to possible errors made. You can use the rest of the alternatives internally to create statistics in which you summarize all the orders received and the level of satisfaction of your customers (to name two examples).
Why is local SEO so important?
As we are seeing, this Google My Business platform allows us to improve positioning with respect to local SEO. When we have a store or business on the internet, we think that our main objective is to be able to sell to everyone. But why not also think about potential customers who live in your city and who may not know your business?
Likewise, imagine that you are traveling to a city and that you want to get to know the surroundings of your accommodation or a place you are going to visit a little better. You go to Google Maps and notice that there is a store or business of interest very close to you.
This is what Google My Business is about, making your business known in a more direct way. And always promoting communication with your clientele.
A clear file of your business, without errors and updated periodically
Don't forget that Google uses its algorithm to scan all content on its platforms. Negative reviews related to lack of information or other details will always penalize you.
Do not hesitate to update all the information periodically and to offer all possible facilities to the search engine so that it chooses your proposal as one of the most recommended.
Why is Google My Business a perfect complement for your Shopify store?
If you want to make your store known, you have two options: launch a promotional campaign, or be patient and check the results of your good work. This last option is free and, in the case at hand, would be supported by Google and the comments of previous clients. Can you ask for more?
That is, there are various options for your customers to end up in your store and purchase some of the products you have for sale. You can improve the design of your store, include quality content, opt for video or whatever you prefer. But the final push to an undecided customer always comes from what others who have been your customers before say.
Therefore, it is up to you to turn Google My Business into the perfect promotion platform to achieve your goals. Surely, it won't take long to notice how traffic to your store increases. Everything is to capture the attention of your clientele more effectively, which will help you generate the benefits you deserve after so much effort invested.
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