If you were to operate a shop in downtown Philadelphia in 1950, you would know how important it is to keep your doorway cleared and your shop clean and make sure the hours of operation are clearly visible to the passersby. Customer satisfaction would be paramount; as news of bad interactions would travel quickly through the tight-knit communities. Nowadays, while the upkeep looks a little different, the idea of monitoring and maintaining a good reputation has not changed. Ten years ago this meant having a pretty website, a social media account and maybe a few other online listings depending on your industry. As we settle in the new ‘20s, this now means optimizing your online reputation for no-click searches.
No-click searches refer to when users can be presented with info from google before they even reach a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Google will auto-populate the search results to provide information and content deemed relevant with high accuracy. These searches have become increasingly popular. In fact, no click searches now account for 47% of all search queries (Joshi 2020). Don’t believe me? Try it out. Search for a sports score update, current weather, flight info, all of them will provide content before you even reach a SERP.
From a user experience standpoint, you can see why these searches are popular. When a user is seeking information they often are given all the info they need on the topic instantaneously. These potential visitors to your website have been conditioned to expect to see that info at the top of the search results page. To avoid missing out on potential leads you need to think like your customer and make sure all information is presented correctly, clearly and consistently.
Let’s pretend I’m looking for an Italian restaurant. I’ve heard La Padella has a solid happy hour so let’s look them up on Google. Check out the screenshot- I haven’t even finished typing in La Padella and I’m already provided with name of the restaurant, star rating, address, hours, website and option to call. This is all without ever even clicking ENTER. Your website is no longer your virtual welcome mat, potential customers and clients will already have made up a persona for your company before they’ve even seen the homepage of your website.
And even if they did click ENTER, the first thing they will see is your GMB page for your business. Just like the way your building and workspace are presented, you want to be sure you are regularly checking on your google my business account to ensure it is accurately portraying your company.
Wondering how? Here are a few things that should be highlighted on your Google My Business profile.
- Name of your company
- Phone number
- Link to website
- Hours of operation
- Address (linked to Google maps)
- 1-3 high resolution photographs
- Your logo
- Type of business
Encouraged:
- Email address
- Detailed description of business and services
- Menu or Services if applicable
- Reviews (all negative and some positive reviews should have responses from the owner)
- Button for appointments/reservations
- Links to social media accounts
All-Star Status:
- Videos
- GMB specific posts
- Additional reviews linked from FB, Best Picks Reports, etc.
(If you have the top 8 filled out you’re doing better than most companies. But there’s always room for improvement!)
In addition to Google My Business, there are dozens if not hundreds of popular sites that have your information listed, if, this is called Local SEO or reputation monitoring, such as AngiesList, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, etc. These citations can be managed and created through marketing software or manually. We’ll discuss local SEO in-depth in one of our future posts, so keep an eye out for it!
If you’re reading this and you have some questions about Google My Business, Local SEO or reputation monitoring just shoot me a message and I’d be happy to take a look: Contact Us.
Sources: https://bit.ly/2vEfMKT