How to Claim Your Google My Business Listing and Get More Client Love

When you improve your local search marketing you create a situation where everyone wins. Your customers can find you quickly and read reviews to help them make informed decisions. At the same time, you’ll increase local traffic and brand awareness. But, what’s the key to it all?

If you’ve ever searched for a business on Google, then you’ve run into a Google My Business listing. Put simply it’s an online phone book listing with powerful features. Aside from being able to view contact info, customers can read reviews, get driving directions, and easily find your company website.

Already claimed your Google business listing? Great, keep reading for next level tips to make it more effective.

Getting the most out of your Google My Business listing

If you still need to claim your business listing you can do so at the Google My Business page. Just follow the steps provided and don’t forget to verify your listing so it appears on Google.

If for some reason your business is already listed, follow these steps to take ownership of your listing. Getting ownership will allow you to use the following tips and take your listing to the next level.

• Double-check that your business category, address, store hours, and website are correct. This will help customers find what they’re looking for quickly, and, consistent address information across all listing services is an important ranking signal for local SEO.
• Taking time to add photos can also improve the effectiveness of your listing. Use product, office/store, and event photos to show that your brand is active and authentic.
• Think about what your best customers would want to see when making a decision to engage with you. For example, posting events to keep the community updated would be useful for a chamber of commerce, while getting high-quality reviews would be more important to a service provider.

No matter how you use your listing, reviews will always be a big part of it. Let’s take a deeper look at customer reviews and see how you can make them work harder for you.

Using your listing to collect reviews + testimonials as part of client follow-ups

If you want people to leave reviews it needs to be easy. While Google does some of the work for you, there are things you can do to remove friction from the process. Try using these tips:

1. Create custom links that open directly to your review page. When customers click your link, a window will open where customers can leave you a review in seconds.
2. Services like getfivestars.com can help automate asking for reviews, sending out emails, and diverting negative feedback to you for individual follow-up.
3. Ask for reviews right after completing a project or selling a product. This allows satisfied customers to share their impressions while the experience is still fresh.
4. Mention a few key ways that your company helped them overcome their challenges and the results. This will give them good points to mention in their review.

Now the reviews are rolling in, but where do you go from here?

Don’t waste reviews, reuse them

As you receive customer reviews, keep track of the ones that are exceptional. If they left you a great review they may be willing to provide a testimonial that you can use on your website too. Since people base their purchasing decisions on reviews more and more, this can be a powerful marketing tool.

What to do with a bad Google review

Oh no, you got a bad review. Don’t worry, a few bad reviews won’t destroy your business. But, you do need to act on them. Show your customer and the world that you care by replying to the review. Then try to take the conversation offline and resolve their issue. This may motivate them to change their review.

Making the most of your Google My Business listing

Now that you know just how powerful your Google business listing can be, what do you need to do to get the most out of it? Let’s review:

• Claim, update, and promote your listing.
• Make review requests part of your client follow-ups.
• Be proactive when there’s a good testimonial or case study opportunity.

Do you want help taking your listing to the next level? Our team is happy to help you set up and optimize your Google My Business listing.