Leveragge Local Search with Google My Business
During peak periods, school and public holidays your town is buzzing with potential customers looking for things to do on their trusted smartphones.
While 65% of leisure travellers research online before their trip, 85% will be using their mobiles whilst on the road to decide where to eat, drink, stay and play (source: Think With Google, 2014).
How do you make sure they find your business while they are in region this Easter? Local search.
What is local search?
Local search is an internet search your customers can do to find a specific type of business in a specific area, e.g. Bundaberg restaurants. You might have noticed that when you Google something, this is the first item that pops up and so naturally it is the one that gets the most clicks. So, how do you get a piece of this action?
Get a Google business listing
While there are many search engines, here we will focus on how to be visible on Google, through search, maps and Google+.
Step 1 Go to Google My Business
Step 2 Click “Get on Google”
Step 3 Follow the steps to add your business information. You will also need to go through a verification process.
How much does it cost?
It’s completely free and simply requires you to claim this opportunity for your business.
I have a website, why do I need to do this as well?
This is in addition to your website, to make it even easier for your customers to find you across search, maps and Google+ on any device.
How long does it take?
Setting up your Google Local Listing is very quick (about 1h if you have all the information available, including pictures and video). There are however other steps to take to increase your rankings.
Claiming your Google business listing is one of the most important first steps to making it easy for customers to find you. Remember that accuracy of your business information is vital.
What else do I need to know about Google Local search?
Setting up your Google Local listing is a great start, but there is much more that needs to be done so that you can rank on the top of the 3 listings in the Google Local search results. Tourism Tribe members have access to all the tools & knowledge to master local search.
