Why Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing Needs Attention

Jason Call

Jason Call

Founder of Placer Digital

Let’s start by establishing what your GMB even is. Here’s a screenshot of The Pour Choice in Auburn:

the pour choice gmb listing in auburn, ca

It’s 5-something-AM so naturally I’m drinking coffee, and thought of the good people at The Pour Choice. Also, courtesy of a man named Robert Dailey with Texas Custom Kennels, this:

socially acceptable chemical dependence in the morning

Moving on.

To access your GMB (or create/claim one if you haven’t) head to: business.google.com

We’ve established what a GMB is and how you can access yours, so let’s get to it!

Your Google Business Page is your most viewed listing

What better reason to give your GMB some love and attention?

In fact, many small businesses get more views on their GMB than their actual website.

Think about it: have you ever searched for a place to grab a coffee, then researched your top options’ websites? At best you might go to the website of the one you ultimately choose, but I’d bet even that’s a stretch for most consumers.

For the typical consumer looking for a cup of coffee, the purchase decision doesn’t require more than glancing through a handful of 5-star reviews.

Here are the facts that lead to your GMB being your most viewed listing: Google searches are growing (there are billions every single day); Local searches (someone looking for something locally – like coffee) are growing 50% faster than mobile searches (this infographic is awesome); and Android dominates the smartphone market with over 85% market share in 2017 (Google’s Chrome browser comes standard with Android devices).

And the MAJOR kicker that leads into our next point is this: over 90% of search results now provide what’s called a “Local Pack.”

Many searches start AND stop at the "Local Pack" results

What is the Local Pack? Here is the local pack result for “tax attorney in auburn ca”:

local pack results for tax attorney in auburn ca

Side-note: BottomLine Lawyers was our first client 😉

Why is this important? 93% of local searches return a local pack as the first organic result

If you don’t have your GMB in order, you’re missing out on VITAL visibility – I say vital because these searches have local intent, and searches with local intent are likely to make a purchase. In fact, 78% of local-intent searches on mobile devices result in an offline purchase

Sticking to the coffee theme, that can be read as: 78% of people searching on their mobile device for a place to get a coffee actually ended up visiting a coffee shop and making a purchase.

With an overwhelming number of searches returning a Local Pack, your GMB needs to be taken care of for you to capture that traffic. 

Google is constantly improving the GMB product

This isn’t a point that’s mentioned in the land of digital marketers, but I think the recent improvements Google has made to the GMB product is indicative of its increasing importance in local search.

In late 2017 Google added numerous features, the biggest being the ability to create posts. This added a social component to their listing. In April 2018, a couple big updates allowed for businesses to add their products/services (along with pricing and descriptions). They also brought back the “Business Description” field.

Overall, the constant improvements being made to the GMB product is a nod to how popular Google listings are to consumers and local search.

So what now?

Well, I’d advise heading to business.google.com and optimizing your Google Business Page.

Don’t leave without downloading our handy 7-point GMB checklist that will walk you through every step in optimizing your listing. 

After going through this checklist, your GMB will be optimized to capture local search traffic – this will result in more website visits, phone calls, map interactions, and ultimately more revenue for your business.

It’s a great time for small business digital marketing! And the future looks even brighter as local search favors the local guys.