How to Use Google My Business to Attract More Clients
Even if you’ve never filled out a profile, you’ve likely seen other businesses or shops with optimized profiles on the web—you know what we’re talking about, those little Google blurbs on the side of your search engine that supply critical info like a business address, their website, how to contact them, etc.
Obviously, having this type of information is a must for your shop if you want people to find you—but did you know that optimizing your Google My Business profile to the best of your ability can actually help you attract more clients than ever?
It’s true—and we’re here to dish out the details you need to know to best create, edit, and manage your Google My Business profile to snag more customers and seat them directly in your chairs.
What Exactly is Google My Business?
Let’s start off with the basics just in case you’re new to the Google My Businesses thing (no judgment if you are, we all start our digital knowledge somewhere, right?).
Google My Business, according to Google itself, is a free, easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Goggle, including Search and Maps.
This tool is designed to help customers find your business, outline your story, and verify your business and its information to help guide them to you in a simple, straightforward way.
Ultimately, Google My Business is a profile you fill out and optimize to ensure that customers can find you, get information on you, and learn about you in a seamless way.
Why Bother With a Google My Business Profile? Why You Should Optimize Yours
We know what you’re thinking—this is just another social media / digital platform that you need to worry about. And to some degree, you’re right. You do need to be concerned with Google My Business and you do need to streamline your digital savvy if you’re unfamiliar with it—but this isn’t nearly as complicated or involved as other social media platforms.
It is just as—if not more—important, though.
We’re going to tell you something you might already know—your barbershop’s online information and presence are absolutely critical to the core of your business.
Why? Because the internet and social media platforms are how people search—it’s the one method people turn to in order to find a service, product, or person they need to accomplish a task.
So, this begs the question—if all digital avenues should be optimized, what’s so special about your Google My Business profile?
We’re glad you asked. Here are the top reasons we believe that optimizing your Google My Business profile can bring in new customers.
- Google My Business absolutely plays into SEO. If you’re unfamiliar with SEO, we highly recommend checking out this 101 article we created specifically for barbers. This matters for your local SEO results and your overall ranking on the search engine results page. This is actually considered one of the SEO best practices every business should implement in their unique SEO strategies—more about that right here.
- Think of your Google My Business Profile as a snippet of all the valuable info on your website in one, convenient space. Look, people don’t always have the longest attention spans. Even if you have the most amazing, optimized, streamlined website of all time, sometimes people just want the basic info—and your profile can provide that. It’s likely this info can replace your website.
- Do you use Google Ads? (If you don’t you should consider it!). This links directly to these ad efforts, making your marketing process easier than ever.
- People need to know where you are if they’re going to book with you—don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Most people use Google Maps to locate their destinations, and if you’re not listed, that can make things much more difficult for your audience.
- Everything is listed here—especially reviews. This is a simple, streamlined way for people to see your reviews and compare you to other barbers. This is a must-have feature because almost every person out there is going to book based on their research of your establishment—and that means your reviews.
Think this biz advice was helpful? We’re so glad to hear it—that’s kind of our main goal over here.
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