Google My Business Replaces Places

New Product Unveiled

Google My Business is a  recent unveiling that will impact the online marketing world. This platform has replaced Google Places and is still completely free to use. If your business previously used Google Places, then your account has automatically been upgraded to Google My Business. If not, you can sign up and be active within a few minutes.

Features

From what we can tell, this new upgrade isn’t a whole lot different from the previous platform, but should improve the connection between businesses and customers. It integrates with Google search, Google Maps and the social network Google+ so customers can quickly get information like your business address, phone number, directions, hours and website link. Consumers can also review your business, which results in a numbered rating.

What You Can Do

The goal of this upgrade is to allow businesses to bring everything together and sync it up. Being active on Google My Business allows you to update your business information to make it easier for customers to find your business online. You can upload images to give potential customers a better idea of what you’re all about. It’s even possible to create a virtual tour of the interior of your business. This platform makes it simple to keep tabs on the reviews your business receives, and allows you to respond to customer comments, which should maximize engagement. There is also integration with AdWords Express, so you can monitor how consumers are interacting with your business. If you already use Google Analytics, it can be synced up to get a clear idea of consumer patterns so you can fine tune your marketing campaign. In the near future, there will be an app available for Android and iOS so you can manage your account from mobile devices.

Benefits of Google My Business

With Google being the search engine giant that it is, it’s important to take every possible step to gain exposure on it. While Google Places was beneficial, this new upgrade takes it one step further and narrows the gap between businesses and consumers. Taking the time to get set up should increase the chances of your business being found in search results. This is especially helpful for local search and can mean the difference between customers buying from you or your competitors. With Google constantly striving to improve, this update should come as no surprise. Google My Business should serve as the next step of the evolution of SEO. Our view is that utilizing this platform correctly should help your business grab more traffic from search engines and generate more leads. The end result should be a larger customer base and a definitive advantage over competitors who aren’t adapting to newer trends. Have you optimized Google Places? Are you ready for Google My Business?

photo credit – top: ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓
photo credit – body: Emilian Robert Vicol