BBB and Google Partner to Get Businesses on the Map

Businesses encouraged to attend in-person BBB workshops for expert help

Being on the map matters. 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information, like store addresses, business hours, product availability and directions.¹ Yet, only 37 percent of businesses have claimed their listing on a search engine.²  And complete business information can help generate economic value to individual communities. In small communities, this could be worth up to +$300k a year; in large cities it can be up to +$7m.³

That’s why Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont and Google have teamed up on Google’s latest program called Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map. Our mission: to help businesses in 30,000 cities get the help they need to succeed online, for free. Because stronger businesses mean stronger communities.

Ready to get started?

Businesses are invited to attend free workshops to get online and on the map. Attendees can look forward to giveaways, dedicated staff to help update business information on the spot, and free food and drinks.

Find a workshop in your area and get your business on the map.

Want to see how your business appears on Google Search and Maps now? Head to www.gybo.com/business and type in your business name to see how your information appears across Google Search and Maps.

The tool highlights suggestions for areas that could use attention, including:

• Address
• Phone number
• Hours of operation
• Photos

Want help updating the information? Attend a BBB workshop to learn how to manage your business info across Google.

We’re excited to be partnering with BBB. By working together, we can help our local businesses succeed on the web and make our communities even stronger.

Written by Whitney Lemon, Google Small Business Engagement. Whitney is a marketing manager on Google’s Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map team. She hosts Friday 15: Small Business Tips, Google’s series to help small businesses succeed online. Friday 15 is part of Google’s Get Your Business Online program, providing small businesses with a custom domain name and web hosting–at no charge for one year.

For more information you can trust, visit us at bbb.org/boston, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Become an Accredited Business and get the resources you need to give you confidence and help keep your business safe and secure. 

¹ Google/Ipsos MediaCT/Purchased, Understanding Consumers’ Local Search Behavior, May 2014

² Marketing Sherpa, Search Marketing Benchmark Report SEO Edition, 2012

³ Google/Oxera, The Benefits of Complete Business Listings, December 2014

New Launch: Google My Business

In a blog post last week, Google announced the launch of a new platform, Google My Business. It's primary function is to connect businesses with consumers, according to Google. While you've certainly heard of Google+, Google Places and Google Adwords, this new platform is a one-stop-shop for all things Google (well, almost).

Besides adding photos, videos and updating your business information, Google My Business offers a way for you keep up with your Google Reviews and has integration with Google Adwords Express. 

One of the most important features that we find most helpful is the custom insights tool. Through them, you can view:

• Visibility: How many times your page and content has been viewed.
• Engagement: How many times social actions were taken such as +1s, comments and shares.
• Audience: Get information on new followers, where they are located and their gender.

Some reports can be filtered by lifetime view or segmented out by 7, 30 or 90 days for you to see how your pages are performing over time.

For those who manage most everything on the go, Google My Business has also developed an Android app and an iOS app will be launching soon. 

New businesses who are looking to their list their company with Google will be directed to Google My Business. Existing Google+ Business Pages and Google for Places users will be rolled over to the new platform as well. 

What do you think of Google My Business? Will you be using it?

Image courtesy of Google My Business.

Guest Blog: Local Online Search Success for Small Businesses

Here are 5 tips for local businesses who want to succeed and grow are always looking for an edge over their competition. 

Unearthing advantages can be a challenge, but the emergence of local online search marketing over the last few years presents new opportunities to create a competitive advantage for those companies who are willing to educate themselves and take the correct steps. This article will examine 5 ways that businesses can use local online search marketing strategies to distinguish themselves as local competition elevates.

1. Get Your Business Listed: Presenting detailed and correct listings via online directories is essential. You need to display accurate and consistent business information to make it easy for customers (and Google) to find and recognize your local business. Furthermore, since Google has said in the past that a growing percentage of mobile search is related to location and local information, it is important to claim, update, and enhance online information about your business immediately.
2. Google Photos For Business: Google has designed their Google Business Photos program to offer a 360-degree virtual tour solution to businesses. It uses the same platform as the highly useful and successful Google Street View, so you can walk into a participating business right off the street virtually. Photo tours can be embedded your website and through social media from any number of starting points. They can also be viewed on all mobile devices. Since people search online because they want to know what to expect before going somewhere, utilizing this feature appears to be a great way for you to really showcase your business in a striking way. 
3. Manage Your Business’ Reviews: Developing a quality online reputation can really help customers validate your business, and reviews are a large part of this. People will seek to gather all the information they can about your reputation before choosing your business. They want to know what you do and how good you are at it. They don’t just want to trust the information on your website; they want to see what others are saying about your business, location, products, customer service, and more. Many businesses have no reputation online at all! To be successful, this needs to change. Actively seeking reviews and interacting productively with reviewers is an essential part of developing your business's online reputation. 
4. Nurture Your Current Customers: Many businesses tend to overlook their past or current clientele. You need to make sure this doesn’t happen. Once you have a few customers, you should invest in things like remarketing, nurturing and email campaigns. Keeping up with former customers is a crucial aspect to any local marketing campaign. These are people who’ve liked your product or service enough to come to you at least once. Make sure they keep coming back by showing you care!
5. Be Visible With Mobile Marketing: Americans are using mobile devices at a rapidly increasing rate. The tendency for people to perform local online searches for business and directions while they are on the road means that if your business’ website is not mobile–ready, you are probably missing out on a significant number of potential customers. To get an idea of what changes need to be made, sit down and look at your own site from a mobile device. Navigate as though you were a customer who doesn’t have time to wait around and determine what changes need to be made.

These are just a few of the strategies you can pursue to get your business found at a higher rate online. While online marketing may not come naturally to you, looking further into these tips is a great way to take your local business to the next level.

Ryan Paul Adams is the CEO of PME 360, a BBB Accredited Business since 2012. 

Guest Blog: A Cost Effective Way To Advertise Online

If you have a website for your local business and would like to attract more customers to your store front or if you sell a service to local people in surrounding towns and would like to get more leads, adding your business to Google Maps is a cost effective way to get these customers and leads. 

1. If you haven't already claimed your local Google Places/Map listing, do that now. Just do a search on Google for "Google Business Directory" or click this link: www.google.com/placesforbusiness/ and list your business. 
2. You want to find all the searches that result in Google showing their local business directory. Google's local listings don't appear for all searches, so you need to do some research to find out which keywords or phrase make them show up. Example: If your a plumber try a search for plumber, or plumbers. If there isn't a local result for that, try adding your town like: "Boston Plumbers" or Plumbers in Boston MA". Find all the keyword phrases that produce a Google Maps result for your industry, include other town names in your service area.
3. Create one page for each phrase or keyword that Google shows their local directory listings for on your website. The best way to do this is to incorporate a blog on your website. If you do not have a blog, this is an easy addition. Write one new blog post a week about the keywords and phrases you found trigger the local maps listings. You could write a post about a job you did in that town, include reviews and testimonials from people you serviced in the town, include pictures of the job, whether or not you pulled a permit, what traffic was like in the area, etc. Make sure each page is about the single phrase or keyword. It should be the first words in the title of the page, include it in the "alt" text of an image on the page, and you page content should be somehow relevant to the phrase. 

PRO TIP* Start by writing about towns that are recession proof, neighborhoods where the median income is above average, and where you aren't likely to have many DIY types. 

A Google places listing is free, advertising does not get any more cost effective than that. Free is Good! showing up for searches by locals in your home town will certainly get you some leads every year. But, showing up in 10-20 local towns will get you enough work to stay busy every week.

Michael Kern is the Founder of Inform Local, a BBB Accredited Business since 2012.