Entries by Darren Stevens

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Why Your Google Business Listing is an Essential Marketing Tool

Now more than ever when your online presence is absolutely crucial, your Google Business listing is one of the most powerful (and under rated) marketing tools at your disposal. It’s more than just a simple directory listing—it’s a gateway for potential customers to find, learn about, and engage with your business. Here’s why maintaining an optimised Google Business profile is essential, what you can do to enhance your profile and how it can significantly impact your business’s growth.

Even if you never created a profile, Google or a customer may have already created a basic listing for your business. To take control, search for your business name on Google Search or Maps. If a profile appears, look for a link that says ‘Own this business?’ or ‘Claim this business.’ Click it and follow the verification steps to gain full administrative access. Claiming your profile is the only way to edit information, respond to reviews, and post updates.

Getting Started: How to Create Your Google Business Profile

If you’re starting from scratch, the process is straightforward. First, go to the Google Business Profile Manager and sign in with the Google account you want to associate with your business. Then, follow the on-screen prompts to enter your business name, category, location, and contact information. This initial setup is the foundation of your online presence. The process should be straightforward, but if you get stuck, we can always help.

Verifying Your Business: The Key to Going Live

After you’ve entered your initial business details, Google needs to verify that your business is legitimate and located where you say it is. This is a crucial step to prevent fraud and ensures your profile will be visible to the public. Common verification methods include receiving a postcard with a code at your business address, a phone call or text, or a live video verification (hopefully not the video route as this can sometimes be tricky, particularly in rural locations where there are no road signs). The available options depend on your business type and location, so be prepared for any of these.

1. Be Easily Found by Your Target Audience

One of the biggest advantages of having a Google Business listing is its ability to make your business easily discoverable. When someone searches for products or services related to your business on Google, your listing can appear in the search results and on Google Maps. This visibility is particularly important for local businesses, as most consumers tend to search for businesses “near me” when they’re ready to make a purchase. By appearing in these local searches, your business is put directly in front of potential customers who are in your area and actively seeking what you offer.

2. Boosting Local SEO

Google Business listings are integral to local search engine optimization (SEO). Google uses the information in your profile—such as your business name, location, and category—to determine when and where your business should appear in local search results. The more complete and accurate your profile, the better your chances of ranking higher in these searches. This is especially important for small businesses that rely on local customers.

3. Stand Out from the Competition

In a crowded marketplace, standing out is key. Your Google Business listing allows you to differentiate your business from competitors. A complete and well-maintained profile presents a professional image and builds trust with potential customers. It provides essential information at a glance, including your business hours, contact details, and customer reviews.

4. Showcasing Your Unique Offerings

Google Business listings also let you highlight what makes your business unique. Through the description, attributes, updates, and categories, you can showcase your specialities and the value you bring to your customers. This is where you can make a compelling case for why someone should choose your business over others.

5. Drive Traffic to Your Website

Your Google Business listing is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. The listing includes a direct link to your site, making it easy for potential customers to learn more about your business and what you offer (and the insights will tell you how many people are clicking on this link). The more information you provide in your Google Business profile, the more likely users are to click through to your website.

6. Trackable Insights

Google provides analytics for your business listing, showing how many people viewed your profile, visited your website, requested directions, or called your business. These insights allow you to understand how well your listing is performing and where there may be opportunities for improvement. These shouldn’t be confused with the analytics for your website itself.

7. Make It Easy for Customers to Contact You

Your Google Business listing makes it easy for customers to contact you. With just one click, they can call your business, visit your website, or get directions to your location. This ease of access is crucial, especially in the age of mobile devices, where users expect quick and easy ways to connect with businesses.

8. Increase Engagement with Messaging

Google Business also offers a messaging feature that allows customers to send you messages directly from your listing. This feature is a great way to engage with potential customers in real-time, answer their questions, and guide them toward making a purchase.

9. The Importance of a Complete Profile

A complete profile is a trusted profile. Google’s algorithm favours listings that are rich with information because they provide a better user experience. Go beyond the basics and fill out every relevant section. Key areas to focus on include:

Detailed Service/Product Descriptions: List your offerings with prices and descriptions to attract qualified customers.

Primary and Secondary Categories: Help Google understand exactly what you do. We use the Chrome extension GMB Everywhere to assess this for our clients.

Service Area: Define your geographical reach if you’re a service-based business.

Attributes: Select options like ‘women-led,’ ‘wheelchair accessible,’ or ‘offers delivery’ to answer customer questions before they’re even asked.

10. Enhance Your Profile with Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words (yes we were thinking of you Thousand Word Media when we wrote this – our photographers of choice), and in local search, it can be worth a new customer. High-quality photos and videos give potential customers a genuine look at your business. Listings with rich media receive more clicks and engagement. Go beyond static images by uploading short videos (up to 30 seconds) like a virtual tour or a product demonstration. For an advanced SEO boost, consider geotagging your photos with your business’s location data before uploading them. Regularly add new content to keep your profile fresh and signal to Google that your business is active.

11. Types of Photos to Add

Exterior and Interior Shots: Show customers what your business looks like from the outside and inside. This helps them feel more comfortable when visiting.

Product Photos: Highlight your best-selling or unique products.

Team Photos: Introduce the people behind your business to build a personal connection.

Customer Photos: Share images of happy customers (with their permission) to build social proof.

12. Utilise Google Posts to Keep Your Audience Engaged

Google Posts is a feature that allows you to share updates, promotions, events, and news directly on your Google Business listing. These posts appear prominently on your profile, providing a great way to communicate with potential customers and keep them informed about what’s happening at your business. They also rather helpfully push further down the page, suggestions of businesses that might be competitors. If you only do one thing today – with your profile – check that you have updates visible on your profile as should you not have posted one for a while it may have expired.

13. How to Use Google Posts Effectively

Share Promotions and Offers: Highlight special deals and discounts to attract more customers.

Announce Events: Promote upcoming events to increase attendance. Remember that post updates will automatically expire after the event, freeing up space for another update.

Highlight New Products or Services: Keep your audience informed about new offerings.

Share Blog Posts or Articles: Drive traffic to your website by sharing your latest blog posts or articles.

Your Google Business listing is an essential marketing tool that can significantly impact your business’s visibility, customer engagement, and growth. By ensuring your profile is complete, adding high-quality photos, and utilising features like Google Posts, you can stand out from the competition, attract more customers, and drive traffic to your website. Don’t overlook this powerful tool—optimise your Google Business listing today and watch your business thrive.

14. Build Trust with Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are one of the most powerful features of your profile, acting as social proof for potential new customers. Actively encourage satisfied customers to leave feedback by sharing a direct review link. It’s crucial to respond to all reviews – both positive and negative. Thanking happy customers shows you appreciate their business, while addressing negative feedback professionally demonstrates that you care about customer service and are committed to resolving issues. This engagement can turn a poor experience into a positive one and show prospective customers that you are trustworthy.

The holy grail with reviews is to get your score and the number of reviews to the point where you appear in the top three map results for your area and category (this is usually easier for b2b businesses than b2c, as they tend to have fewer reviews).

If you want to work out what influence say 5 more Five Star reviews would have on your overall score, it is quite easy. Let’s imagine you have a score of 4.2 stars based upon 10 reviews. This is a total of 42 stars. Add 5 more Five Star reviews and you have a total of 67 based upon 15 – taking your score to between 4.4 and 4.5.

When you ask for reviews ask the person to say who they are, who they work for, what service / product they used, how they felt about the service or product, what stood out as particularly good and would they recommend you. This leads to much more content rich reviews and influences the words that Google uses in its AI summary of your business.

15. Leverage the Questions & Answers Feature

Your Google Business Profile includes a Q&A section where anyone can ask a question about your business—and anyone can answer. It’s vital to monitor this section to ensure information is accurate and to answer questions promptly. You can also use this feature proactively by seeding it with your own frequently asked questions and providing clear, helpful answers. This saves your customers time and allows you to control the narrative around common queries.

15. Make sure that you have more than one person with admin rights to the Profile

If you only have one person as an admin to your page and that person leaves the business you could lose access to your page. Having more than one admin spreads the workload and also means that potential customers interacting are likely to get a fast response.

We hope that you find these tips useful. If it all sounds just too much hassle (and in most cases it shouldn’t be), then why not get us to manage your profile for you. For more tips on how to leverage digital marketing tools like Google Business, feel free to contact Prestbury Marketing & Consulting. We’re here to help!

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How to make the best use of Linkedin in 2025

With over one billion users worldwide and continuous updates to its core features, LinkedIn remains the go-to platform for professionals looking to connect, learn, and grow their businesses. Long gone are the days when it was just a platform to find your next job. But with ever-evolving algorithm updates and shifts in user behaviour, making […]

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The Challenges of Managing a Marketer When You Are Not a Marketer – And How to Overcome Them

Running a successful business requires bringing in diverse talent with expertise in various fields, and marketing is definitely no exception. For many business owners or managers, however, managing a marketer can be daunting, especially when marketing isn’t your forte. From understanding technical jargon to setting realistic expectations, navigating this relationship can be tricky. In this […]

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The top 10 most common mistakes businesses make with Social Media

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, businesses have a tremendous opportunity to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive growth. However, navigating the intricacies of social media marketing can be challenging, leading to common mistakes that hinder success. In this blog post, we explore the emotional rollercoaster of the top 10 most common mistakes businesses make with social media. So get ready to learn from these pitfalls, ensuring your social media journey is the best that it can be.

Neglecting a Clear Strategy:
Without a well-defined social media strategy, businesses can find themselves lost in the vast sea of platforms and content possibilities. Don’t fall into the trap of aimlessly posting without purpose and create a comprehensive strategy that aligns with your business goals, target audience, and brand identity.

Failing to Understand the Target Audience:
Every successful social media campaign begins with a deep understanding of the target audience. Only by having a clear picture of who is target customer can you create content that resonates with your audience on a profound level. Learn how to conduct thorough audience research, identify their needs and desires, and tailor your content to create an emotional bond that fosters loyalty and engagement. Think about what will interest your target market.

Inconsistent Brand Voice:
Inconsistency in your brand voice can lead to confusion and disengagement. Avoid mixed messaging and discover the power of a consistent and authentic brand voice. Ensure your brand’s personality shines through in every social media interaction, fostering trust and building a strong emotional connection with your audience.

Lack of Engaging Content:
Nothing dampens the spirit of social media like boring, uninspiring content. Create engaging content that captivates and sparks conversation. Fully utilise the power of storytelling, visual appeal, and interactive elements to keep your audience coming back for more.

Ignoring Social Listening:
Social listening is the key to understanding your audience’s sentiments, preferences, and pain points. Don’t miss opportunities for meaningful engagement and unlock the power of social listening to gather insights, address customer concerns, and tailor your content strategy to meet their evolving needs.

Overlooking Community Management:
Neglecting community management can result in a sense of isolation and detachment from your audience. The importance of active engagement cannot be overstated, responding to comments and messages, and fostering a sense of community around your brand. Explore the emotional rewards of building genuine relationships and the impact it has on your business’s reputation and customer loyalty.

Overpromotion and Salesy Tactics:
Constant self-promotion and aggressive sales tactics can alienate your audience and evoke feelings of annoyance and frustration. Discover the art of balanced promotion, where value-driven content takes centre stage and sales messages are seamlessly integrated. Learn how to build trust and credibility through authenticity and providing meaningful solutions to your audience’s pain points.

Neglecting Analytics and Data:
Making decisions without analyzing data can leave you lost and directionless. Uncover the power of analytics and data-driven insights – to see what really works and engages with your audience. Leverage social media analytics to track performance, measure ROI, and optimize your strategies for maximum impact.

Inconsistent Posting Schedule:
Inconsistency in posting can lead to a sense of disconnection and lead to missed engagement opportunities. Avoid sporadic posting and uncover the benefits of a consistent and well-planned content schedule. Regular posting keeps your audience engaged and eager for your next update.

Lack of Adaptability:
Social media is a dynamic and ever-changing landscape, and businesses must be adaptable to stay ahead. What worked yesterday may not work today.

Ask yourself – how many of these ten mistakes are you guilty of? If your business could do with some help with your Social Media Marketing then email Darren Stevens – [email protected] for an initial, no obligation discussion.

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Clean Air Cheltenham seeking a volunteer to be their Publicity Co-ordinator

We are helping Clean Air Cheltenham spread the word about a volunteer position to become their Publicity Co-ordinator. The position would obviously be ideal for anybody who can share the organisation’s passion for the subject. The opportunity would enable somebody to gain practical experience in this field and demonstrate a track record of achievement. More […]

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Marketing in uncertain times

We are most definitely living and working in a period of unprecedented change, where almost everything that we have accepted to be normal is changed for the forseeable future, “thanks” to Coronavirus. Here at Prestbury Marketing we come into daily “virtual” contact with many businesses and it has been both heartening and quite remarkable the way many businesses are seeking to re-invent themselves towards a new way of doing business. Many people in leadership positions though, may not even have had to market their business in a recession, yet alone these circumstances. We offer in this blog our initial thoughts on things you might want to consider from a marketing perspective.

Don’t waste money

Seems an obvious one but now more than ever it is vital that you ensure you are getting value for money. Track the impact of any marketing that you are running. Ask yourself three questions. Firstly, are you going to be able to handle or fulfill any enquiries that you can get. After yesterday’s statement by the Prime Minister, Pubs, Restaurants and Cafes are not going to be able to, but many other businesses ability to deal with enquiries has been affected as well. Secondly, is the mindset of the customer likely to be in the right place? Whether you are marketing to consumers or business customers, their minds may be on other things. In much the same way that peoples’ minds are on other things at Christmas and when they are on summer holiday, people are very much focussing on different things right now (at least in the very short term). Finally look closely at how the marketing is performing – is there any evidence to suggest that performance is deteriorating.

Depending on the answers to these questions, you may well need to take action, but what are your options? This will differ from business to business, depending on what forms of marketing you are currently running. Can you pause activity? In some cases like pay per click or boosted Facebook posts you will be able to pause activity straight away and the only charge you may be left with, is the management charge if you are having this activity run for you. In other cases you may be contractually bound to run what you have booked, but maybe they will agree for you to defer the activity to when things pick up as they inevitably will. Numerous studies have shown from past recessions though that those businesses that continue to market through a recession emerge stronger and faster than those that did not.

Keep communication channels open and up-to-date

If your opening hours change then make sure that you update these on your website and your Google My Business Profile. Make sure that you download the Google My Business app and the apps for the social media channels that you are active on, so that if potential or actual customers choose to contact you though these mediums, then you will be aware and respond promptly. Use the Google My Business post functionality to let people know what you are doing.

Innovate and adapt

This will not be an option for all businesses, but it will be for many. If a service or product you offer is no longer in demand what else can you do? A special mention here for our Stationery, Office Supplies and IT Business Officeworx. With many businesses asking employees to work from home, demand for some of their services is likely to tail off. They responded immediately to the prospect of schools closing and launched HomeSchool Packs this week, that they have been actively promoting on social media.

We are seeing a lot of demand for our services, but the nature of what we are working on is just very different to what it was as little as a week ago.

Use the time well to be in the best possible position for when things do recover

What aspects of your marketing could you use this period to focus on? Maybe it might be the organic ranking of your website that could be improved through Search Engine Optimisation. For some it might be the ideal time to replace your outdated website or perhaps less dramatic adding those customer testimonials or case studies that you always intended to. For some people that are less busy you may find them more receptive to requests to leave you reviews on Google My Business (if you have used our services and haven’t left us a review before, please feel free to do so).

Maintain a presence and visibility

Whilst now for many people this will be time to conserve funds it is vital that you maintain some visibility. Keep up your activity on social media and fully utilise your Google My Business posts. Blog regularly, particularly if you have knowledge or guidance that will be helpful in the current situation.

Think of others ……..

Here at Prestbury Marketing we have always been great advocates of Corporate Social Responsibility and putting something back into the community we live and work in. This is even more the case in difficult times like these, where the needs will be even greater. In Gloucestershire, the charity CCP has launched an appeal for donations, financial and actual goods or volunteering, to help the charity respond to the inevitable increase in demand for emergency food parcels. Please support it if you can. Maybe you are a pub, restaurant, or cafe that is being forced to close that wants to see perishable or date limited food put to good use or a business that has resources that you can contribute?

We hope that we have given you some food for thought here (pun intended). We are happy respond to any specific queries that you may have, having read this blog. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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How do you know your website is working?

This is one of the most common questions we are asked. To be clear this is not usually in the context of whether or not the site is down, but more a matter of, is it being found as well as it should be and is it making the most of the visitors it does get. We would argue though that the number of people asking this question are very tip of a much bigger iceberg/ number who are “blissfully ignorant” of how their website is performing.

In this digital age that we now live in, there is really no excuse for not knowing how well your website is performing – although that being said one of the most common failings in this area are down to human beings. So what are our top 10 ways of checking that your website is working.

1. Ask your enquirers/potential customers.
A surprisingly number of businesses don’t ask this question or if they do, they don’t log and track the answer to it. Without this information you are falling at the first hurdle of tracking where your new business comes from. Our preference would be that you log what people say and that if the answer is “found your website”, then ask how they found your website.

2. Track how these enquiries progress
Knowing what the conversion rate of enquiries is from different sources and where applicable the average order value is key. The holy grail where you are spending money on driving traffic to your website is to know the £’s worth of order per £1 of marketing spend. This way you can compare different forms of marketing which might have very different costs.

3. Re-inforce your manual tracking through Google analytics.
It is possible to set up goals in Google Analytics for telephone calls, emails and form submissions. What this then means is that you can determine how many of these you have had and what drove them. Have you ever wondered for example whether visitors to your website are from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin convert better. Bear in mind though that only calls via mobiles will be tracked (or Skype) but that also a call is tracked by counting the number of times the message – call 01242 xxxxxx is triggered and not all these will go onto call.

4. Determine the extent of the correlation between website traffic and sales.
It is usually a case of how much of a correlation there is between movements in website traffic and sales volumes rather than a case of whether one exists. Showing sales volumes over website traffic on a graph over the same period will show this.

5. Look at Google Analytics to see what it tells you
How is website traffic performing compared with the same period last year? Is your traffic up or down and where is it coming from and how does it differ. What is the bounce rate for your site (where people arrive on one page and leave straight away)?

6. Do you know how many people are looking at your business before they make contact or visit your website?
This might sound impossible to some or it might sound like you need a crystal ball. Whereas the answer is in fact your Google My Business listing that appears top right when you search on Google for yourselves, and is the red blob on a map when people search for your type of business. Once you have claimed your business you have access to rich insights and a number of marketing tools i.e. posts, adding photo, responding to reviews or messages. Top tip – Increase the visibility of your Google My Business page and you will drive more traffic to your website or people to make contact with you.

7. Check the health of your website in the eyes of Google and Chrome?
If your website is not considered to be secure in the eyes of Chrome and Google your site ranking will suffer and you will be losing visitors. Also check whether Google thinks your site is fully mobile friendly.

8. Consider monitoring / viewing what your traffic is doing
Google Analytics has an element of live traffic that if you get sufficient volumes of web visitors will give some insight into the behaviour of your traffic. The behavioural view on analytics will also tell you where people arrived and where they went. Products such as Hotjar (other products are available) allow you to view live on screen how visitors act – great for example if you have a lot of people visiting a form but then abandon it.

9. Consider getting somebody to review your website from a user experience perspective
Whilst not statistically significant this can give valuable insight into how others view your site, particularly if they also look at some of your competitors sites. Or you could conduct a survey of your website visitors to gain their views.

10. Get an external view from a Marketing Consultant
A fresh pair of eyes can give a more balanced perspective – but then we would say that wouldn’t we? Why not get in touch to get us to have a look at your site for you.

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