4 Easy Ways to Keep Google My Business Up To Date

Web sites, social media channels, and email marketing often receive the bulk of attention when developing a content marketing strategy.

However, an equally crucial digital marketing channel that is often overlooked is Google My Business (GMB). GMB is an excellent strategy to engage with your local audience and keep them up to date about the latest changes in your business.

Use these four easy strategies to ensure your GMB listing is always up to date and delivers the correct information about your company.

What is Google My Business?

​Google My Business is a free tool by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across the web. Experienced digital marketers can use GMB to generate high-quality inquiries from the local market more efficiently.

Once your entry is complete, your listing will synchronize with a Google Maps location and provide prospects with detailed information about your organization, including hours of service, contact phone numbers, and directions.

GMB does not replace your current website, but it does compliment your already established online presence by improving your market penetration and establishing authority. Use the following methods to ensure your GMB content always delivers the latest information to potential customers.

1. Ensure Every Detail on GMB Reflects Your Current Situation

Check that your GMB listing delivers accurate information, such as days and hours of operation, new services you have added, mobile and landline phone numbers, and email addresses.

Google has released new features for GMB to help businesses adjust to the rapid changes often necessary in business operations during COVID-19. You can list your company as temporarily closed or update information about the latest pandemic safety measures.

2. Designate Responsibility for the Updates

Assign someone responsible for updating the GMB information whenever it’s required. Create an outline for all the information that will need to be updated and a timeline for completing it. The goal is to include as many details as possible to ensure nothing important gets left out.

3. Be Reactive and Proactive with Communication

​GMB pages allow your clients to leave reviews. Responding to every comment, good or bad, is a fantastic way to remain engaged with your local market. Even when a review is not favourable,
GMB visitors always appreciate getting two sides to the story because it helps significantly in their decision-making.

The Q and A section is an often-overlooked feature of GMB, but it can provide valuable information to your prospects who will appreciate timely answers to the most frequently asked questions about your company.

Monitor GMB closely so you can answer questions promptly and start building a relationship that will lead to a new paying customer. Remember, this can all take place on GMB directly without the prospect ever having visited your website.

4. Provide Timely Updates

​It’s critical to ensure you are updating your GMB page promptly whenever there is a change. The pandemic can quickly introduce interruptions to business operations, so your GMB listing may require more frequent updates than usual.

If your hours of operations are going to be altered temporarily, make sure you update the listing before the day of the changes.

Updates to GMB information are not instant. Like all organizations, Google staff are dealing with the same pandemic-induced bottlenecks as everyone else, and many are working remotely. Therefore, it may take more time for them to populate your GMB page with the new details.

​As with an online content marketing strategy, your GMB entry will perform a lot better at generating leads when it is subject to timely and accurate updates. Use the above tips to ensure your Google My Business listing is always delivering what your potential clients need to know.