Digital Dealer - November 2019 - 36

M A R K E T ING & ADVERT ISING: SEO Continued from pg. 35

ABOUT GOOGLE MY
BUSINESS?

An optimized GMB
profile/listing helps Google
understand more about
your business: who you are,
what services/products you
sell, where you're located,
your website address and
what your current customer's experience has been
like.
The benefits of Google
My Business are threefold:
1. Increased visibility in
search.
2. Better shopping experience for buyers.
3. More traffic to your
website, social channels,
and your front door.
The more Google knows
about you, the more types
of searches your GMB
listing can appear in.
ARE THERE ANY NEGATIVES TO HAVING A
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
PAGE?

While there are more
positives than negatives,
GMB doesn't come without
its issues. Google is still
working out some of the
kinks for certain industries
and has previously encountered problems with showing service area businesses
in Map results. While they
seem to be getting a better
grasp on this, the issues
still occur.
IT CAN BE A MAJOR
LEARNING CURVE

Newbies may find GMB a
bit overwhelming. This latest re-invention has some
frustrating drawbacks.
While it may be touted as
"easy-to-use," in practice it
can be challenging.
IT'S TIME CONSUMING

36

NOVEMBER 2019

CHART 3

YOU'RE BUILDING
A LASTING PRESENCE
ON THE LARGEST
SEARCH ENGINE ON THE
PLANET THAT ATTRACTS
CUSTOMERS IN YOUR
MARKET AREA...WITHOUT
PAYING FOR ADS!"
The user interface is a
bit clunky. I recently had
trouble with a few clients'
verifications. It took a lot of
work (multiple phone calls
to support over three weeks
time) to get their GMB listing/profile verified.
Adding content can be
time consuming, especially
if you don't have good, relevant content to post.
IT WILL TAKE SIX
MONTHS TO SEE CONSIDERABLE RESULTS

As with all organic
marketing (not paid ads),
Google My Business listing
results will begin to show
striking improvement by
the six-month mark. Craig's
results above are at the

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

one-year mark. But it's so
worth the wait! You're building a lasting presence on
the largest search engine
on the planet that attracts
customers in your market
area...without paying for
ads!
PEOPLE CAN POST
THEIR OWN IMAGES
ON YOUR PROFILE

Now, this should be a
positive (and it is), but you
already know what I'm
going to say. When people
can use their own photos,
there is a chance those
photos will not be a good
representation of your
business. They may even
show prominently on your
listing. Regular monitoring

will mitigate this occurrence
and Google has a process
to flag a photo for removal.
Overall, the benefits
of Google My Business
outweigh the challenges.
76 percent of people who
visit a local business the
same day they search
for one. With staggering
numbers like that, and the
example results mentioned,
it's critical to have a Google
My Business page for your
business.
KATHI KRUSE is an
automotive social media
marketing expert, blogger,
speaker, coach, author, and
founder of Kruse Control
Inc. Born in the heart of Los
Angeles to a family of "car
people," Kathi's passion for the
car business spans a 30-year
career managing successful
dealerships in Southern
California. Kathi is the author
of "Automotive Social Business
- How to Captivate Your
Customers, Sell More Cars &
Be Generally Remarkable on
Social Media." EMAIL:
kk@krusecontrolinc.com
https://www.audidtla.com https://www.audidtla.com https://www.audidtla.com http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - November 2019
