What does claiming the GMB do for you

Simply put, if you don’t claim your Google My Business (GMB) listing you’re missing out on an easy way to ensure the most accurate and up-to-date information is shared with potential customers online. By claiming your GMB you’re giving yourself centralized access to update critical business information including hours, services, locations, and more. 

While a business profile can exist without claiming your GMB, you cannot edit the information or interact with the content on the profile. Profiles could exist with outdated information or negative reviews that you’d like to have the chance to respond to. Without GMB, you are unable to update information or engage in a dialogue with customers who leave reviews. 

How to make your GMB work for you

A surefire way to lose potential customers quickly is to have a business profile with missing or incomplete information. No one wants to drive all the way to a business or spend time calling just to end up finding out the business has changed hours, addresses, or services. With the GMB you’re able to edit, update, and manage the content of your business profile to ensure the best and most accurate information is displayed to customers. 

It also fits into your overall review strategy by allowing you to respond to and engage with the reviews left by customers. As discussed previously, courting positive reviews and responding thoughtfully to negative ones helps your business present itself as positively as possible to those who might come across it. 

Your GMB becomes particularly useful on the local level as your business profile populates on Google Maps. As audiences search for businesses near them, your profile will pop up. If they tap to see more, but see a half-empty profile or information that is suspiciously out of date, chances are good that you’ll lose that potential customer. 

Another benefit is that claiming your GMB is at no cost to you. For something so powerful and so cheap, there’s no reason to wait. Claim it now and build out the best business profile you can.