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Make Google your business ; SPONSORED COLUMN JOHN BONNEY ONLINE MARKETING SPECIALIST [Herald, The (Plymouth, England)](Herald, The (Plymouth, England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) If you have a question for John Bonney, please email [email protected] THE power that strong Google listings can have in aid of local businesses is an undeniable reality and one that unfortunately many are still ignoring. Recent research by Google suggests that 97% of consumers looking to find information about local businesses will first search online. If you are a start- up business in say, Woking, and you have yet to register your establishment with Google My Business, then you will be losing out on phenomenal potential for increased custom. Put simply, Google My Business is a free and immediate website listing service built to help every business worldwide find itself a place on the internet. It doesn't matter if you're a one-man independent selling fishing tackle to tourists or a 60-strong team of furniture makers; you deserve to mark your territory on Google. Launched in September 2009, Google My Business has received great applause following its replacement of the moribund Google Local Business Centre, which failed to offer the same local precision and simplicity we now have. The real ace in the hole for Google My Business is its accessibility; we're talking the vanilla of SEO. It doesn't matter if you don't have a website either; many smaller business won't have the time or expertise but with Google you can get a solid registry with free online exposure in no time at all. All you'll need is for Google to validate your business details through a short, direct process before your listing goes live. It's a real no-brainer and a service which helps puts Google in touch with the business community in a way we've yet to see from any other search engine provider. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |