Google My Business: Everything You Need to Know About This Essential Tool
Today, most consumers first look up information online before buying a product, whether online or in-store. That’s why it’s important to maintain your online presence. Google My Business is an essential tool for boosting your business’s visibility, but it’s not always easy to harness its full potential. Here are a few tips to help you understand the tool better.
Google My Business: What Is It?
Google My Business is a free tool that Google provides to help your flower shop appear in search results based on your location on Google Maps. Google My Business acts as a sort of online directory, giving your potential customers access to all the essential information about your business. If you don’t have an account yet, we strongly recommend that you set one up as soon as possible!
In practical terms, your Google My Business listing is your business’s online dashboard: all potential customers can access your contact information, news, reviews from previous customers, your hours of operation, and much more! In short, it’s essential for promoting your business and building customer loyalty.
The criteria analyzed by Google
To rank search results, Google's algorithm relies primarily on three criteria:
1/ The geographic criterion: the closer your business is to the address in the search query, the more likely it is to appear.
2/ The reputation criterion: the more reviews you have—and the more positive they are—the more likely you are to appear in the top spot.
3/ The relevance criterion: the more reliable and diverse the information you provide on your business listing, the higher your store will rank in search results.
Why is this important?
Creating your business listing helps you appear more prominently in search results: not only do you let Google’s algorithm know your store exists, but you can also showcase your products and hours of operation there; we’ll come back to this later.
Your school profile can help you in several ways:
1/ It can help internet users who are planningto buy flowers near your location see that your store is nearby, thereby encouraging potential customers to visit your store, call you, or visit your website.
2/ It also allows you to increase your online sales by adding a link to your website or online store on your listing .
3/ Most importantly, it allows you to appear on the map when internet users search for a florist nearby. For example, if your business is located in Limoges and a user enters the search query“florist in Limoges,”you’ll be more likely to appear as the top result if your business listing is properly updated. This is because the first item displayed in local search results is an embedded map, as shown in the illustration above.
Provide all the necessary information to your potential customers
The first feature you should be interested in is the ability to add all the practical information your potential customers need. Your store’s name, address, hours of operation, phone number, website link, payment methods… all this information, if kept up to date regularly, will ensure that online users never miss out on your store. In fact, we recommend that you pay special attention to the opening hours you list, so that your potential customers can be sure to visit your store when you’re open.
Do you offer delivery? Do you offer click-and-collect shopping? Be sure to let your website visitors know! You can even list your delivery hours and the areas you serve.
Don't overlook any details: keep in mind that the more complete and up-to-date your profile is, the more Google's algorithm will reward you by ranking your store higher in search results.
Did you enjoy this article? We have plenty more tips to share with you! Schedule an appointment with our team to learn more.
Who are we?
Sessile champions the independence of artisan florists online. Founded in 2019 by six friends, Sessile brings together 500 florists committed to transforming the industry and enables flower delivery throughout France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. By breaking away from the traditional online catalog model, the network highlights each florist’s expertise and helps keep the art of floristry alive. Florists can pursue their passion and create more creative bouquets because they have greater freedom to offer seasonal flowers and, whenever possible, locally sourced flowers.