As I hope you know, <<First Name>>, Google My Business is the most important tool that you have for giving Google information about your business. This information shows up in an impossible-to-miss spot on the right side of the Google search results (or at the top on mobile), especially when someone types the name of your business into the search engine. Google calls this the “Knowledge Panel”.

I know that the last thing anyone needs is another tool to use and monitor. However, Google My Business continues to evolve into a very visible platform for promoting different aspects of your business.

If you haven’t claimed and verified your business listing yet, do that as soon as possible at https://google.com/business. Complete all the information that Google asks for and then verify it’s you by phone or post card. Once that’s done you take take advantage of all the features of Google My Business.

It’s worth noting that Google actively encourages all of their users (not just business owners) to add information and answer questions about their listings. So literally anyone could be adding information about your business. With a Google My Business account, you have the ability to confirm or reject these suggestions.

In addition to the basics about your business, your listing can now include these enhancements:

Google My Business Posts

Posts appear on your listing for 7 days and then disappear. They can be used to promote anything about your business and can include a photo and up to 300 words of text. If the post is for an event it can include the start and end times. A link button to a web page can also be included.

Messaging

Users can now send text messages directly from your listing (mobile only). For now, only users performing a mobile search on Chrome will see messaging. However, this is such a useful feature that I expect it will be expanding soon. Configure the number to send to in the “Messaging” section of the Google My Business dashboard.

Ask a Question

The Q&A feature allows users to ask questions about your business and provides you with a place to answer them. A few things to note about Q&A:

• Q&A is not visible to users on mobile You need to log in to the GMB dashboard to see if you have questions that need answers.
• To monitor Q&A on a mobile device, you must be using Android. Just as anyone can suggest an edit, anyone can answer questions about your business.
• Make sure you monitor Q&A on the dashboard, where you can report any possible abuse of your listing to Google.

Reviews

Your listing now shows reviews from multiple sources, not just Google. Google’s policy for soliciting reviews is more permissive than, say, Yelp. If you follow Google’s guidelines for Google My Business reviews, you can ask your customers for reviews. However, if you violate any of these policies, your reviews could be removed.

Until next week.