Four Changes Made to Google My Business That May Affect Your Auto Repair Shop’s Listing
Google, perhaps the most widely-used website around the world, was created in 1996 by two Stanford University Ph.D. students named Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Since 1996, the search engine has blown up and is the No. 1 search engine to find anything and everything on the internet.
An important factor in search engine optimization for your auto shop lies in Google’s local listings, called Google My Business. The mission of Google My Business is to attract new customers with a free local listing on Google. This listing appears when people are searching directly for your business or for a local listing similar to it. It is a great way to get the word out about small business and also is helpful in your search engine ranking. Since the beginning of 2017, Google My Business has undergone some changes. Check out are four changes that will affect your auto shop’s Google My Business listing:
1. Google has taken off “permanently closed” listing
If your auto repair shop has ever moved locations, your old location’s local listing may have shown up in the Local Finder marked as “permanently closed.” Annoying, right? Well, Google has made the executive decision to take those listings permanently off their listing. This is great news for your local business because you now don’t have to worry about a customer visiting your old, now closed location.The only thing that you need to be aware of is the fact that Google won’t notify you when a listing has been closed, meaning that a spammer could “permanently close” your auto shop’s location. To eliminate this problem, make sure to constantly monitor your listing in the Google My Business dashboard.
2. Ads now on mobile devices
All of your killer PPC ads are now mobile-friendly too! When potential customers are searching for your auto shop on a mobile device, your PPC ad will be visible in the local pack ads. This means that you have a new way of getting to the top of local results.
3. 18 months of Insight data is now available
Ever wonder how your local listing is doing on Google My Business? Well, now Google Business is offering insights that allow you to look at customs date ranges. You can check your views, clicks, new followers, etc. over the course of a day, one-month, or one-quarter interval. You can also compare data year over year instead of just month over month.
4. “Check the facts” feature
Google My Business now has a feature in which you can “check the facts”. This allows users to approve or deny edits to business listings on maps. For example, listings may need corrections on hours, holidays and prices at your auto shop. This helps keep everything up to date so there are no misunderstandings between you and your customer.
Conclusion
Google My Business has changed the marketing world for small businesses. It has created and updated a familiar place where people can search for local businesses. These are 4 changes that have been made along with many others throughout the year. The 2017 updates have been made to help small businesses thrive on the internet. Make sure to stay aware of updates so you can get the highest benefit out of your Google My Business listing!