Take a look at the number of homes sold last year in your local market, and then take a gander at the count of Realtors who are working there. If you haven’t noticed already, you have a whole lot of competition when it comes to home buying and selling clients, and there IS NOT enough business to go around.
Therefore, every single competitive advantage you can muster is invaluable, helping you to get noticed, get your name out there, and attract new clients this year.
Luckily, there is a relatively new feature to an old technology platform that can do some pretty incredible things when it comes to expanding your reach and presence online. And the best part is that almost NO Realtors are bothering to use it yet!
I’m talking about the Google My Business page feature on – you guess it – Google.
As the top search engine in the world, Google drives more traffic than any single source, responsible for about 70% of all search queries in the U.S. today.
As a real estate agent, getting your NAP (name, address, phone numbers, etc.) as well as brokerage name, the area you serve, email address, and website, etc. are crucial, and Google My Business will help you do that – and way more.
In fact, studies show that having (and using) a Google My Business listing can:
Increase any company’s visibility by 29%,
Turn 60% more online searchers and visitors into leads,
Boost mobile connectivity and engagement with your audience by up to 49%.
The best part is that it’s free!
However, it does take a little bit of time and know-how to do it correctly (you don’t want to just use your home address, but set up your business as a solo practitioner at your brokerage address, etc.) so contact me if you want a good service provider that can set it up for you, fast, easy, and inexpensively.
Ok, let’s dig into the features and benefits of Google My Business:
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a convenient tool for businesses, organizations, and even real estate agents to organize, catalog, and promote their online presence across the Google universe. That includes syncing Google search, Google Maps, and more.
You can find the portal to get started at Google.com/business.
The powerful benefits of Google My Business:
By setting up and using Google My Business correctly, you’ll make it far easier for potential clients to find you, forums to connect with them directly, and ways to measure and optimize those interactions.
One of the main benefits, of course, is that your business will show up right when people are searching for your services or similar business in your area. For Realtors, that may mean that when people search Google for “Real estate agents in East Sacramento” or “Buy a home in San Jose,” your business will appear in the search, complete with all the information you want them to have right at their fingertips – your name, phone number, website, email and even a flag on the Google Map. Amazing!
Since a Realtor’s business is hyper-local (you don’t care about showing up for home sale searches in Kansas, or even Los Angeles, if you’re a real estate agent in Sacramento), Google’s Google My Business (let’s call it GMB to save my typing finger) is a powerful and focused tool – and one that gives you a competitive edge over the 98% of other real estate salespeople who aren’t using it.
Here is some information that GMB will document and share across all Google platforms:
• Phone number
• Email
• Website URL
• URL to make an appointment
• Business hours
• Address (Again, this can be tricky for Realtors, but there’s a correct way to do it.)
• Locations
• Categories
• Company Logo
• Profile Photo
• Internal and external photos
• Virtual Tour (if applicable)
• Videos
• Other social media links
All of these tools will be at your disposal – and more with their advanced function. It’s no wonder why an estimated 39% of local retailers and walk-in businesses have already claimed and verified their Google My Business listing.
Do you need more convincing?
In part two of this blog, we’ll bring you information about these 10 benefits of having a Google My Business page:
1. Your Google listing will attract a new audience via Google Search.
2. Your business will pop right up in Google Maps.
3. Easily manage your business information.
4. Gain reviews – and answer them directly.
5. Write and share Google posts.
6. Access user insights and search analytics.
7. Get a free Google website!
8. Offer specials, promotions, special discounts, etc.
9. Enjoy their Question & Answer feature.
10. Direct message your audience and potential clients.
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Tune in for part two coming soon or email me for more information!
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