Navigating the ever-changing landscape of Google’s features can be an arduous task for businesses; however, staying on top of these changes can be greatly beneficial in helping your business to stand out amongst your competitors. One feature Google offers to dispensaries, the Google My Business (GMB) page, can be a useful tool in bringing in new customers.

But how do you make the most of your Google My Business page?

This guide will walk you through several Google My Business features and how to best apply them to your local marketing strategy.

Establish a Professional Appearance

Distinguishing yourself from your competition begins with building a professional image for your dispensary. A polished image builds credibility with consumers, and customers are far more likely to patronize a business that they deem trustworthy and professional. The first step, if you haven’t completed it already, is to claim and verify your business’s GMB listing. Once you have taken ownership of your listing, you can start to build out your GMB page with business-relevant information. Make sure any photos you add to your GMB page are high-resolution and relevant to your business. Follow Google’s best practices and include three high-quality photos of both the interior and exterior of your business location, along with clear shots of your product(s) if applicable.

Also, including branded imagery helps to promote a professional appearance as well as brand recognition. Additionally, make sure that your contact information is accurate and free of any errors as not only will errors make it more difficult for customers to find and contact your business, they will cause your customers to lose trust in your business and may even lead them to choose your competition instead. Furthermore, make sure to take advantage of every opportunity and completely fill out all of the information on your GMB page. While details such as business hours may seem inconsequential, they can be a defining factor in a customer’s choice to utilize your business over a competitor.

Another opportunity for your brand to differentiate itself from the competition is the newly returned GMB Business Description. This section of the GMB page allows for you to tell the story of your business, giving consumers insight into the background of your dispensary, what products or services you provide, and other business-relevant information. Utilize this section to highlight what makes your business stand out from the crowd; However, make sure to follow Google’s guidelines when building your business description or else it may be rejected. This section can be used for some keyword optimization, but you should ensure that it includes only relevant, quality content related to your business, core offerings, or services. Highlighting your brand personality with a professional, thoughtful business description builds a positive rapport with your customer base, helping to create consumer trust and ultimately bring in new business.

Take advantage of other GMB content opportunities

Google My Business offers users numerous opportunities to showcase what sets their business apart, extending beyond contact information and photos. For example, Google provides a Q&A section on your GMB page which allows you the opportunity to answer questions directly from your customers. Even if none of your customers have asked any questions, Google provides “quick questions” which are common questions that you can answer. Being attentive and answering questions from customers, or answering questions that you know are common to your business shows that you care to keep your customers informed, helping to build a positive image of your business in the eyes of your consumers.

In addition to the Q&A section, Google offers a reviews section in which customers can write about their experiences with your dispensary. You should reply to reviews regularly, even bad ones, as it shows your customers that you are invested in their feedback and offers you the opportunity to respond to complaints as well as to show your appreciation for customers that left positive reviews. Engaging your customers in this way can help to elevate your dispensary over competitors who are missing this opportunity. While many review sites such as Yelp discourage businesses from soliciting reviews, Google encourages businesses to ask their customers for reviews in an ethical manner.

Customers look more favorably on listings with reviews than listings without, and building your number of positive reviews while replying to and mediating negative reviews is crucial to promoting a favorable business image through your GMB listing. Another GMB content opportunity, a relatively new feature available for some businesses, is the Google My Business Service Menu.

This field allows you to list the specific services that your business provides. Although this feature is not relevant to all businesses, it should be utilized if your dispensary offers a range of products or services. This not only helps potential customers to distinguish whether or not you provide the products or services they are looking for but increases your rankings for search terms related to the specific items listed and acts as another checkpoint to help you to gain an edge on your competition.

Providing your customers with an abundance of information is key to maximizing the effectiveness of your business listing as customers are more prone to patronize a business that provides more information and engages more with their customers over competitive dispensaries that do not.

Monitor your listing and stay on top of changes – Be an early adopter

Google is always updating, changing, adding, and removing features, and although it may be a headache to keep track of, staying agile and adaptive while taking advantage of new features can give a business a huge advantage over their competition.

Keeping up to date with Google My Business features and utilizing any that apply to your dispensary can be greatly beneficial, helping to maximize the appeal of your business listing which in turn will help to bring new customers to your dispensary through your local SEO efforts.

You should take advantage of every opportunity to provide information or convenience to your customers through your business listing, as even seemingly minor features provide valuable touchpoints with your customers which factor into their decision of whether to use your company or a competitor.

Early adopters of Google features can beat out the competition simply by utilizing systems that they are not yet aware of, and customers gained through early adoption of Google features to view the business more favorably, meaning that they will stick around even after the new feature is old news.

Taking advantage of new features as soon as possible is an excellent strategy for bringing in new customers as your business is essentially offering them something the competition cannot, and the rewards for doing so remain long after the new feature has been implemented.

If you would like to make the most out of your local SEO efforts while staying on top of changes and updates but cannot find the time to do so while running your cannabis business you should consider hiring an agency. Contact Marijuana Marketing Xperts today and start taking advantage of all of the opportunities and benefits that your Google My Business page can provide.