Google My Business is your new home page

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we’re talking about a scary subject… People aren’t using Google the way they used to. Customers simply don’t browse websites anymore – most comparison is done on the actual search results page.

Your Google My Business listing is your new home page. There’s a wealth of information listed, and in many cases, potential customers don’t even need to go to your site. Watch this week’s video for more information – and to learn what you need to be doing.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn. This week, we’re talking about something that’s a little scary…

The way your customers are using Google is changing. They’re not searching the same way they used to, and they’re not browsing sites like they used to. Google is showing more information than ever before.

As Google continues to show more on search results pages, users have less reason to click through to websites. Gone are the days when people would jump from site to site simply to compare businesses – now, that comparison happens on the search results page.

So here’s the scary thing – your dealership’s Google My Business listing is your new home page. There’s so much info in your GMB listing now that many times, there’s no reason to click through to your site at all.

Need the phone number for the dealership? It’s on your GMB.

Need to know when the dealership opens? That’s there too.

Got a question about oil changes? Oh look, someone already asked that in the Q&A section.

Not sure if you want to buy at a dealership? There are tons of reviews to read.

And I can get all of that without ever going to the dealership’s site.

Now, I’m not here to preach doom and gloom… But far too many dealers pay zero attention to their GMB listings – and they’re losing out because of it.

You can no longer assume that your website is the front line – that if they get to your site, that’s where you can convince them to come to the dealership. You’ve got to change your thought process and make sure you’re absolutely killing your Google My Business game.

Make your dealership name is correct.
Make sure your address is correct, and the map pin is placed in the right spot.
Make sure you’ve got the right phone number listed (it’s ok if it’s a tracking number, we’ll talk more about that in next week’s video)
Make sure your correct hours are listed.
Make sure you’ve got a ton of awesome photos uploaded, and make sure you’re changing them out often.
Make sure you’ve got an awesome review score – at least a 4.5
Make sure you’ve got more reviews than your competitors have
Make sure you’re using Google Posts to share specials and promos – this will make your GMB listing more eye-catching.
Make sure that you’re monitoring Q&A – answer new questions quickly, and make sure your answers are upvoted so they’re shown as the definitive answer to each question. Ask your own questions and answer them so that common questions are there for anyone to see.

TL:DR version – just pay attention and make sure your first impression in Google is awesome.

That’s all the time I’ve got for today. As always, if you’ve got questions or comments, leave ‘em down below and we’ll get back to you shortly. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you again next week with another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn.