Having an online presence is more important than ever, and home builders need to take advantage of online marketing tools to help them stand out from the rest. Having a Google My Business listing is one very important way those in the new housing industry can gain visibility and attract new clients.
About Google My Business
Google My Business is a tool that helps companies manage their Google presence across all platforms. You can very easily access and edit all of your information including your home building company's physical address on Google maps, your contact information, links to your website and social media profiles and questions and answers about your business.
A Google My Business profile also increases the chances local customers will come across your business. Making your address and contact details available to Google will increase the chances of your business coming up when users in your area search for home builders and other new home services. Without a Google My Business profile, the search engine may not consider your website when local customers search for home builders.
Advantages of Having a Google My Business Listing
Google is the biggest search engine on the internet, so home builders greatly benefit by being listed. Having a Google My Business profile will improve your website's ranking and direct more customers to your information when searching for home builders and related content.
A Google My Business profile can even direct customers to you without them ever having to view your website. Having your contact information on Google gives customers the opportunity to contact you easily directly from Google maps and search results. Potential customers don't want to dig to find your information, having it readily available to them after a simple web search increases the potential they'll contact you for their home building needs rather than move on to a company with more readily available details.
How to Claim and Set Up Your Google My Business Listing
Claiming and setting up your Google My Business is a fairly easy and quick process. Simply visit the Google My Business page and enter your address to claim your business listing. After you've done this, Google will need to verify that the address you entered is indeed your new or already existing business. This is done either by a postcard in the mail or a phone call option.
Once you've had your business verified, all that's left is to set up your profile. Your profile is what may or may not attract customers, so you'll want to create as robust a profile as possible. You can do this by:
- Including as much contact information as possible
- Including links to your website and social media sites
- Uploading pictures of your work
- Posting frequent updates
While customers can contact you directly from your Google profile, they may want to dig a little deeper into your business before making any decisions. Having a regularly updated website and social media platform will show customers what you're capable of, but remember to update frequently. If potential customers view your Facebook page or website and notice no updates in months, they may move on to a builder with a more active profile.
Keeping your Google My Business profile regularly updated also involves interacting with customers who leave a review. Whether it's a quick "thank you" for five-star reviews or a professional response to customers who may leave unfavorable reviews, interacting with customers can generate repeat business and recommendations of your service. Positive reviews also have a big impact on your business' rankings when it comes to search results.
Generating reviews is very important, because without positive reviews you're limited in your options for improving your search ranking. Google My Business makes it possible for your to embed a link to the review form on your website or in an e-mail so customers can easily write a review without having to search for the review form on Google.
About Portfolio Home Plans
Portfolio Home Plans is an easy to setup online home plan storefront home builders can embed on their websites. This gives home builders and their customers easy access to a number of home plans that can help you begin the building process quickly. This home plan reseller program gives builders complete control of the sales process and removes the need of sending clients to a third party for designs. Builders have the opportunity to be a part of the sales process from day one giving them more control over designs and gain a commission from each plan sold via their websites whether they end up building the home or not. This storefront contains great shareable content that can help boost SEO rankings and bring more traffic to your site.
