Marketing Automation for Google My Business from a Local SEO perspective and beyond

Google Activity Profiles (formerly known as Google My Business) is a tool of universal accessibility, much akin to social channels, if we consider it an unconventional Google social network. It serves as an informative, promotional, and free customer contact channel, capable of creating a significant positive economic impact for both large businesses (especially retailers) and small local activities managed by individuals, all at no cost. It's entirely free, requires no advertising investments, making it accessible even for personal micro-businesses.

In today's article, we will explore several options for automating the management of your Google Activity Profile (or Google Maps / Business Profile). With these techniques, which anyone can implement, we take the management of business profiles to a new level, more interactive and useful for marketing, without the expenditure of time. All automatic!

Marketing Automations for Google Activity Profiles

Among the most advantageous automation techniques for Google Activity profiles are marketing automation strategies applied to Google My Business with the aim of communication, post-sale management, and reviews, monitoring statistics, optimizing advertising campaigns, and overall customer care. These actions can be programmed using tools, both free and paid, such as Zapier or IFTTT (but there are many others), which can interface with social channels, email, email marketing tools, Google Ads, Google Drive, and so on.

Automated Responses to Reviews

One of the most critical approaches to automate is scheduling automatic responses to all received reviews, based on a set of configurable parameters.

As an example, we could set up a standard automatic response for 5-star reviews. However, we have the possibility to customize responses based on the received rating, including 1 star, 2 stars, and so on.

Our goals: save time, show customer care, gather feedback to improve our services or products.

Automatic Publishing of Images

We also have the option to automatically publish images from our official Instagram channel, or our Facebook fan page, or in a specific Google Drive album, directly to our Google business profile. This feature not only saves us time but also continuously updates our profile with new and meaningful content - introductory images are the first thing users see when they visit our Google profile (especially if they do so through Google Maps on mobile devices).

With this method, we can automatically generate new content for Google My Business, save time, and boost sales: images can motivate users to visit our store or make a reservation.

Posting Google Reviews on Facebook

Finally, we can also repurpose the content of our Google reviews to enrich our social media strategy, for instance, on Facebook. Positive opinions are always a strong point of attraction for users: they represent a kind of very convincing social proof, capable of attracting many potentially interested people. Thanks to the previously mentioned tools, we can automatically post these positive reviews.

Our aim is to develop content on various Social Networks based on the reviews received on Google. In a commercial perspective, it leverages 'social proof' and integrates Google My Business and Google Ads.

Integrations between Google My Business and Google Ads

It's essential to highlight the significant interactions that occur between Google profiles and Google Ads. Thanks to this process, every received review can be sent to Google Ads to update offline conversion data. This advanced functionality is a plus for those managing active campaigns on Google Ads, as it allows for obtaining additional data to optimize them, based on customers (in this case, offline customers). Furthermore, these offline contacts can update customer lists used by Google Ads - anonymously - for retargeting purposes or identifying new user segments to engage in different active campaigns.

Our goal is to leverage all data (offline and online) in a multichannel view, aiming to maximize the effectiveness of our Google Ads campaigns.

Automatic Update of Statistical Reports

Moreover, there is an automatic update of statistical reports. Google profiles can provide various relevant statistics about your business, such as the number of people who have requested information to reach your store, calls, bookings, and messages received, or how many clicks have been made on your website from the Google card. These data can be found under the 'Insights' section in Google My Business.

Another essential element concerns the details of local searches that lead people to your business - a goldmine of very useful information for local SEO.

Utilizing automated Google Drive spreadsheets enables constant and real-time monitoring of the latest statistics, making it possible to have useful data organized graphically with a simple click. Automation aims to provide critical information for making strategic decisions based on data rather than personal opinions.

Sending Automated Surveys to Dissatisfied Customers

Furthermore, for those giving a score lower than five stars, sending automatic surveys is an effective practice. This strategy not only enhances the collection of business data but also shows customers how committed we are to improving our services or products.

Automations for Compiling Activity Lists and Memos

Another critical aspect of automation is the creation of activity lists and notes, which can be integrated into Google Calendar or entered into platforms like Google Tasks and Slack, or delivered via SMS or private messages on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These lists serve as useful reminders to respond to received reviews.

Automations and Integrations with Artificial Intelligence

Finally, automation can be implemented with ChatGPT through Zapier, thus integrating artificial intelligence. This process aims to ensure that no review is overlooked. Instantly responding to reviews and staying active is crucial for managing and enhancing our online image.

The need to automatically send received opinions to ChatGPT can meet various needs, such as formulating a personalized response to a specific comment, updating feedback, or reviewing the overall evaluation of the message, based on the review content. I attempted to utilize Google Bard as well, as an attempt, to check if it could operate and interface with Google My Business, both being tools developed by Google. Bard's reply initially excited me, making me fantasize, although in reality, the result was not as hoped. Its response relies on textual suggestions or rephrasing of the text, not on authentic integrations that would allow us to bypass third-party tools like Zapier and IFTTT. But what services can Bard provide for Google Activity profiles? I tried asking Bard. Here is its response.

Yes, I can offer various services for business activity profiles on Google. Here are some examples:

• Creation and claiming of activity profiles. I can assist you in formulating or claiming your business profile. This method will require inputting various information regarding your business, like the name, address, and contact phone number.
• Editing information on activity profiles. I can assist you in updating your activity profile information, such as opening hours, website, or images.
• Managing activity profiles. I can assist you in managing your business profile, like adding or removing information, responding to comments, and managing bookings.
• Analysis of activity profile data. I can assist you in examining your business profile data, like visits, feedback, and bookings.

I aim to assist you in interpreting consumer interaction with your business and making fundamental marketing decisions. Below, I illustrate various specific ways I can support the management of your Google profiles:

• If you're about to start your business, I can guide you in creating and claiming a business profile. This will allow you to appear on Google Maps, increasing visibility to potential customers.
• If you need to update your business details, I can help you make the necessary changes to keep your business profile data precise and up-to-date.
• For small business owners, I offer support in managing the business profile, helping you manage reviews, bookings, and much more.
• If you want a deeper understanding of how users interact with your business, I can assist you in analyzing your data. This will help you understand which strategies are working and which might need improvements.
• If you need assistance with your Google business profiles, feel free to contact me. My goal is to help you make the most of your business profile

Conclusions

In conclusion, there are other marketing automation tactics that can be applied to Google My Business, such as interaction with your Gmail (notifications, archiving, labeling), text formatting, and integration with other applications or using Google Business Profiles APIs, but these aspects are, in my opinion, of lesser importance.

Regardless of the nature of your business, whether it's a retail or one or more offline store-based business, experimenting with various features in Google My Business might be a sensible choice. This advice is particularly relevant if your time is limited or if you want to streamline a series of operations. By using and activating the functions that you find most appropriate and useful, you can truly make a difference in managing your business.