• Business Growth & Optimisation

The Right Way to Manage Multiple Locations on Google My Business

6 min. read25.05.2022
By Team Zeller

Own a multi-location business? Here’s how to grow traffic and get more customers.

In 2024, over 8.5 billion Google searches are made every single day. Google My Business (GMB) helps you tap into that traffic by aggregating all of your brand’s important information in one place. It’s essentially an online directory that allows you to market your business to customers who are actively on the hunt for a product or service like yours. For this reason, it’s important to not only set up a Google My Business profile, but keep it up to date.

Many multi-location businesses opt not to leverage GMB as a marketing tool, largely because there can be confusion around claiming and optimising listings for multiple sites. Sadly, that also means they miss out on an additional stream of traffic to their stores. The simple solution is to create a business group.

What is a GMB business group?

A business group is a collection of GMB profiles managed by the one organisation. Having a business group makes it easier to manage multiple business locations, ensuring consistency of branding across all a business’ profiles and making user access that much simpler.

Here’s how to manage a Google My Business profile for multiple locations.

1. Create a location group

It’s in Google’s best interests to keep the platform simple, which is why you can (and should) control multiple business locations from a business group account — also known as a location group. This account should be registered with your main company email address. Better yet, use a shared business account like admin@twocooks.com.au, and share the login details with the most senior members of staff.

Here’s how to do it:

  • Click to open the three dash menu in the top left corner, then click Create business account

  • Click Create location group in the top right corner of the page

  • Enter a location group/business account name and click Done.

You’ll be prompted to submit business information to populate your profile and verify your account. After you’ve done that, review and accept the Terms and Conditions — and Google will begin verifying your account.

You can set up multiple location groups and categorise your businesses by chain, region or category, for example. Whatever works for your business.

2. Add each business location

To add a new location to your Google My Business profile, follow the below steps.

  1. Open your Google My Business dashboard.

  2. Click to open the Manage Locations tab.

  3. Click the Add Location drop-down tab and select Add Single Location.

  4. Follow the prompts to enter the information for your new business location.

  5. Repeat this process for each location you want to add.

Christian Kimber store locations in Victoria, Australia

3. Choose your owners and managers wisely

Employees come and go, so it’s important you put your GMB profile’s security in the right hands. When it comes to your profile, there are two types of users: owners and managers. As the owner, you can make changes to key information for the location group or business profile, such as address, phone number, business name and URL. Managers are added by you and cannot update or change this information.

While managers have restricted access, they still have the ability to reply to reviews and publish posts — so it’s important that those you choose to give access to are trusted members of the business. You should also have a procedure in place should that person ever depart the business.

4. Transfer ownership before employees depart

It’s important to make the removal of access a part of the off-boarding plan for every employee. This will prevent the departing employee from being able to sign in to your GMB account and make any changes.

Should you find yourself in a situation where you cannot access a location profile, there are ways and means of regaining control. Perhaps the employee who set up the profile has left the business, taking the logins with them, or someone has simply forgotten the password.

Either way, bringing the location under your business account is as simple as contacting the listing owner via email (through the GMB platform), requesting they assign you as an admin or pass over the ownership rights. Should they fail to reply within seven days, Google has a process in place to override their ownership — simply contact Google’s support team.

5. Use scheduling tools to manage GMB posts

Organic clicks on GMB posts can increase web traffic, boost conversion rates and help your listing rank higher than your competitors. The more active your profile, the more likely it is to enter the Local 3-pack. That means you need to be regularly updating information and publishing new posts to your profile.

As with social media platforms, a number of scheduling tools exist to help maintain an active presence across all location listings. In fact, most tools now offer GMB integration. This allows you to upload content to any listing and create content calendars for each profile, all from the one screen.

Some of the most popular tools that can alleviate multi-location profile management include Sprout Social, Sendible, Social Champ and OneUp.

6. Optimise each listing

The first time a potential customer interacts with your brand is often through your GMB listing, which is why it's critical to optimise your GMB listing for SEO success. Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) helps improve your online presence and ensures you appear more frequently in search results for people in your area, making it easier for potential customers to find your business.

Optimising your local SEO helps you to make a stronger first impression than your competitors. Here are some best practise tips:

  • Ensure your profile is complete with accurate, up to date business details (name, address, phone number and website).

  • Use targeted keywords naturally in your business description, services and posts. Incorporate location-based keywords (i.e. “Coffee Shop in Melbourne”) to boost local relevance.

  • Upload high-quality images of your businesses products and services. To optimise even further, you can also geotag these images.

  • Encourage customers to leave a positive Google review and respond promptly. An active GMB account with recent reviews provides Google a positive signal.

  • Add relevant FAQs and provide detailed answers to address common questions your customers may ask.

By optimising your GMB profile, you’ll help to improve the visibility of your site and create a great first impression for potential customers.

7. Encourage reviews on each of your listings

Reviews are a powerful social currency on Google. For many customers, reviews often make the difference between choosing one brand over another. However, it’s not enough to merely amass reviews, though doing so can boost your prominence on Google Maps — you need to know when and how to best respond to them too.

Promptly and professionally engaging with reviews – both good or bad – gives potential customers a taste of the experience they can expect from shopping with you. So, stay positive and professional, regardless of the sentiment of the review.

If the prospect of managing reviews across multiple locations seems overwhelming, rest assured you can sort reviews by location group in the one location. Alternatively, you can also assign location-specific admin the role addressing reviews.

Now that you know how to manage multiple GMB listings under the one profile, keep up with the latest Zeller updates and announcements by subscribing to the Zeller Business Blog newsletter below.

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How to Make Google My Business Work for Your Brand

Point customers in the right direction with a strong Google My Business listing. Whether you run a brick and mortar business or an ecommerce brand, your potential customers are searching for you online. The easiest way to make sure they choose your business over a local competitor? By becoming the easiest to find. By claiming and optimising your business’s listing, you’re increasing your chances of being found by new customers. Plus, Google My Business is free — which makes it a useful marketing tool for small and big businesses alike. Keep reading to learn more about how Google My Business works, and what it can do for your business. What is Google My Business? In the last 20 years, search traffic has grown by 2,000%, to the point where there are now more than 2 trillion Google searches each year. This rise in online activity has meant that conversations around where to find products and services have largely moved online. In 2014, Google recognised that more and more people were turning to its platform for business recommendations by launching Google My Business — an online directory that allows you to create a dedicated profile for your brand. Google My Business is essentially a free online tool that businesses can utilise to share important information and attract customers. Here's how it's going to help you grow your business. It helps customers find your business By simply verifying your Google My Business listing, your business’s location will show up in relevant Google Maps searches. This is important because the second most important factor for consumers when searching for and selecting a local business is proximity. (The first is online reviews.) People are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a Google My Business listing. Whether searching for a local key cutter or place to grab a sandwich, Google Maps will quickly populate an area with dozens of red markers — each of which represent a local business that meets the search criteria. By simply creating a Google My Business listing, people can instantly see how close they are to your location. For brick and mortar businesses, that means having a strong Google My Business listing typically leads to a substantial increase in foot traffic. It improves your overall SEO performance Your listing will also serve to benefit your business online by playing a big part in your overall SEO performance. As a local business, your goal is to get in Google’s Local 3-Pack. This puts your online presence at the top of relevant search results, where the person searching Google is within close proximity, driving more foot traffic to your business.  Claiming your Google My Business listing is the first step to being in this coveted position. It puts you in control Don’t leave your customers guessing whether you’re open for business on a public holiday, or whether your location has moved. Misinformation can create negative customer experiences and cause missed opportunities. Luckily, a Google My Business listing allows you to keep the public informed about your business. Your Google My Business listing includes business hours, contact details, and other important information such as a menu or services list. You can update your listing as and when you need — for example, to advise you’re offering click and collect through lockdown. Suffice to say, regardless of your industry, your brand stands to gain a lot from a strong Google My Business profile. Is Google My Business compulsory for business owners? In short, no — Google My Business isn’t something you have to do. However, your business can still appear as an ‘unclaimed business’ on Google. The risk of not claiming your business is that this orphaned listing could have incorrect or outdated information that, as a result, sees you miss out on potential sales, enquiries and visits to your business. Therefore, the best thing you can do is learn how to use Google My Business to your advantage. How to set up a Google My Business page The good news is setting up your listing is simple. Step 1 Visit the Google My Business homepage . Click ‘Manage Now’ and you’ll be prompted to log in or sign up. Step 2 Enter your business name. This is where you’ll have the chance to ‘claim a business’ or create a new one. Step 3 Set up your business profile. This includes selecting a business category, location, service area, phone number, and website. Step 4 Verify your business address. This will involve Google sending a postcard with a unique verification code to the business address provided. Until this verification code has been received and entered, a number of Google My Business functions (such as replying to reviews) will be restricted. Step 5 Outline your business details. This includes your services, hours of operation, business summary, and images. These can be product, team or premises photos — whatever serves to convey your business most effectively. Step 6 Make any final tweaks in your dedicated Google My Business hub. This is where you can review your business information, track insights and reviews. You can also upload a logo, cover image, and additional business photos, as well as add team members, publish posts and respond to direct messages. Once you’ve received your Google postcard and verified your profile, your listing will be there for all the world to see — but the work doesn’t stop there. Mastering your profile moving forward While it’s important to set up your Google My Business page, it’s equally important to ensure you invest time in maintaining it. According to Google, something as simple as uploading photos will see you receive 35% more clicks to your website and 42% higher requests for driving directions in Google Maps than businesses that don’t. To ensure you’re making the most of your listing, set aside regular time to do the following: check your business’s contact details and location are up to date ensure your opening hours are accurate (this is particularly important when changing restrictions can affect business operating hours) monitor and respond to business reviews — even the negative ones — as this shows that you value your customers and their feedback add any relevant third party links, such as delivery or booking service pages advertise any current offers that might drive website or foot traffic upload product photos or menu items to ensure potential customers are aware of exciting new offerings create and monitor your Google ads to help drive business Think of the last time you used Google to search for a local business, and how easy Google made the process. Now you’ve mastered the art of establishing a strong Google My Business listing, set aside an hour or two a month to keep it updated. Sign up to our Business Blog to cash in on valuable insights sent straight to your inbox.

The Beginner’s Guide to Instagram for Business

Instagram offers a huge opportunity for businesses to capture customers' attention and increase foot traffic. With more than one billion users on the platform and roughly 200 million people visiting at least one Instagram business profile per day, Instagram is a great way for businesses to expand their reach and increase customer engagement, and loyalty. On the flipside, not paying enough attention to your business’s social media presence could be detrimental. For example, a recent study found that 30 per cent of millennials are likely to avoid restaurants with a weak Instagram presence. (This is the demographic that spends an average of five days per year browsing food pictures on Instagram, after all.) When you also consider the fact that millennials visit restaurants more frequently than any other generation, the financial benefits of maintaining an Instagram profile are clear. However, it’s not just restaurant owners that could grow their profits through Instagram. No matter which industry you operate in, your customers are looking you up on social media. With so many people on Instagram each day following and engaging with their favourite brands, learning how to build your business and brand on the platform is vital to your business’s success. Read on for our beginner’s guide to Instagram to learn how to set up your business account, and post quality content that reaches your intended audience. How to set up your business account on Instagram When you’re starting out on Instagram for the purpose of promoting your business and your brand, you’ll want to curate an attractive page with frequently updated posts that draw your target audience in — so they become engaged followers and excited fans. Instagram provides a quick and easy way to get your brand noticed by the right type of people. If you’re looking to fire up your social media presence, but aren’t sure where to start, here are the answers to your important questions. Is the business account free on Instagram? Yes, a business account is completely free of charge on Instagram. You can easily transform your personal profile into a business profile, or start up a new one whenever you need. Once your account is set up, you can choose to create ads and promote posts (which you pay for, depending on the ad budget you set). How to change your Instagram profile to a business profile If you’re switching your existing Instagram profile to a business account, firstly, ensure your profile is set to Public visibility. Private accounts cannot be changed to business profiles. Then, head to the menu icon at the top right of your page and select Settings. Next, tap Accounts, then choose Switch to Professional Account. It’s as simple as that. How to get your business location on Instagram Instagram location tags, or geotags, are precise location coordinates you can add to a Story or post. Geotags put your business on the Instagram map. To create a geotag, you will first need a Facebook business page that’s linked to your Instagram account. Follow the below steps to get set up. Sign in on the Facebook mobile app Enable Location Services Tap Check In within your status update box Type in your business name and add your location Choose a category Select a physical geolocation Add any additional details, then tap Create Claim your location When you add your location tag to Facebook, it will also appear on Instagram. How to link your Facebook business page to Instagram You can link your Facebook page to Instagram from within the Facebook app or the Instagram app. From Instagram, go to your profile page and tap Edit Profile. In Public Business Information select Page. Then you can choose from the list which page you want to link to, and select Done to complete the process. How to promote your Instagram business page Instagram can be a crowded place, however there are a few things you can do to attract more eyes to your business’s Instagram page. Here are some ideas. Ramp up the number of times you post to Instagram every week. Increasing your post frequency gives you a better chance of appearing in your followers’ feeds, and helps to attract new followers. Cross-promote your Instagram posts across other social media networks. Sharing an Instagram post to Facebook or Twitter is a simple way to get even more ROI out of one piece of content. Share user-generated content on your Instagram story. This means finding an Instagram post or story created by one of your customers, and resharing it to your own business’s profile. What to post on my business Instagram One third of the most-viewed Instagram stories come from businesses. Given its potential to reach a wide pool of potential customers, there’s little wonder why savvy business owners turn to Instagram as the lead player in their content marketing strategy. But how do you make an impact? It can be confusing trying to figure out what to post on your feed, what strategies you need to employ, and the best practices to optimise your engagement. Variety is key. You will need to post pictures of your products or services, of course, but you’re not limited to this type of content. If you run a coffee shop, you might feature your customers’ dogs. If you own a restaurant, you could share recipes. If you run a trades and services business, you could turn customer reviews into Instagram posts. What you choose to post depends not only on the type of business you run, but also on your brand as well as the demographic of customer you are hoping to attract. What is the best time to post on Instagram? Knowing when to post and how to navigate the tricky Instagram algorithms will help achieve the best ROI for your efforts. It’s widely considered that posting at lunchtime between 11am and 1pm and in the evenings between 7pm and 9pm will get your posts the most traction. However, it will always depend on your target audience and their location — so it may take a little time to find the sweet spot for your business. Ultimately, it’s a good idea to use the time zone that most of your followers are in when posting the bulk of your content. When your post receives a lot of engagement soon after posting, Instagram will likely show it to more people. Using a tool like Hootsuite to plan and schedule your social media in advance makes it much easier to keep on top of what you're posting, when. The best time of day to post may be your busiest hours of the work day — scheduling your Instagram posts in advance means you still get the benefit of prime time engagement. Which hashtags should I use? Leveraging hashtags is one of the best ways to get your Instagram content in front of more potential customers. Posts with at least one hashtag typically average 12.6% more engagement than posts without; it’s an easy way to grow your reach, and get more comments and likes on your Instagram content. Here are some tips for using hashtags on Instagram. Experiment with the number of hashtags you use. You can use up to 30 hashtags per Instagram post, but sometimes less is more. Use trial and error to see how the number of hashtags used affects your reach. Don’t just stick to the popular hashtags. Use a variety of hashtags so your content doesn’t get lost in the crowd — from trending hashtags, to niche or location-centred hashtags. Use a tool like All Hashtag . Hashtag tools help you create and analyse the top relevant hashtags for your content, and you can easily store your hashtags for when you need them. Once your business is up and running on Instagram, it's time to start building your online community . For more ideas on how to grow your business, sign up to our Business Blog.

How to Make TikTok Work for Your Business

When it comes to mastering a new social media platform, there’s no time like the present. TikTok isn’t merely an infinite source of entertaining videos. In the right hands, it can be a powerful business tool to grow your customer base and increase profits. The trick is knowing how to make the app work for your business. No matter your business style or type, there’s a TikTok community already waiting for you — whether your goal is to reach new customers, drive product sales, or simply learn how to grow your business. With lockdown freeing up more time for business innovation and future planning, there’s no time like the present to make your first video. Keep reading to learn why TikTok should be part of your marketing strategy, discover how Zeller merchants are using it to drive more foot traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations, and get some ideas for your first video. What is TikTok, exactly? For those unfamiliar with the platform, TikTok is a mobile phone app that houses an endless stream of short videos. When you first download the app, you’re served a random hodgepodge of videos based on a combination of factors — including interests you express as a new user. The more videos you watch, the more the app’s algorithm tailors your feed to feature videos that reflect your interests. Say you spend more time on average watching cooking tutorials and, conversely, quickly scroll past dance clips. In this case, you’ll soon see more of the former and a lot less of the latter. That’s what makes TikTok such an addictive platform — it feeds the user a curated feed of content, in a seemingly endless loop. The ability to reach a hyper-relevant audience is what makes TikTok such a powerful tool for businesses. Can it really help grow business? Amassing more than 2.6 billion downloads across the globe, it’s safe to say that this social media platform is one of the most popular apps in the world. TikTok users typically whittle away nearly an hour a day on the platform, meaning there’s of plenty opportunity to catch their attention with strategic and engaging marketing. For the staff of Leaf Cafe in Orange, New South Wales, creating TikToks was a way to pass the time and keep morale high during lockdown, when foot traffic was low. However, it didn’t take long for the true benefits of TikTok to be realised. “At first, it was just a bit of fun — but being on TikTok is actually helping bring in new customers,” says Leaf Cafe manager Lizette Mendigorin. “The other day, a customer visited the cafe because she saw our videos. She said they put a smile on her face, and wanted to tell us. It’s nice to know we’re making other people happy." “Our videos are also helping bring back our old customers, who assumed we were closed because of the lockdown. When they visit the cafe, they tell us they knew we were open because of our videos. It’s increased our sales, and motivated our staff to keep making more,” she says. Fluent Store owners Esha Watt and Logan Nikora knew their target market — sneakerheads — would be on TikTok, and used the platform to create hype around their grand store opening. In their own words, “it blew up like crazy!” Although the impressive sneaker display and highly coveted products are the obvious heroes of Fluent Store's TikToks, it's not all marketing content. Some of the most popular videos Esha and Logan have created showcase a typical day in the life of small business ownership, and boast tens of thousands of views. By using localised hashtags, such as #perth, #perthlife, and #perthtodo, Esha and Logan have put Fluent Store on the map for tourists and locals alike, while simultaneously engaging in the small business community. How to build a strong business presence on TikTok Establishing a presence on TikTok is as simple as downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and creating an account. From there, have some fun exploring everything the platform has to offer — then follow the below steps to drive more customers to your business. Understand your audience TikTok was dubbed the most downloaded app in 2020. Available in over 150 countries, there can be little doubt as to the potential this app holds for businesses wanting to break into new markets and expand their customer base. But who are the most frequent TikTok users? According to Roy Morgan , women and girls make up over 60% of TikTok users in Australia. But in terms of age, it’s the younger users who are burning the most hours on the platform. In fact, more than a quarter of Generation Alpha (aged 15 and under) have TikTok accounts. Coupled with Generation Z (those aged between 16 and 30), the two cohorts make up over 70% of the app’s Australian user base. That’s not to say your TikToks won’t reach a different demographic of audience. If you use niche hashtags and create content that is hyper-relevant for a particular type of person, you’ll soon find your perfect customer. Watch TikToks One of the best things you can do when starting out is to watch a few TikToks — familiarise yourself with how the app works, how the algorithm operates, and what’s trending at the moment. Get a feel for what kinds of videos are being produced, and which ones are getting the best engagement. Which songs are popular? Which filters are viewers loving? Take note, because it will help you create your own cut-through content later on. Find and engage in your TikTok community Not only is it important to publish relevant content, but it’s also equally important to create and engage in your community. This means following and engaging with accounts in the same or complementary industry. Be sure to like, comment and converse with people who show interest in your videos, and in the same vein, make sure you interact with other people’s videos too — that’s what boosts brand sentiment. You should also spend some time searching for competing businesses and market leaders on TikTok, as they can give you inspiration for your own videos. Create your first TikTok Don’t overthink it. Once you’ve watched a few examples, try creating your own. At this point, it’s important to keep in mind that the success of your video will largely depend on how entertaining it is, so try not to go too hard with the sales pitch — as audiences might lose interest and start scrolling. Simply hit the ‘+’ button at the bottom of the screen, and tap ‘allow access’ to allow both your camera and microphone to record. From there, hit the red button to start recording. You can add filters, effects, and stickers — and even put a music track behind your clip, thanks to the Apple Music integration. When it comes time to post your clip, make sure you add relevant hashtags to ensure your video reaches the right audience. Do some research to see what your target audience is clicking on, and discover hashtags that relate to your business. 5 TikTok ideas for your business Ready to make your first TikTok video, but wondering where to start? Here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing. Create a ‘meet the team’ post that introduces your brand, mission, and staff. Make sure you give it a soundtrack that captures the essence of your business. Host a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of your workplace. If you run a hospitality business, this is a great opportunity to showcase your meat drying chamber or next-generation coffee roaster, for example. If you sell products, you could record your products being lovingly packaged. What’s your start-up story? Is there anything you learned along the way that could help other would-be business owners? If so, consider sharing your brand’s origin story. If you’ve received any powerful testimonials recently, you could repurpose them into a video by inviting the customers to share a few words about their experience. If your business has a corporate social responsibility strategy – share it. Customers are becoming increasingly perceptive when it comes to what they’re buying, eating, and the businesses they support. If you’ve got any sustainable or ethical initiatives, share them with the world. Whatever you choose to post, remember that no matter how much time and money you put into planning, strategising, creating and sharing content, it’s never guaranteed to go viral. Video popularity is often completely unpredictable. What you can do is ensure you understand your target market , create authentic content, and remain active. All of these ingredients will put you on the path to TikTok success. At this point, it’s also important to note that TikTok isn’t for everyone. Before investing resources into the platform, think about whether or not your target market uses the app. That said, you can be sure most people have some extra time on their hands in lockdown. So, have some fun, connect with customers, and get ready to present your brand to the TikTok world. Now you’ve got the knack of TikTok, it’s time to master the entire marketing ecosystem. Sign up to our Business Blog to cash in on valuable insights sent straight to your inbox.

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