The Hidden Power of Google My Business

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It’s the built-in online tool you may have never considered a business advantage: Google My Business. Before you write it off, consider these statistics:

  • Among affluent investors (those with a minimum of $500k), 43% search online to find a financial advisor. Oechsli Institute Survey
  • Everybody under 40 researches advisors online, while only about a third of investors 65 and older do; few of the oldest group venture beyond Google. BNY Mellon’s Pershing study

Having an optimized Google My Business (GMB) listing means boosting your chances of showing up in a Google search such as “financial advisors near me” or “financial advisors in Philadelphia,” and subsequently increasing your local search traffic. Still, most advisors are unaware of the power of Google My Business and don’t optimize their listings – those who follow these guidelines, however, will have a big leg up over their local competition.

1. Claim and update your listing

If you haven’t done anything to set up your GBM yet, claiming your listing is the very first step. If you have a location on Google Maps, you can claim your listing; simply go to the Google My Business page and start the verification process to verify your business with Google. Once you finish this important first step, you can optimize the rest of your listing.