Ahhh, social media, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways: Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. SnapChat. G+.

Wait…G+, what is that?

G+, Google’s social media answer to platforms such as Facebook, has been consistently and (unfortunately for Google) quietly running around the internet for several years. Although valued by business entities and marketers for several reasons:

  • lack of ads
  • uncluttered format
  • communication and discussion tools
  • power for leveraging social media for SEO

G+’s popularity with the casual user never took off and, at the end of last year, Google announced the social network would closing its “virtual doors” forever.
But, don’t panic. In addition to the fact that you have the award-winning Dooley marketing team at your back, one of the best online marketing tools is already at your service.

Closely tied to the G+ experience is Google’s powerhouse marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) tool: Google My Business (GMB).
GMB is a platform that allows businesses to manage how their company information appears in Google searches, from Google Maps to Google Reviews. With this powerful tool, local businesses have been able to revolutionize their presence online with great success.

Marketers and savvy business owners have utilized GMB for several years but, with the imminent closure of G+, GMB quietly unveiled a new feature that is helping businesses attract more brand visibility.

Through GMB, businesses can now create posts to promote:

  • Events
  • Sales
  • Deals
  • Products
  • Services

To make these posts even more versatile, GMB also allows for different types of posts such as:

  • Event
  • Sign Up
  • Buy
  • Learn More
  • Get Offer
  • Order Online
  • Book [an appointment]

Now, you might ask yourself “Hey Dooley, that sounds a lot like G+ postings – what’s the difference?”And we are so glad you asked!

The exciting value behind the GMB postings is the marketing and SEO power they bring to the table.

We know, from our own “orange-tastic” experience, that Google gives more weight to its posts and information that are on Google. We also know that Google, the largest search engine in the world, does not give as much credence to postings, for example, on Facebook. However, Google does crawl GMB posts, which are directly linked to a company’s GMB page, website and local searches. This means posting on GMB can help your search ranking, thus increasing your SEO and helping your company’s website reach more and more potential customers.

Another fantastic value behind the GMB posting is that when a potential customer searches for a particular business on Google, the post shows up front-and-center in the business’ Knowledge Panel.

One detail to keep in mind, however, for GMB posting is that they only last for seven days. To keep information on your Google Knowledge Panel timely, GMB postings are removed from default view after one week. Sound like a lot of work? Cue Dooley & Associates.

Along with our expertise with GMB, Dooley is a Google Certified Partner and thus able to leverage your marketing dollars within the Google world with the best practices, experience and results from GMB to Google AdWords to Google Analytics.

Contact Dooley and Associates to work with a marketing team that is as dedicated to growing your business as you are and committed to keeping your digital footprint on point.