Google My Business Rocks!

I shared in previous episodes that marketing is layered. You add one at a time. Well, I began to use the free Google My Business listing in November 2019. It's a simple tool and totally allows me to showcase my strengths. I call this in my ISO Model Course, a "Profile to Win". Here's the gist. What can I display about me and my company to create trust and credibility before they ever call me? In my 15 years, I have learned that before & after pictures, professional credentials, and recommendations are essential. This is what I love about Google my Business. You can collect 5-star reviews, add posts and credentials to show off your level of specialization, and post before & after pictures. Google has internal analytics that I can easily track called "insights", allowing me to see the impact of these updates. I currently have 21 5-star reviews, tons of pictures, and a weekly blog with links to my website. Google uses this information to boost me for free up their search algorithms. In fact, when you search "House Cleaning Harleysville", you'll find my company highly ranked in the map pack on page 1. I've been wondering if this effort was going to pay off as no leads have come yet (at least that I knew about). Please understand. I ran my solo cleaning company for 14 of 15 years with NO website. I didn't have a Google My Business listing until last year and started my Facebook business page 2 years ago. You may be asking yourself how in world I ever got any leads! I grinded it out and was referred by word of mouth and I had a ton of success in earlier years with ServiceMagic (presently HomeAdvisor). However, some marketing channels that worked in prior years may not today. I ditched HomeAdvisor for Facebook, Google, and a website. It's so cost effective as I only pay like $20 per year for the website and the others are free. Anyway, it goes without saying that I've never received a lead through my website until this week! Thank you Google!

Last weekend, I got two leads through Google My Business and Facebook simultaneously. Here's a HUGE tip. When you have multiple marketing channels, it's hard to figure out which one they found me on. People are looking everywhere. Sam searched for a house cleaner and found my Google listing. She dug deeper and found me recommended in her Facebook mom's group. Sam visited my website and called me! Kathryn found me on the Facebook mom's group and then searched me online. This lead to my Google listing with my reviews, pictures, and posts. Ultimately, Kathryn visited my website and called me! 

I also got my first ever website email inquiry this week. This potential client saw my posts on the Skippack Pharmacy Facebook page, which linked her to my Facebook buisness page. She liked my page. I friended her and thanked her for liking my page, plus offered to help with cleaning. She visited my website from my Facebook page and send me an email a few weeks later to clean her new home. I closed the deal on this lead with a phone call and phone estimate. I booked this job for a ballpark price range of $600 to $1,000 next week. This is a common strategy I use to lock in 1-time jobs as I'll price the exact quote prior to starting.

Are you starting to see how marketing layers work together? After the fact, I went back to my Google insights and looked at the past quarter. This blew my mind. I've had 550 total searches driving people to my profile over the past 90 days. 38 of these searches landed on my website and Google reports that 5 have called me directly! Now, I'm not sure how Google figures this out, but I definitely got 2 calls this week!

Here's my takeaway. New solo cleaners ask me if they need a website. Here's my answer. Get a Facebook business page and Google My Business profile, then add pictures, reviews, and content on a regular basis to each by cleaning and getting real content! This will be a huge source of quality leads over time. Do this first! Then, I'd recommend adding a website and directing all traffic to your main hub and building a mailing list. These are some of the marketing layers you can add early.