Every website owner these days is aware of the importance of Google. You just cannot avoid and survive in the digital landscape without Google. Since most of the desktop searches happen on Google, businesses need to optimise their presence on Google. That is why to optimise your presence on the internet; business owners need to work on Google My Business listing.

Google My Business listing is a free listing service offered by Google that allows your business to show up on Google Search and Maps. Hence, as a business owner, you need to take full advantage of Google My Business listings.

So, what is Google My Business listing, and why is it important for your business?
Let us dive deep into what you need to know about Google My Business listings – why do you need a Google My Business listing, how to get started, and how to verify your business.

Why do you need a Google My Business Listing?

If you have an online presence, there is no way you can avoid Google. And, when you know that Google is important to your business, it is better to play by the rules they set. It is in this context that Google My Business listing assumes significance.

It is, therefore, vital to understand why do you need a Google My Business listing.
Google has always set very high standards for its users, and want them to have the best search experience. That is why it allows businesses to create listings so that their users can get the relevant information without wasting time – you get the info without even opening the website. Also, if you want to serve local traffic for a service business, you can optimise Google My Business without even having a brick-and-mortar location.

Google My Business listing allows you to put out accurate information about your business, which includes your contact information and phone number. What you need to do is click on Google.com/Business and create an account for your business and put all the relevant information about your business. People who visit Google can view all the information you put out there when it throws up your result.

You might argue that you work hard on SEO, and your search engine presence is good enough, so why do you need to bother about managing your listings. But you will be surprised to know that businesses that verify their information through Google Business are perceived as reputable. It encourages people to call you up the moment they see you listed on Google because it reduces uncertainty about your business.

As mentioned earlier, with Google ruling the desktop search market, there is no way you can ignore Google listing. And, that is why you should always keep your information updated and current on Google listing. You need to understand that there is stiff competition in the business world, and many people are searching for a business like yours. If you keep your information current on Google, you might be able to beat the competition easily.

It is frustrating for business owners to search their details on Google Maps, and many find that they don’t have a strong presence on Google Maps. But when you are listed on Google My Business, you don’t have to worry about a strong presence because it helps you establish a rock-solid address. It becomes easier for your customers to find you when they are searching for a business in your niche.

Google Business Listing helps people find your business on Google Maps. Most people these days use their mobiles to search for a business on Google Maps. Hence, to optimise the experience of your mobile users, you should also consider listing your business on Google Maps. When you have an accurate Google Business Listing out there, it makes sure that your potential customers can contact you without any problem.

Google Business Listing also helps you in Local SEO. Local SEO is extremely important for businesses that want to increase their sales. You need to understand that local business search traffic is high-converting. Most people who search for local businesses tend to call a business or visit them personally in the next 24 hours. When you make sure that your phone number is listed on Google, you are sure to drive more traffic to your store.

Here is how Google Business Listing helps you:

You get to display the accurate records of your current number. With Google Business Listing, your potential customers can see your contact number.
Google doesn’t just display your phone number, but you also get to display your contact information to your potential customers. It is possible to link the correct map of your office address along with your office timings so that your potential customers can call you during office hours.

Google Business Listing also helps you to engage with your customers. You can read your customer’s reviews and respond to a few of them. It helps build trust with your potential customers who are seeing your reviews.
Also, you can add a photo to your business listing. Adding photos enhances trust and improves customer interaction. The number of calls coming to your office should see an uptick.
Google now allows you to create a short name/ URL for your business. It further enhances customer trust.

How to get started?

If you are new to Google My Business, here is how to get started:

You can start by visiting https://www.google.com/business, and then enter your business name. Tap yes on the location and enter your office address. In case you serve other areas (apart from your location), then enter those areas as well. Next, select your business category (or a category that is closest to your business), and then select the contact details you want to display. Enter your phone number and your website URL, then click on Finish to verify your account.

A few things that you need to keep in mind while setting up your account:

NAP – It is the name, address, and phone number of your business. You need to ensure that your NAP details remain similar across all listing sites like Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, and Yellow Pages online.

Put in accurate operating business hours so that your customers can call you when you are available. You can include special operating hours around holidays and special events, as Google My Business allows you to do so.

Select categories that suit your business or one that is closest to it. Try to be specific while choosing your primary category. Choose the Secondary category that is closest to your business so that it is easy for your potential customers to find you.

You can add a photo of your business as well. If you want your potential customers to have a sneak-peek about your business, you can add photos of your products and services to your Google My Business profile. Even your customers can contribute photos to your listing. In your listing, make sure to include your profile photo, logo image, cover photo, and other additional photos. Don’t forget to update your images regularly.

Google My Business also allows you to write posts. You can share your businesses’ special moments, promotions, events, products, and even more. In your post, you can add an image, a link, call-to-action, and text. The posts you add here are displayed in Google Search and Maps results.
In the search results, Google has made it easy to access your Google My Business dashboard. When you search your business by name and address, you can access your Google My Business dashboard where you make edits and see an overview of your listing.

Reviews are important for businesses, and you need to manage them carefully. Positive reviews instil trust among your potential customers, while negative reviews do the opposite. Make it a practice to request your customers to leave a review. Also, make it easy for your customers to leave a review. You can also incentivise review writing for your customers. But don’t forget to respond to those who send in their reviews.

Don’t forget to monitor Listing insights. Businesses need to know how their customers interact with their business listing. Google My Business insights allow you to get an overview of how your customers interact with your business listing. From the insights, you get to know how your customers find your listing, where your customers view your business on Google, what actions your customers take, and competitive insights in your niche.

Verifying your business

First up, it is important to understand that verifying your business is a vital step in opening up a Google Business account. Your listing will not be displayed if it is not verified.
There are numerous ways of verifying your Google Business account, and you can do it via phone, email, postcard, instantly, or in bulk.
If you are opening up a Google My Business profile that has a physical location, the best way of verifying your business would be via postcard.
Here are the three most simple ways how you can verify your business account:
Sign in to your Google Business account (if you have not already created an account, do so) and select a business to verify.
Recheck your details – business address, phone number, and email address. Make sure that all your particulars are correct and add a contact name so that Google can address it to you.
The last step is to choose a way how you would like to get your account verified. You can select any of the following ways to get your account verified:
You can do so by mail – In case you decide to get your account verified by mail, click the blue button that reads MAIL. Patiently wait for a postcard from Google, it can take up to five days. As soon as you get the postcard, log into your Google My Business account and select “Verify Now” and enter the verification code, which is a five-digit code. And, if by any chance, you don’t get a postcard from Google, you don’t need to panic because you can revisit your Google My Business account and request another code.
You can also verify your account by phone – Select “Verify by phone” if you want to verify your account by phone. But before you select the phone option, make sure that you have entered your correct phone number. You will get the verification code on your phone – enter the code to verify your account.
Also, you can verify your account by email – Select “Verify by email” if you want to verify your account by email. Go to your inbox, and check out the mail you have just received from Google. That email will have a verification button – click the button, and your account will be verified.
If you have a problem setting up your Google My Business account, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. We are a digital marketing company, and we know what it takes to conquer the digital world. Also, you can contact us for a robust SEO and Local SEO strategy so that you can do well on Google.

If you want to do well in the world of business, you need to have an online presence. But it is not a walk in the park to promote your business online. Marketers use various methods to promote their business online. Whatever you do to promote your business, the bottom line for every marketer is that there is no alternative to high-quality content. After all, we all know that content is king.

However, it is a big mistake to create content only in the textual form. You need to add videos in your promotion toolbox to complete your digital marketing strategy.

Businesses who don’t add videos to their digital marketing scheme of things stand to lose a lot. Consumption of video content is on the rise, and the trend is expected to increase in the future.

According to Wyzowl report, 63% of businesses have already started using video content marketing. Out of those, 82% of businesses agree that video is a vital part of their marketing strategy, and 99% of them will keep using videos to promote their businesses. Also, 83% of businesses agree that video gives them a good ROI.

According to Cisco, over 80% of all traffic will consist of video by 2021. Also, live video will account for 13% of traffic by 2021.

Videos are not just easy to share across platforms, but they are a versatile and engaging content format that connects with viewers pretty effectively. People like videos because they are easy to digest, engaging, and entertaining, and marketers love them because they can give a huge return on investment.

Let us take you through some of the main reasons why you need to use video marketing for your business. But before that let us find out the types of videos.

Types of video

Videos are of different types. Different videos are used to convey different messages. Here are different types of video:

1. Explainer videos – These are videos that are used to educate people about your products or services.
2. Interview videos – These videos can help encourage conversation between sides or to showcase an influencer or expert.
3. Product review videos (demo videos) – These videos can be created by brand ambassadors in exchange for free products. It is a very cost-effective way of getting free advertising.
4. Live video – These are videos that allow you to get close and personal with your target audience, and it particularly works well on social channels.

7 reasons why you need to use video marketing for your business

Without a doubt, video is one of the most profitable and versatile digital marketing tools that you can leverage to promote your business. Here are seven strong reasons why you need to use video marketing for your business:

1. It can boost your conversions and sales – With smart videos, you can improve your conversions and sales which means it can make you some serious money. If you add a product video on your landing page, it can enhance your conversions by 80%. And, it has been reported that video works well irrespective of the vertical.Video marketing can also result in direct sales. A Wyzowl study shows that 74% of those who watched an explainer video about a product went on to buy the product. Hence, it is in your interest that you quickly add videos to your scheme of things to increase your conversions and sales.It should not be surprising that videos prove to be an effective way of communicating with your audience because vision is our most dominant sense. Our brain processes visual information more readily, and that is why videos prove to be such an effective marketing tool.

2. Video offers a good return on investment – 83% of businesses agree that investing in video marketing provides good returns. Though it is neither easy nor cheap to make a video, still the return it offers is phenomenal. And, that is why businesses are ready to invest big time in video marketing.Online video editing tools allow you now to conveniently and affordably make videos. Also, you can make videos with your smartphone as well. What you need to be careful about while making a video is to make sure that your message is conveyed to your users appropriately.

3. It builds trust – Conversions and sales cannot happen without trust. It is important for businesses to develop trust with their prospects. Content marketing is mainly used to develop trust and build long-term relationship. What you need to do is provide your users relevant and useful information, and it will automatically lead to a sale.  And, video is what can do the trick for you because it is likely to engage and ignite emotions among your audience, including the elite ones. When you put out promotional videos, it can foster trust. Even today some customers are sceptical about buying products and services on the internet. However, what effective marketing videos can do is it can present your products in a conversational form.
4. Google and videos have a special relationship – When you have videos on your site, it ensures that your users spend more time on your website. As people start spending more time on your site, it develops trust which sends a strong signal to search engines that website has quality content. And, your website is more likely to show up first on Google if there is a video on your site. Also, since YouTube is now part of Google, videos can significantly impact your search engine ranking.What you need to do is optimize your videos on YouTube for search engine optimization. You can do this by creating interesting titles, descriptions, and by adding a link back to your website, products, or services.
5. Mobile users watch lots of videos – Mobile video views are on the rise, and the trend is here to stay. 90% of customers watch videos on their smartphones. YouTube reports a significant jump in mobile video consumption every year. Smartphone users are growing at a steady pace, and people love to watch videos on the go which makes it necessary for businesses to add a video to their scheme of things.According to Google, smartphone users are 2X more likely than TV viewers and 1.4X more likely as desktop viewers to feel a personal connection to brands that show video content or ads on their devices.
6. Video marketing can help you explain everything easily – People will buy your product or service only when they know how it works. And, video is by far the best way to explain things to your prospective customers. Businesses who plan to launch new products or services can create a video to show their viewers how things work. Most of the consumers watch an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.According to Wyzowl, 45% of businesses who use video marketing stated that they have an explainer video on their homepage. And, 83% of these businesses confirmed that their homepage explainer video proved to be effective.Hence, if you have a difficult concept to explain to your viewers, video is the best available medium. A video can do for you what textual content cannot do. 
7. It engages well with even the laziest buyers – Video content is not just a great tool for learning, but it is also easy to consume. People are short on time, and it is easy for them to go through a video rather than read the product description in detail. Tech savvy customers these days want to see the product in action.Video marketing can capture the imagination of a wider audience, and it works well on many levels. And, that is why it tackles the laziest customers as well. What you need to ensure is that your video content should appeal to the eyes and ears of your users.
   If you have still not started using videos in your promotion toolbox, you need to re-work your digital marketing strategy. For an effective video marketing strategy, you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. We have the expertise and exposure to create high-quality videos that can deliver great results for your business.

Effective communication is the backbone of every marketing strategy. And, one of the ways to make your communication effective is to opt for an explainer video. Yes, making an explainer video is no doubt a good idea, and it helps you to reach out to your target audience easily. Visual memory, we all know has a greater impact than plain written text. It is rightly said that a picture is worth a thousand words. An explainer video (or picture) has greater ability to captivate your audience, and it also generates a better user experience.

Explainer videos can improve your conversions, sales, and hence your overall revenues. It is not surprising therefore that businesses these days are increasingly adding explainer videos to their websites. Hence, if you don’t add an explainer video to your scheme of things, your marketing mix remains incomplete.

81% of the companies use video as a marketing tool these days.

78% of people view at least one video every week on YouTube.

More than 90% of B2B consumers view online video.

34% of online shoppers are likely to buy a product or service after watching a video advertisement.

However, making an explainer video is not all that simple. It is a challenging task because you have to sum up your message in one, one and a half, or maybe two minutes. Businesses at times find it difficult to effectively convey their message in such a short span of time. They make some common mistakes while creating an explainer video.

In case you want to avoid common mistakes that businesses usually commit during the making of an explainer video, then you are at the right place. Let us find out what you need to do to avoid these common mistakes.

How does an explainer video fit into your marketing strategy?

When you take a closer look at a customer’s journey before they finally purchase the product or service, the explainer video fits into the “consideration “slot.

By the time a customer crosses the awareness stage, he or she is aware of the problem and the solution that will solve his or her problem. At this stage, the prospect expands his or her research that will solve the problem. It is here that an explainer video makes the difference as it summarises the problem, explains the solution, and introduces the brand to the prospect.

When the prospect reaches the decision-making stage, it is your explainer video that helps him or her to make the purchase.

Avoid these mistakes if you want to make your explainer video successful

In case you want to reap the benefits of an explainer video, you need to make sure that you avoid these common mistakes which businesses tend to make quite often:

Never forget your target audience – It is important to address your target audience. Every brand is developed keeping in mind a particular set of people. It is not possible to convince everyone with a single explainer video. You need to understand that you have to convince your target audience. Your message should be specifically directed to your target audience.

You can use characters that look and behave like your target audience. Create a situation that your target audience can connect to easily. You should try and use words that you think your target audience would be using more often. And, don’t forget to put across your message clearly.

Not paying adequate attention to the script – The script is the mainstay of your video, and hence you cannot ignore it. Your video message cannot be effective unless you have a good script to back it up. When you have an effective script, it makes sure that your message is clear and to the point and yet it informs your prospects about your brand.

You should start with the problems your prospective customers are facing, and then offer them a pragmatic solution. And, in between tell your prospects how you can help them solve their problem. Before leaving your customers, ask them to act – promote a call to action here.

Do not make a long video – Long videos tend to annoy and bore people. No one has time to watch long videos. You need to ensure that your explainer video is to the point and not too long. Ideally, you should try to convey your message in one and a half minutes. See to it that your explainer video should not be longer than two minutes. Also, you need to ensure that there should not be more than 150 words per minute. The best strategy of making an explainer video is to keep it simple, short, and crisp.

Do not keep talking about the features only – People, in general, are not all that keen to hear about what went into making the product or the difficulties you faced during the testing stage. What people want to know is whether the product or service is good enough to make their lives better or not. You should not just keep talking about the technical aspects of your product. Instead, focus on telling your customers how it will solve their problems because that is what they are interested to know. What you need to do is connect with your customers on an emotional level. Also, you should make sure that you address the concerns of your customers in the explainer video.

Not distributing your video on the right platforms – Making a good explainer video is important, but it is equally important to distribute your video on the right platforms. Just uploading your video on YouTube will not give you the best results. You need to make sure that you upload your video on all the right forums so that you get a good response. Do the following to get the best possible result:

• You should make sure that you use the video in your advertising (this has the highest click through rate).
• You also need to link the video to your blogs. Linking improves the quality of your content, and it also helps you climb the search engine ladder.
• You should also post your video on social media platforms. People love sharing videos they like.
• Add the explainer video to your email marketing campaign. It increases the click through rate.
• Also, add the video to your landing page. It impresses your audience boosts your conversions and sales.

Make sure that the quality of your video is good – You should never compromise on the quality of your video. Quality of the video should always be good. High-quality content is the need of the hour, and this is the only way you can impress your customers. When you set out to make an explainer video, don’t look for shortcuts. Do not squeeze the budget of your video. Advertising should always be considered as an investment.

An effective explainer video increases brand awareness, generates more leads, improves your visibility, and boosts trustworthiness. However, when you compromise on the quality of your video, you should not expect it to fetch the same result.

The explainer video should have a clear sound, professional voice over and tone, flawless editing, and stimulating animation. More often than not, to get all of these, you need to hire a professional video making company.

You should not sound boring or serious – People don’t like videos that are boring or serious. What sells in the market today is entertainment. Your job gets half done if you make an explainer video that is entertaining. You can add a joke or punchline that you think will be well received by your audience. Try to do something different or new for your product and add a surprise element if you can.

But, the best way to get an explainer video for your business is to hire a professional video making company. You can contact vStacks Infotech and get a top-quality explainer video for your business.

vStacks Infotech is a professional company, and we will put in everything in your video that makes it a roaring success.

The global email users in 2017, according to Statista were 3.7 billion, and this is expected to reach 4.1 billion users by 2021.

The way we communicate has evolved over the years. If you are doing business these days, and you do not have a professional email address, then it is difficult for others to take you seriously. Yes, without a professional email address, it is almost impossible to climb the success ladder in the world of business. What you need is a custom email address, which allows you to portray a professional image and increases your business credibility.

Businesses now understand the importance of keeping their customers in good humour. Regardless of what you do and how you do (whether you have an online store or have a brick and mortar shop, or both), you need to connect well with your target audience if you want to keep the competition at bay.

And, email is one of the best available options to reach your target customers who have shown interest in your product or site.

In 2017, the total number of consumer and business emails sent and received every day reached 269 billion (Radicati Group). By 2021, this figure is expected to touch 319. 6 billion, a phenomenal growth to say the least.

The best way to connect with people internally and externally is to start using email. People all over the world are using email to remain in touch with each other. Hence, if you are in the world of business and not using a professional email address, then you are missing big time on opportunities.

If you do not have a professional email address, customers are less likely to do business with you. Sadly, there are some who are still doing business without a professional email address. If you have not started using a professional email address for your business, then you are at the right place, read on to find out why you need one.

But, before getting into the positives of why your business needs a professional email address, let us find out why it is not a good idea to use a free email address.

Reasons why you should not use free email addresses?

Trust and credibility are the two most vital ingredients that you need these days to succeed in the business world. When you use free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail, your customers can view your business with a suspicious eye. Moreover, if you keep using free email addresses, people might think that you are not an established name in the world of business, which can hurt you dearly. Over and above this, your business lacks credibility if you do not have your professional email address.

Do you know why established names in the market do not use free email addresses? They do not use free email addresses because they don’t want to be seen as an unprofessional organization. It is simple, if you have a professional email address, you are considered to follow professional ethics, and that is what customers like.

Moreover, it is not always possible to get a free email address that suits your business needs. You don’t have to worry about the availability when you opt for a professional email address – you get what you want. You can customise your professional email address to suit your requirements.

With a professional email address in place, you can brand your business and product more effectively. It also creates a good first impression on your prospective customers.

Also, due to the perceived threat of spam and viruses, several free email addresses are blocked by organisations and individuals. And, when your emails will not reach your customers, what is the point in having a free email address. But, this is not what happens when you opt for a professional email address. People receive your emails, and they can then read it and go ahead and purchase from you.

Therefore, there are plenty of reasons why you should have a professional email address, especially when it does not cost you much.

Reasons why your business needs a professional email address

With so much of competition, if you cannot serve your customers well, chances are your rivals will make you irrelevant. The best and most effective way of remaining in touch with your customers is to opt for a professional email address.

So, here are the reasons why your business needs a professional email address:

Professional email address creates a good first impression– It is no secret that first impression is very important. Being an entrepreneur yourself, you would certainly not like to lose the opportunity. If you want to make your organisation look more professional and credible, you need to have a professional email address of your own. And, when you know that a professional email address generates trust, there is no reason why you should not have one for your organisation. Also, having a professional email address increases your chances of acquiring new customers.

With a professional email address, you get the virus and spam protection– Email addresses are prone to malware viruses and spam. However, when you opt for a professional email address, you can rest assured that you will get it (spam and virus protection) and all your company information will remain secure. Communication becomes irrelevant if your email reaches the trash bin or spam folder.

With a professional email address, you can collaborate more effectively with your team members – Professional email addresses are feature-rich; hence it makes it possible for you to collaborate with your team more effectively. You can streamline your business operations with features such as tasks, contacts, calendar, and outlook. It makes sending, receiving, and managing meeting requests convenient, and you can also check your team members availability by viewing their calendar. All this improves the functioning of your organisation.

Professional email addresses are more trustworthy – When an email message goes out with your business name, it adds more credibility to your communication. And, you can do this when you opt for a professional email address. Your customers also respond positively to messages that are sent from professional email addresses. On the contrary, free email messages don’t generate the same amount of respect. People at times don’t even bother to open the messages they receive from free email addresses. Professional email addresses also generate brand recognition and trust because people remember the name of your company. But, that is not the case when you send a message from a free email address.

Professional email addresses improve your brand value – When you send an email from a professional email address, it improves the brand value of your product and your organisation. A professional email address allows your customers to recollect the name of your brand because it is there in the email address. Sending messages from branded email is like doing word of mouth publicity.

With professional email addresses, your files and data are always backed-up – You would certainly not like to lose your contact information. If you engage a reliable service provider for your professional email address, you can rest assured that all your data is constantly backed-up, and there is no way you can lose any information.

Professional email addresses are more flexible – When you opt for a professional email address, you can create email addresses for individuals in different departments like admin@ or service@. As and when the concerned person receives the message, he or she can act on it and resolve the problem quickly. This improves your turn around time for customer service.

Professional email addresses are more secure – Incidents of hacking and the onslaught of viruses are a problem that cannot be ignored or wished away. You need to ensure that your online data remains safe. When you get a professional email address, you don’t have to worry about security because reliable email service providers ensure that your online data remains secure.

In case you want a professional email address for your business, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech for email hosting plans that are affordable.