GoDaddy, the internet domain name and web hosting company, has plenty of services and tools that help small businesses establish a presence online. Now, a new integration between GoCentral and Google My Business can help companies drum up more business.
GoCentral, GoDaddy’s mobile-optimized website builder, provides folks with tools they can use to create sites that render well on both smartphones and desktop PCs, along with Facebook pages that can help promote a business on social media. It also integrates with GoDaddy’s ecommerce and email marketing tools for added impact.
Google My Business is the search giant’s free business listing service. Small business owners can use it to keep their operating hours, phone numbers and other information updated so that their listings are reflected accurately when they appear in search results and on Google maps.
Businesses can also upload photos, post updates, respond to reviewers and further engage with existing and potential customers. As of this month, eateries can also now add and edit menu links.
Users can then gauge the effectiveness of their efforts with the Google My Business dashboard by consulting informative graphs and other visualizations related to customer activity, where customers are coming from and other insights.
Together, GoCentral and Google My Business provide GoDaddy customers with a one-stop toolkit for managing their small business websites and Google listings. And for early customers, the integration is already paying off.
“We’ve already seen impressive results from our 1,000 small business customers who participated in the beta program of the Google My Business and GoCentral integration,” said Nissim Lehyani, director of digital marketing products at GoDaddy.
“In addition to significant increases in web traffic and phone calls to these business, beta users also saw a greater number of potential customers seeking out their physical storefronts,” Lehyani added. “This integration is driving individuals to these businesses both online and in person, boosting the likelihood of making sales and growing their customer base.”
During a recent beta, 1,538 organizations used GoCentral to create Google My Business listings. Those listings attracted over a million views, 17,000 clicks to their websites and more than 7,000 phone calls, according to GoDaddy’s estimates.
The GoDaddy GoCentral and Google My Business integration is available as part of GoCentral Business Plus and Online Store plans.
GoDaddy has been making other moves to help its small businesses customers in a competitive online landscape.
Last month, the company announced that it was acquiring Main Street Hub for $125 million, with an additional amount of up to $50 million in potential future payments. Main Street Hub uses the talent of branding experts, including photographers and marketers, along with propriety technology to help businesses drive engagement on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.
In November 2017, GoDaddy struck a new partnership with Square that brings the latter’s payments processing capabilities to GoCentral Online Store. As part of the alliance, Square is enabling appointment-booking capabilities and calendar-syncing functionality in GoCentral.
“Increasingly, businesses need powerful, integrated tools to grow an omni-channel business,” said Pankaj Bengani, Square’s partnerships lead, in a statement. “By working with GoDaddy we’re making it even easier for businesses to simplify their operations and manage all the ways they sell and get paid.”