The City of McMinnville hosting two free virtual workshops to help business owners strengthen their online presence with the new Google Merchant tool.
McMinnville Tourism and Marketing Manager Jordan Pupols said a business’s Google listing is often the first impression it gives people. Pupols said the two workshop sessions will help businesses new and old stand out while showcasing their brand.
“It’s really important to ensure that [your online presence] is actually representing what your business is offering,” Pupols said. “And visible to both locals and visitors as they’re looking for the types of services that your business would provide.”
The first workshop Tuesday will cover the fundamentals of Google Business profiles. The second session about maximizing exposure will be Thursday.
Pupols said the first workshop will be highlighted by digital presence experts, who will teach business owners how to verify and control their profile. This session is geared more towards new business owners or people who have not claimed or set up their Google listing yet.
Pupols said it will dive deeper into the new Google Merchant Experience dashboard.
“That’s going to be a tool that lets them update their business details, add photos, respond to reviews, and directly track their performance from Google search,” Pupols said. “It’s free and apparently very user friendly, so it’s really going to allow folks to put themselves in the drivers seat as far as their Google Business profile is concerned.”
Pupols said the second workshop will build on the first. Pupols said this is meant for businesses with existing profiles who want to optimize their listing through photos and search visibility. Pupols said reputation will be addressed too, so businesses know how to handle negative reviews.
Pupols said this course can help business owners engage with potential customers through new mediums, such as video.
“As trends consistently change, almost on a daily basis, I think no matter how technically savvy we are, you can always learn something new,” Pupols said. “Especially from people who are in this day in and day out, who know each of these trends and can teach us to follow them.”
Pupols said participants must register for the Google Business Workshops. The links are on the City of McMinnville Government Workshop Events Facebook page.
