Next, you'll need to create a Google account or sign in to an existing Google account. You can then search for your business by name and address. Research has shown that 88% of consumers who search for local products or services through a mobile device will call or visit a store within 24 hours. In addition, 97% of consumers say they get more information about local businesses online than from any other source.
These two impressive numbers highlight the importance of local businesses developing a strong online presence. Last month we published our most important research of the year to date, The google my business Insights Study. The study was based on an analysis of 45,000 pages of Google My Business. This step-by-step guide will help you understand Google My Business inside and out so that you can improve your positioning on Google Map, communicate with customers, control your online presence and generate more leads.
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool created by Google to help business owners manage how they appear in Google search results and on Google Maps. With it, you can request your free local business listing on Google and add things such as your contact information, business hours, photos, services and much more. An optimized Google business listing allows you to provide useful business information to search engines, such as business hours, location, directions and more, to increase your overall presence on the Internet. This data is often easier for small business owners to understand than data from Google Analytics.
If you're not already signed in to a Google Account, you'll be asked to sign in. Make sure that you're signed in to the Google account that you want associated with your Google business listing. If someone has already listed you on Google (which isn't uncommon), you should see your ad appear. If you already have an ad and want to hide your address on Google, you can do so from the information settings of the GMB control panel.
Here's how to hide your Google My Business address on Google Maps. If you're a company that provides services to an area, you'll need to tell Google which area you serve customers in. If Google is going to make you set up your service area based on specific areas, then you'd better do it now. Taking this step correctly is crucial if you want to appear on the Google results page when potential customers are looking for a product or service you offer.
Adding this information to your Google listing is optional, but I HIGHLY recommend it. Make sure that whenever you publish your website on the web (in a Google listing, Yelp, yellow pages, pages of local chambers of commerce, etc.) you use exactly the same URL structure for your website. Also, make sure to use the same http or https structure in front of your name in all ads, depending on which one you have. It's important that your company's name, address, and website are the same in all directory listings.
A tool like Direction is perfect for checking the consistency of your NAP on the web. Google recommends having a secure website (https), which will require you to have what is known as a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate installed. Google may offer you a different option for verifying your business, but most business owners will have to wait for Google to email them a postcard with a verification code. Showing up at the top of a Google search is like gold.
But you know that, right? Whether you've been able to verify your business or not, you can go ahead and optimize your Google My Business listing. Setting up your ad is like the base and frame of a house, it has to be there. Optimizing it is like ensuring that the roof does not leak and that the insulation works well. That said, you'll want to make sure that you follow the Google My Business guidelines to represent yourself on Google.
When someone searches for a service or product that Google believes a local business can provide them with, the search engine results page (SERP) will change to include local results. This is Google searching for local businesses. There are several factors that influence your ranking in the local herd, and no one knows for sure. However, we have learned some of the best practices through advice directly from Google and from our own experiments and tests.
One problem with tracking organic traffic in Google Analytics is that you can't easily determine whether or not the traffic is coming from your ad in the map package or from the usual organic results. You can solve this by adding UTM parameters to your website URL in the Google My Business dashboard. If you're not sure which category is the right one, you can search for the type of business you run on Google and see what categories your competition selected. We also have a searchable list of Google My Business categories if you want to see an updated list of available categories.
Google My Business will automatically suggest some services, but you can also create customized services. The easiest way to add or edit Google My Business attributes is from the Business control panel. Once there, see the information screen and scroll down to the section with a small label indicator. Adding attributes to a Google My Business listing allows the company to appear in additional, more refined searches.
For example, if a person didn't have cash and only one card, they might want to know what payment options were available. Make it sound natural and human. Google is smarter than that, and let's be honest, it sounds strange. Even if it's a fake review, respond to it as if it were a legitimate complaint while you wait for Google to make a decision after marking it as a dispute.
If you don't like customers sending text messages to your mobile phone number, you can download third-party apps or even the official Google Voice app and let them send text messages to that application. Google provides comprehensive guidelines that must be followed by business owners who use the messaging feature. Google offers another way to provide potential customers with information about your business. Keep things active on Google and maintain an omnichannel approach to marketing.
Google My Business posts can contain text, photos and videos. Check out our full guide to Google publications if you want to dive deeper into this area of Google My Business. Be sure to download and install the Google My Business app on your phone. Your free Google business listing (known as a business profile) can do more than you think.
When properly optimized, it shows your best features and makes it easier for consumers to discover, learn about and contact your company. However, to properly optimize your business profile, you need access to it and, to access it, you must verify with Google that you are the rightful owner. Although it seems that it should be as simple as “the first step: create”, the second, “claim” and step three, “verify”, the process is not as simple or as linear, something that, if you are reading this post, you will have already discovered. This is because it requires three different Google accounts and two different Google platforms, all of which have very similar names.
In this article, I'm going to first explain to you what exactly is on Google and then give you a clear roadmap for creating a Google My Business account and using it to request and verify your business profile on Google. Whether you're a local business or just starting a business, your Google business profile makes it easy for consumers to discover, learn about and contact your business online. These are the main advantages of a Google My Business account, and if that's not enough to convince you, consider the disadvantages of not having one. Without a Google My Business account, you have no control over the information shown on your business profile and, according to a BrightLocal study, 68% of consumers would stop using a local business if they found incorrect information on the Internet.
Google ranks business profiles based on their quality, and a business profile alone isn't enough. However, a Google business profile managed through a Google Business account can be optimized to rank above the competition in relevant keyword searches. Which ad would you choose? The unclaimed one on the left or the one optimized by the Google My Business account on the right? However, as mentioned earlier, the process is not very simple. It includes two different Google platforms and three different Google accounts, all of which have similar names and some of which you probably already have.
So, in order for you to have a clear basis, let's first clarify the terminology. The goal is to get full access to your business profile on Google. Google is changing the way consumers find and interact with local businesses, so if you want to continue reaching your audience and attracting customers with your free business profile, be sure to follow the steps above. The process has different parts and parts, but it doesn't have to be as complicated with guides like this and options such as doing it on a mobile device.
Start creating, applying and verifying through Google My Business today to make the most of this incredible free tool that you have at your disposal. Whether you're a local business or just starting a business, your Google business profile makes it easy for consumers to discover, learn about and contact your business online. Be sure to mark this address as a favorite, as you'll need it to access your Google business profile in the future. Learn how to use Google My Business messaging to help customers contact you in real time, directly from your Google business profile.
Whether you've been able to verify your business or not, you can go ahead and optimize your Google My Business listing. Without GBP, companies would not be able to appear in the local package or in the local search engine, which should be a key objective for companies of this type. Google business profiles have good local SEO, so the information you share will rank above third-party sites that may have outdated details. The Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free tool that allows small business owners (and non-profit organizations) to promote their business information on Google Search and Maps.
According to Google, to manage your business information in Google Search, Maps and other properties, you must verify your business listing. Verified business locations are “more likely to appear in local search results for Google products, such as Maps and Search”. . .
