Did you know that there are more than 200 million people in the United States alone who use Google to search for businesses? If you don’t have your business listed on Google My Business, it’s like your business doesn’t exist at all. In this guide to Google My Business, we’ll show you how to claim your listing and optimize it to get more customers through your door!
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free and easy way to connect with people looking for your business online. Whether you have a local business or you’re just starting out online, Google My Business helps customers find and connect with your business on Google Maps, Search, and across Google. After claiming and verifying your business location in Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools), get started by adding or editing information about your business—from an address to customer photos.
What are businesses getting wrong?
A lot of businesses don’t have a Google My Business account. Even though it’s free, it can be really valuable. If you don’t know what it is, go ahead and log in to your Google account. You can get to your Google My Business account through your business manager dashboard if you aren’t using a gmail address as your business email.
Create Your Page
If you don’t already have a Google My Business page, create one. This is your hub for all things local search, including your business address and phone number (make sure these are correct), website URL, hours of operation, social media handles and more. Once you’ve created a GMB listing for your business, log in to manage it on a regular basis—new customers are searching Google every day! Think about optimizing each section of your GMB profile to reflect what people most commonly search for when looking for your type of business; if holistic vet office is going to attract new customers to yours (because let’s face it, that kind of thing sells itself), make sure that phrase is used throughout your GMB profile.
Optimize Your Profile
A Google Business Profile is a free platform that helps local businesses engage customers and stand out from their competition. When you optimize your profile, you’ll be able to attract customers who are actively looking for businesses like yours. Here’s how to get started Go to Google Maps > click on Businesses in the top right corner > click Get Your Free Profile > fill out all of your business information. To maximize your visibility, include photos of your products or services, hours of operation, customer reviews and more. As soon as you submit it, Google will verify that everything is accurate (you can edit at any time). If they approve it within 72 hours, congratulations! You have a Google Business Profile!
Optimize Your Page
Just because you have a page doesn’t mean it’s optimized. In fact, there are probably plenty of ways to improve your Google My Business (GMB) page. On top of having a photo, address and phone number listed on your page, you should also ensure that your name and business category match on all platforms and that any changes are reflected in all locations. The GMB is an important way for potential customers to find you—and keep up-to-date with your business—so it’s worth dedicating some time to make sure yours is working for you. To get more out of Google My Business, check out our complete guide .
Optimize Internal Linking
You don’t need to worry about optimizing internal linking until you have a large site (1,000+ pages). Until then, avoid doing anything that can potentially hurt your site’s ranking. As long as you are publishing unique content regularly, your Google My Business page should be optimized automatically.
Add Favorable Reviews
The Google My Business dashboard provides insights into your business’s reputation—including a tally of your positive and negative reviews. If you’re getting more one-stars than five-stars, reach out to customers and ask them to update their review. Then, ask your employees to leave customer feedback on sites like Yelp. And don’t forget about that local Chamber of Commerce award: Add a badge linking to it on your Google listing.
List your products on other platforms
Open your Google My Business dashboard. From there, you can link your business listing to any platform that’s relevant. For example, if you sell baby clothes and diapers, you might want to list your products on Amazon and Buy Buy Baby. Open an account with these platforms using your Google email address so they know it’s really you behind the business.
Listings Everywhere
Google’s Places product—previously known as Google Local—gives you a profile on Google, but your business also needs to be present in other services if you want a real presence online. This is where Google’s new tool called Business Manager comes in handy. Launched back in April, it allows business owners to take control of their company listings across all of these sites: Google+, Maps, and Search; Bing; Yelp; TripAdvisor; and Facebook.