How to set up a Google my business profile
HOW TO SET UP A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PROFILE
Having a Google My Business account listing for your business is a no brainer! It enables you to show up in search results when people are looking for your business online. And the other bonus? It’s free, making it an affordable marketing tool.
Most consumers will begin their search for your company, products, or services online through search engines.
What is a Google My Business account ?
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to add your business on Google Maps. It is a virtual snapshot of your company. An opportunity to interact with customers. And overall, Google my Business is indispensable for local search engine optimisation.
But first things first. If you haven’t set up your Google My Business profile just yet, you came to the right place. We hear from many small business clients that setting up a new account correctly or claiming your business address from others can be difficult or frustrating, so we are here to help!
Why do you need Google My Business?
The main benefits of a google my business account are:
Become discoverable: Whether you have a physical bricks and mortar business or are predominately online, your google my business listing will allow you to list links to your website, or show details of your address along with how to find you.
Improves local SEO: Google My Business accounts helps to improve your local SEO (Search engine optimization), allowing you to rank higher than if you didn't have one.
Gives you insight: Having a Google my business account is also helpful to give you insight by providing access to analytics.
Keep customers informed: Keep customers updated, by ensuring your latest information is up to date, such as opening times.
Builds trust & credibility: It also allows your customers to leave reviews, and potential customers to build trust by seeing such reviews.
According to Hootsuite; Having a Google My Business profile lends credibility to your company.Customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a Google My Business listing.
Our comprehensive guide gives you step by step guidance on how to set up and manage your GMB profile.
How to set up a Google my Business profile
There are two possible scenarios here! Your business already exists on Google and you need to claim ownership, or you have to start the process from scratch.
Either way, you’ll have to begin your journey at business.google.com/create. Start by typing in the business name and choosing it from the menu. If nothing shows up, then you can begin to add your business to Google.
SETTING UP A NEW GOOGLE LISTING
Your opportunity to start from scratch!. Using your business name.
You will also choose a primary business category, where you should be as precise as possible.
Then follows the final stage of adding your business to Google Maps: Linking an address to your location. It is in your best interest to use the complete physical address. Customers will request directions to visit you there and you will have to verify your GMB account by receiving a postcard to your location. Depending on where you live, this might take a few days.
CLAIMING YOUR BUSINESS
After choosing the right address from the drop-down menu, you might be able to simply claim ownership of the business location. In other cases, you will have to get in touch with the current administrator.
If you recognise the email address, you are lucky and can contact the owner directly. Alternatively, you can reach out via Google but you might have to wait a few days for an answer, and then go through the verification process.
HOW TO MANAGE A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PROFILE
Now that you are all set up and ready to go, we can start working on increasing the online visibility of your profile. The greater the visibility, the more people can discover your business. In order to achieve that, you should give as much information about your business as you can.
General information
The info section is the heart of the Google My Business profile management. It answers all burning questions your customers might have before swinging by your location. This includes contact data, the regular opening hours and relevant links to your website and booking page.
Categories & Services
The categories and service section is the first opportunity to optimise your profile for local searches by including relevant keywords. We recommend choosing additional categories and including all service areas of your business. The keywords you use here will influence your visibility in the search results.
Business description
You have 750 characters to sell your business and distinguish it from competitors. As parts of your text can get cut off, we recommend putting the most essential information in the first 250 characters. This is also an opportunity to include relevant keywords
Ongoing management
As soon as your business is verified, you’ll be able to take full advantage of all sections. This means regular picture updates, posts, amends and responding to any reviews.
You could schedule weekly posts about offers, updates and events. These posts generally show a high interaction rate. Make sure to include relevant keywords and even emojis in your posts to optimise your business for local search queries.
I hope you found this helpful! If you would like more information on managing your Google My Business Profile or want to improve your website SEO, feel free to get in touch. We’re here to help!
hello@reachmarketingandsocial.com
