You’ve got the best business in town, but if no one can find you on Google, you’re out of luck. And even worse, if you happen to be a local business without a website, you’re pretty much finished before you even get started.
Google My Business is the most important tool for any small business owner or entrepreneur. It offers a suite of powerful tools that help promote your business and rank higher in search results through rich profiles, reviews and more. These are just some of the things that will help put your business on the map!
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a service that allows businesses to create an online presence with features like Google+ pages and maps. It also ties all of your business’s information together, including your contact information, hours, location, reviews, photos and more.
Benefits of Google My Business
Google My Business is the fastest way to create a business profile and tell new customers about your services. It can also help you manage customer reviews, Google Maps listings and more.
You can claim your free Google My Business listing by logging into your Google account and clicking on “Add a business” in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Once you’ve completed this step, the next thing you should do is fill out your profile information.
This includes basic details like your address and phone number, along with more specific details such as hours of operation and what you sell. You can also upload photos of your storefront or special features like happy hour deals or family outings.
Once you have completed all the necessary steps, it’s time to start driving traffic to your page. One way to do this is through search engine optimization (SEO).
When people search for something related to what you offer, they will see that page show up at the top of the results page if it ranks well for those terms. Uploading pictures that include keywords relevant to what you sell helps tremendously with SEO!
Getting Started with Google My Business
Google My Business can be found by searching ‘Google My Business’ on the search engine. Once you’ve signed up, it will ask you to create your business profile. There are four important fields that you need to fill out: name, category, address and phone number.
If there is a website for your business, you can also include a link to it in the “website” field where it asks for this information. Additionally, if your business has a physical location, you may want to add photos of the inside and outside of the establishment as well as contact information for any other social media profiles or websites that can be attributed to your company.
Creating a Rich Profile that Ranks Higher
Google My Business is one of the most powerful tools in your digital marketing arsenal. Rich profiles are a staple of Google’s strategy to rank businesses on search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that as a business owner, it’s important for you to create an engaging profile with all the basic information about your company.
This includes what you offer, photos and videos, hours of operation, reviews from customers and more. The more detailed your profile is the better. You can also add features like a custom URL and social media links.
Adding Photos
Adding a photo to your Google My Business profile is the easiest way to attract new customers. People love to see what you’re about, and a photo will provide them with just that. This is especially true for local businesses who want to show off their storefronts or product demonstrations. Speaking of photos…
Add Phone Number, Reviews and Logos
Add your phone number and address to your Google My Business listing. Adding a logo, professional photos and reviews will also ensure that you stand out from the competition.
Create Your Location
First off, you should add your business to Google My Business. This is a free and easy process that includes linking your account to your website, uploading a profile picture, and filling out all the info for your business.
Next, you’ll want to create and manage your location on Google Maps. When people search for businesses near them on Google Maps, they’ll be able to see the address of your business as well as the hours of operation.
You can also add photos of what it looks like inside and outside of your building or other unique features that make it stand out. If you happen to own multiple locations, you can go into My Business > Locations and create each one individually with its own information.
This step is optional but will make it easier for customers to find you if they search in their local area rather than hoping they come across you on a national level.
Promoting Your Business and Engaging With Customers with Reviews and Questions
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, then you know that reviews can be a huge factor in the success of your business. And as some studies have shown, customers are more likely to buy from a business with positive reviews than one with negative ones.
If you have even just a few reviews and questions on Google My Business, then people will be more likely to trust your business and make a purchase. Reviews and questions on Google My Business also help establish your credibility by showing off your experience, expertise, and knowledge about the products or services you offer.
Hiring Professionals for Review and Marketing Services
There are a few simple ways you can take advantage of Google My Business to help boost your business:
- Use the rich profile to list your phone number, address, website and other important information.
- Make sure you provide a good snapshot of the interior and exterior of your place of business.
- Help people know about your specials with updated posts on Google+ or Twitter.
- Encourage reviews by asking customers for feedback through email or social media.
- Get involved in local communities by signing up for events.
- When possible, add links to your website and blog posts on Google+.
- Add photos to your YouTube videos that feature a link back to the site
Why Google My Business is Important
Google My Business is the most important piece of digital marketing for any business owner. With Google My Business, you have a suite of tools that help promote your business and rank higher in search results through rich profiles, reviews, and more.
One of the best features of Google My Business is its ability to show up at the top of search results when someone searches for your company name or contact information. This means that if someone is looking for your company, they’ll find it first on Google.
And with this increased visibility in search results, you’re much more likely to receive inquiries from prospective customers who are ready to purchase your product or service than if you were at the bottom of a search engine result page.
The Basics of Google My Business
Google My Business is a free platform that can help your business rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs). When you create an account, you get access to Google’s suite of tools.
You may have noticed that when you search for a business on Google, there are some listings with a little “Local Business” tag on them. These are the listings that have been verified by Google using their Google My Business platform.
By creating a profile and uploading photos and other information about your business, you have the opportunity to increase your visibility in SERPs and ultimately drive more traffic to your website.
Optimizing Your Business Profile
The first step to ranking in Google is optimizing your business profile. When you log into Google My Business, you’ll be greeted by a dashboard with a variety of different tools that are set up to help you take charge of your online presence. The most important area on the dashboard is your business page where you can edit your company details and upload photos and videos.
To get started, all you have to do is choose from a list of categories that best describe what your business does, enter the name of your company, choose an address for your company and upload as many photos as possible!
Create a professional profile photo
One of the first things Google My Business does is to ask you to upload a professional, high-resolution photo of your business. This will be your profile photo and it’s important that it looks good and professional.
Keep in mind any photos you post need to be of the highest quality possible so when people click on them, the image is clear and easy to see.
There are three main types of images that you can use for your profile:
- Exterior photos: These will typically show an exterior shot of your building or storefront with some signage. They should have little distractions in the background if possible.
- Interior photos: If you have an interior space, this is a great opportunity to show it off! You can take a picture from just about anywhere inside the store – from behind the cash register all the way down to your inventory or dining area.
- Product shots: If you are selling any type of product, this is another opportunity to share what you offer with customers.
Create an attractive and informative description
When you first set up your Google My Business account, the most important thing to do is to create a compelling and informative description. This section occupies most of the page’s real estate and should include all of the essential information about your business including a detailed summary, hours of operation, contact information and any other pertinent details that might be relevant.
Your description should also include a call-to-action (CTA), as this will invite people to learn more or visit your business in person. It’s also a great way to start getting reviews!
Submit your business address, phone number and website
The first thing you will do with Google My Business is add your business address, phone number and website URL. This is really important because many people do their research on the internet before they buy anything. If someone is looking for a plumber in the area and they search Google, your business could be one of the top results (if you show up there!).
Add additional categories for more information
Google My Business offers a suite of powerful tools to help promote your business and rank higher in search results. One of the most important things you can do is make sure you complete the profile.
All fields are required, but if there’s something you don’t have an answer for, skip it and come back later. You’ll need to upload a profile photo or logo so when people search for your company name, they’ll see your brand associated with the listing.
Another important thing to remember is that Google My Business isn’t just a platform for your company’s information; it also serves as a way for customers to leave reviews about their experience with your business.
You might have a lot of reviews from happy customers on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but those don’t transfer over to Google My Business. So be sure to ask them politely to give you feedback on Google as well!
Add a menu for food establishments
If you offer food to customers, you’ll want to add a menu. When people search for restaurants near their location, they’ll be able to view your menu and what types of food you serve.
Add a location for local businesses
One of the most important aspects of Google My Business is adding a location. This helps people find your business when they search for it. If you already have one, then you need to make sure it’s correct. The first thing people will do is look up the address and if it’s wrong, they won’t find your business at all.
So how do you get it right? If you are not sure where your business should be, use Google Maps or Bing Maps and input the address to see what comes up. Once you find the right spot, just click on the drop down arrow next to “Business Name” in Google My Business and select “Edit Address.”
How to Get Started with Google My Business
If you’re not signed up with Google My Business, sign up now. Well, before we get into how to use the service correctly, let’s talk about what Google My Business is. Essentially, it’s a tool that helps businesses like yours rank higher in search results. It allows you to claim your business page and customize it to ensure that people who want your services find you when they search for you online.
See: Create Google Business Account (2022)
You can upload a photo of your storefront or logo, post updates on your business profile, link to a website (if you have one) and add information about your company – including opening hours, contact numbers and links to any social media accounts or emails. You can also set up special offers or promotions so that people know about them online too.
Google My Business is free to create and maintain. Plus, there are no ads on this platform so the design is purely for marketing purposes rather than for making money from ads.
When people search for a local business on Google Maps or in the search engine itself, they might notice that these businesses have a star by their name in the top right corner of the screen which signifies that this company has created a Google My Business account/page with Google and wants to be found by searchers.
One of our favorite features of Google My Business is that it helps you stay connected with customers by sending notifications when someone leaves an online review of your business (yay!). So don’t forget
Promoting Your Page and Getting Reviews
Google My Business is a free platform for any small business to showcase their products and services. It’s also a great way to get reviews from customers. It’s an excellent opportunity to build a community around your brand and show customers that you care about them by responding to their feedback.
To effectively promote your page, use the “Promote this Page” feature on Google+ or share through LinkedIn or Twitter. You can also use the “Tell us about this page” function on your website, email newsletter or in-store signage to solicit reviews.
See: How To Promote Your Business On Google For Free
Reviews are another way you can rank higher in search results and create more social proof for prospective customers. To set up your review preferences, go to the “Local Services” tab > “Business Information” section of your Google My Business page > click “Edit” next to “How do you prefer we contact you?” Select the “I prefer people write a review about my business instead.” option and then click save.
This will ensure that Google users are prompted with a request for a review after completing transactions with your business.