Google My Business (GMB) is a critical, but often underutilized tool, for establishing your presence online. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up your listing.
- Start here: Go to www.google.com/business. Select ‘Manage Now’ or ‘Sign In’ if you have a Google account. If you don’t, select ‘Create Account’ and follow the steps provided.
- Add your business details: Once you’ve signed in, select ‘Add a Business’. You’ll be prompted to input your business name. After entering the name, select ‘Next’.
- Provide location details: Google requires information about your location so your business can come up when people search for “[Business Type] near me.” If your business does have a physical location, select ‘Yes’ and provide your address. If you don’t have a physical location but you serve customers at their location (or if your service is primarily online), select ‘No’, then ‘Yes’ for the following question and specify your service areas. Select ‘Next’ to proceed.
- Select your business category: This step involves choosing a category that best fits your business. This assists Google in determining when to display your business in search results. You may not find the exact category that you seek, so just choose whatever is closest to what you do. After choosing a category, select ‘Next’.
- Enter contact information: Next, you’ll add your contact details, including your business phone number and website URL. If you don’t have a website but you primarily just use social media, you can put your social media link in there instead. (Tip: This is a short term solution, but it’s a bad idea long term because in spite of what you might think, not everyone is on Facebook these days. It’s better to have a website, even if it’s just one page.)
- Complete your listing and verify your business: After selecting ‘Finish’, you’ll need to verify your business. This typically involves Google sending you a postcard with a verification code to the business address you provided. Once you receive this postcard (typically within a week), you can input the code into your GMB account to finalize the verification process.
Taking Things to the Next Level
Now that your Google My Business listing is set up, learn how you can maximize your listing. Here are the things you can do with your GMB listing:
- Share updates
- Post special offers
- Respond to customer reviews
- Add photos to highlight your services
- Answer Frequently Asked Questions
A complete profile is more likely to be ranked higher by Google, so make you fill out as much information as possible.
If you need assistance with your GMB listing, get in touch and we can help you out.
