It has some cool features which make it important for every business to get listed there.
Google is also focused on it & timely makes changes and updates to this great service to make each business more discoverable which are listed with Google My Business.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free web-based local listing service that offers businesses to list their information like Business name, description, contact information, etc.
These listings show up when someone searches for specific services on Google.
Google shows listings that are similar to the area user is looking for.
For example, if you live in Melbourne & looking for law assistance for some reason. You just go to Google.com & search for “law firm Melbourne”.
You will get some listings relevant to the search you made. These are the Google My Business listing which actually matches to your search as you are looking for law assistance in Melbourne.
Once you get the results, you can simply check the website & call them.
Google is full of these listings for every service you need.
If you just think of any service in your mind in any location & you will find the business.
Benefits of Google Business Listing
Google My Business page is beneficial for your local business marketing as well as for the business which has a global presence with multiple offices in various countries.
The list of benefits is huge, but some important ones are:
- Business gets listed in Google easily.
- Chance to get local authentic leads
- Get trust from customers
- Get reviews & boost your business marketing appeal
- Increase in traffic & sales
- Increase in Google rankings
- Increase user engagement with QA & review functionality
- Organic Google advertising for free
If you already own a listing on Google My Business, you need to optimize it to get the maximum exposure.
How To Create A Google Business Listing?
As said earlier, creating a listing on Google My Business is completely free. You do not need to have a website as people are more likely to search for any business or service from their mobile device & call them directly.
To begin, you need to have a Google account. This is similar to your Gmail ID & follow the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: Go to Google.com & search for “google my business” & click on the first organic link which is actually a Google My Business website.
Step 2:Once the website opens, click on the blue Sign In button that appears on the top right of the header.
You will be redirected to the login screen. Login using your email ID & password.
Step 3:A screen comes up asking for “Find and manage your business”. Search for your business name to check there is no listing available for it.
If you scroll below you will find the option to “Add your business on Google”. Click on it.
Step 4:The next screen will ask for your business name, enter your Complete Business Name & click next.
Step 5: In the next screen, it will ask “Do you want to add a location customers can visit, like a store or office?”
If you want to show the location in Google search where you want your customer to visit then choose Yes otherwise choose No.
If you choose Yes,it will ask you for the complete business address.
Enter your complete business address & click Next.
If you choose No,it will ask you to mention the areas where you serve your customers.
Choose according to your need.
In my case, I chose NO& added my service areas & proceeded further.
Step 6: Once you are done with the complete business address, It will ask you to choose the category which you want to list your business under.
Just type a service name & you will get some ideas which likely related to the term you search.
Choose from the list & click Next.
Step 7: After you choose the category, you need to enter to contact details of your business.
- Business phone number
- Website URL (If you do not have one, you can choose the option “I don’t need a website”
Please submit the details which are accurate otherwise you will be losing the calls from customers.
Once you do that, click Next.
Step: 8:In the next screen, you will be asked to finish the listing setup (Google My Business setup). Just click on Finish.
Step 9:In the next step it will ask you to verify the business.
Here, if you have already entered the business address then only the verification screen will appear. But if you did not enter the address in the previous step, it will ask you for the complete business address.
Once you add the address, Google will ask you to choose the method of listing verification.
Generally, it sends the postcard with the Google My Business verification PIN to the address you added.
You need to click on the blue button which says Mail& you will be redirected to a new screen which says “You’ll get a postcard with your verification code and next steps in about 5 days.”
Step 10:Once you get the postcard, Go to Google My Business & verify the listing by clicking the Enter verification code.
Enter the verification code you have received & click Verify
Once you enter the verification code the listing setup has been done.
Now we need to optimize the listing to get maximum exposure.
Optimize Google My Business
After you set up your Google listing, it is very important to optimize it & add all the information which is required.
If you update your Google My Business listing timely, it will appear on top of the search results & you will get the calls/conversations on your targeted keywords.
Optimizing the listing is not rocket science, you just need to be smart while doing it.
Follow the steps below to optimize your Google My Business listing.
- Update the Accurate NAP
As the very first step of your Google My Business optimization, you need to update the NAP (Business name, address & phone number correctly). This is every basic step & if you do not fill all the information, you will be going to lose the potential clients.
This information helps Google to get your business listing served when someone is looking for the service you offer in your area. If your NAP is wrong, you are losing a serious business.
Updating your Google listing with the correct NAP details is the very first signal for your Google My Business ranking. - Write the Competitive Business Description
Updating the perfect business description to your Google My Business listing is the second important step to optimize your listing.
The business description is the important thing where you put certain information about your business & Google/users come to know about what services you are offering.
Your business description should be engaging & well-written. You have only a 750-character space to write it. Try to cover your service, about information to it.
If this is perfectly written, you will definitely get traffic on your listing & stand the chance to rank high on local search. - Claim Your Google My Business Short Name
Google My Business’s short name is a new addition to its features. A short name or a custom name is a name that is created to make it easier for users to remember your & find you.
If you claim your short name, users might not need to search for you in Google every time as they can easily type your short name URL in the browser’s address bar (this should be something like g.page/[yourshortname]) to visit your listing & interact with it.
To create an effective short name, you can choose your company name with the location, or any related keyword with the location.
For example, you can choose g.page/pestcontrolmelbourne if you choose the keyword, or g.page/starbuckscalifornia if you wish to choose the brand name. - Update Photos
Updating photos is important for branding & customer engagement. If you have a logo for your business, then you must add it to your Google My Business listing.
Other than the business Google My Business logo, you should add the banner image along with the actual images which show your business location, service, and products.
You should often add images to your listing & keep it updated with the latest photos so that users & search engines find that you are active in your presence & this describes your service quality as well.
Keep updating the photos of the service, your office, and 360-degree images (or a 360-degree tour of your office).
The more photos you have, you will get the maximum user interaction & search engines will also follow you. - Select Right Category
Choosing the right category is one of the important actions for any Google My Business listing. If you do not add your business to the proper category, you will lose your space. Google is paying attention to listing the businesses in the right Google business categories list. It helps Google to determine your service & help you show your listing to the users when they looking for the service you offer.
For example, if you are running a law firm, then you should list your business in the law-related category. People often submit law-related listings to the business-related categories which is a bad practice. - Actively Participate in Q&A
One of the most important features of Google My Business is Q&A. As the name suggests, Q&A is the feature that allows users to post questions on your Google My Business listing.
When you get any questions from users on your Google listing, you should promptly reply it. If you do that, users will be more happy to hire you for their work or make a purchase from you.
The motto of Q&A is to share additional information with your customers about your product or service, which is obviously a great way to win some business. - Ask for Reviews
In Morden SEO trends, reviews play a vital role in any business success. Reviews are word of mouth. In general, terms if you own a shop & sell your products with a smiley face & helps customers to choose the right product for them. Then your customer spread their experience to the people that you’re as a shop owner is very helpful & always treat their customers well. The other people with hear this & come to you for shopping. Try to get Google My Business reviews.
This exactly happens online. When a business gives good service to its customer, then the customer in return gives a good google my business review to the business which helps them to get a new customer.
You can ask them to share their experience with your service & rate your business on Google My Business. But DO NOT ask them to write a good review, only ask them to share their feedback so that you can improve the service quality.
Remember, asking for a review is ethical, but asking for a good review is unethical. You cannot ask people to write good stuff for you. it is up to them what they think of your services. If you are given good service to your customer, they will surely give a good review. - Share Google My Business Posts
Google introduced a post-sharing feature more than a year ago. Here a business has the chance to share updates/information/offers, etc. to the Google listing.
When someone searches for your business & sees the post you have shared, he attracts towards your listing & ended up clicking on it & land on your website.
The best part of Google My Business post is, it looks like an ad & it’s up to you how you present it.
To Submit the, follow the steps below:
1. Log in to Google My Business
2. Go to your listing
3. Click “Posts” on the left sidebar.
4. Select the post type according to what you want to share (update, event, offer or product)
5. Upload media (logo/image/video, etc.)
6. Write the post description
7. Select the Call to Action button.
Once done, you can check on Google what your posts look like. Just search your business name & you will see the post.
Remember, these posts last only for seven days. So, you need to update these on a weekly basis.
You can also see the post’s stats in the posts section in Google My Business like how many people saw it, and how many clicks on it. - Add Products/Services to Your Listing
Google My Business now allowing businesses to add their products/services to the listing. This also shows up in Google when your listing shows up. You can add images, descriptions, and URLs of the product/service to it.
It depends on the category you choose and what option you get to add (products or services).
To add a product/service follow the steps:
1. Login to your Google My Business.
2. Go to the listing for which you want to add a product/service (in my case it is the product)
3. Select Service from the left sidebar.
4. Add category name (in products, it is a section)
5. & start adding the service/products.
Always keep adding them frequently. Make use of this great feature. - Keep an Eye on Competitors
This is one of the important optimization tips. Always aim at your competitors. Keep looking at what they are doing. If you find something interesting & work doing then start implementing it in your Google My Business listing.
If you keep an eye on your competitor, you will never miss the opportunity to win the game.
Conclusion
If you want to win your local customer from your local SEO strategy, Google My Business plays an important role to achieve your goals.
If you are getting a good position in Google My Business, that means you won half of the battle. But you should never stop here. Keep optimizing your Google My Business listing & as said above keep every on your competitor.
If you think we have missed any important point about how to create & optimize Google My Business, let us know in the comments below.
Google My Business Guide FAQs
Google My Business is a completely FREE business listing service that allows users not only to list their business but give them the chance to win local customers from their exclusive features.
If you are working on your local SEO strategy & aiming for winning the local customer, then you must start using it. It is a great service which cost nothing but some effort.
To verify your Google my business listing, you need to enter the address of your office/store. After you add your complete physical address, you can request a verification pin via mail.
If your listing is not appearing in Google that means your business listing is not eligible for it. Log in to Google My Business & check for any issue/error message and fix this.
No, you cannot. Google verify each business by sending a verification code to the phone (this is for some categories) & postcard is a must for almost all categories. Google wants to show exact & liable information to its users which is why verification is important.
People often ask how to list your business on Google. Listing your business to Google My Business is simple, free & requires no expertise. Just follow the steps of this blog.
Simply optimising the Google listing & use your keywords in the details is the key to Google my business SEO.
To optimize Google My Business, you should fill in all the required details like NAM, description with keywords, images & logo.