How to Get Your Business on Google Maps
Psttt! Want to know an easy way to promote your business online? If you haven't set up your Google My Business profile on Google yet, you are missing out! It's a little box with major power that pops out on the side of Google Maps when you click on your business.
Whether you're running your own business or you helping someone manage theirs, you have to take advantage of this wonderful free tool by Google. So let's go ahead and check to see if your business is already listed on Google and if not, we'll show you how to get your business on Google.
How to Get Your Business on Google
Getting on Google My Business is fairly easy and simple. In fact, if you've already been in business for a while, you might already be on there. Let's start with step number one.
1. Claim Your GMB Listing
To claim your GMB listing, simply visit Google My Business and sign up for an account. Once you have an account, type in your business name or address and see if it comes up. If so, you can claim it. If not, you'll just have to add a new business.
In some cases, if your business location was previously owned by a different person and they've already claimed it, you'll have to contact Google first to remove them before you can claim it.
Or, if you've changed your business name before, you might have more than one listing. If this is the case, you also want to contact Google to let them know so they can delete the extras to avoid confusion.
2. Verify All of Your Information
Once you've claimed your business, start inputting essential information such as address, telephone number, and website on your listing. This information is critical since it's what everyone sees when they click on your business on Google Maps.
Sometimes, if your business has already been operating for a while, Google might've already automatically uploaded some basic information on there for you. But it is your job to double check that this information is correct and update it if it isn't. The most important things to pay attention to are your address, telephone number, website address, and hours of operation.
3. Add Photos
Once you have your GMB profile set up, make sure you add photos of either your logo, your business, your products, or your customers onto the listing. These photos will show up right underneath your addresses and they will help draw customers attention. It's a fun and easy way to show your customers what you're all about!
4. Optimize Your Listing by Adding a Post
The nice thing about GMB is that it lets you add a "post" to your listing. These posts appear right underneath your address on the listing and serve as valuable space for you to share any news with your customers. Think of it as your GMB "Twitter."
Things you might want to put in your GMB "posts":
- An article that featured your business
- Upcoming events
- New products or services
- Special sales or promotions
- A summary of a blog post if your business has a blog
- General announcements
- Hour changes
- Holiday greetings
5. Install A Booking Button Feature
If your business requires customers to book appointments, you can install a "Booking Button Feature" to make it even easier for them. To do this, first sign up with a Google supported scheduling provider.
Once you've integrated the scheduling providers with GMB, a booking button will automatically be added to your listing (this can take a few days). Once the feature is installed, it'll start accepting bookings on your GMB account right away! Make sure you check frequently.
Other Important Things to Know
One extremely important thing to know about GMB listings is that anyone can "suggest an edit" and change the information on it. Google did this on purpose so they can collect feedback from anyone who uses it. This can be a good thing or a bad thing.
For example, let's say your business moved but you forgot to update your GMB listing. One of your loyal customers might see your old address and decide to update it for you. How nice, right?
But let's say, a competitor of yours wants to confuse your customers, they can also go on there and change your address on purpose! Horrible, we agree, but there's nothing you can do to prevent that except to check your GMB listing frequently to make sure nothing's changed.
Some GMB users have reported that you can sign up to be notified about changes, but others have reported they were never notified. Either way, emails can get lost or overlooked. The safest solution to this problem is to just check your GMB listing regularly.
Customer Reviews
Another important to know about GMB is that it allows customers to leave reviews of your business. This is a great way for customers to see how others rate your business and you can choose to respond to their reviews if you wish.
If you really want to win your customers' hearts, try to check these occasionally and use their feedback to improve your business. If it's a bad review, consider it a learning experience. After all, who better to learn about your business than from your customers?
Ready to Set Up Your GMB Listing?
We all know how confusing and competitive the online world can be for businesses. In between learning about keywords and SEO, who has time to do even more? But Google My Business is easy to use, accessible to everyone, and fair to every business no matter how large or small.
As long as you check your listing regularly to make sure your information is correct and take advantage of all that GMB offers, it'll help you promote your business and attract more customers. In a marketer's eyes, it would be foolish to not take advantage of this free tool.
If you would like more information about how to get your business on Google or how to promote your business in general, be sure to check out our blog for more marketing tips and strategies!
Additional information found here on our special offer:
Comments
Post a Comment