A Google Business listing is like your virtual storefront on Google, giving potential customers a snapshot of your business when they search for related products or services online. It’s that little box that shows up with your business name, address, hours, photos, and reviews when someone Googles you or what you offer. Having a Google Business listing is essential because it increases your visibility, builds trust through customer reviews, and makes it easier for people to find and connect with your business.
Other Than That, Why Do You Need A Google Business Listing?
A Google Business listing offers numerous benefits that can significantly boost your business’ online presence and customer engagement. A few of these benefits include:
- Increasing your visibility on Google Search and Google Maps, making it easier for potential customers to find you when they’re searching for products or services you offer.
- Enhancing your credibility, as customers can see reviews, photos, and detailed information about your business all in one place. This transparency builds trust and can influence potential customers to choose your business over competitors.
- The analytics provide valuable insights into how customers are interacting with your business online, such as how many people have viewed your Google business listing, how they found it, and what actions they took, like visiting your website or calling your business directly through that listing page.
- It gives you the ability to post updates, offers, and events directly to your listing so that you can keep your audience engaged and informed, driving more traffic and sales.
- Your listing can make it simple for your customers to contact your business by connecting directly to your website, showing directions to your business, letting them save it for later, share it with a friend, or call you directly with one click.
Overall, a well-maintained Google Business listing is a powerful tool for attracting new customers and staying connected with your existing ones.
How To Set Up A Google Business Listing
Setting up a Google Business listing is a straightforward process, but you’ll need to have a few key details ready to ensure everything goes smoothly. Google requires basic information about your business, including your business name, address, and phone number—these are known as your NAP details. You’ll also need to choose a business category that best describes what you do, which helps Google show your listing to the right audience. You should have a business website and hours of operation ready to input, as these are crucial for helping potential customers find and contact you.
Verifying your business is another important step, usually done by receiving a postcard from Google at your business address with a code that you’ll need to enter online. This verification confirms that your business is legitimate and ensures that your listing appears in search results. If you don’t have the option of mailing a postcard to your business location you might be asked to do a video recording or jump on a video call with a Google representative to show them around your business. They like to ensure the businesses listed are in fact legitimate businesses so they protect those using their search tools from spam or fake businesses involved in online schemes.
These are the basic steps you’ll need to follow to set up your Google Business listing:
Step 1: Go to google.com/business. Be sure to bookmark this address.
Step 2: Log in with your Google account or create a free one.
Step 3: Enter your business name using Title Case (where you capitalize the first letter of each word).
Step 4: Enter your business address. This can’t be a post office box or mailbox in a storefront and you can only have one business per address.
Step 5: Choose whether you’re a storefront or a service provider. You can choose a mile radius around your business, a specific city or province, or a group of postal codes.
Step 6: Choose your Primary business category. This will dictate where and when you will show up on Google searches.
Step 7: Add your phone number and website. Both calls and clicks are tracked by Google Business Profile.
Step 8: Verify your local listing (most likely with a postcard). This lets Google make sure your business information is accurate and that only you have access to it.
Step 9: Finish populating your Google Business Profile listing with products, services, photos, etc.
The Essential Steps To Optimize Your Google Business Listing
Just having a listing isn’t enough—you need to optimize it to appear in those top Google search results. To do this you will want to:
- Complete every section of your Google My Business account so Google ranks you higher in local search results and you increase the number of actions customers take.
- Be accurate with your contact information so that it is exactly as it appears on your business. Google doesn’t like inconsistencies.
- Select primary and secondary business categories. Be specific about your business in the primary category and promote special products or services in the secondary business categories.
- Mark off applicable attributes. Google will give you a list of attributes you can check off to further describe your business. Attributes are special features that potential customers seek out, like “gift shop on-site” or “free wi-fi.”
- Write a complete “from the business” description using content from your website’s “About” page. Include keywords your audience uses to find businesses like yours and talk about what sets you apart from competitors. Don’t include links or HTML.
- Publish Google posts. You can post announcements, offers, events, and products to your Google Business profile. Posts are created in your Google My Business dashboard and show up on the “Updates” section toward the bottom of your listing. This sends positive ranking signals to Google. Consumers can follow your Business Profile and get notified of new posts and updates.
- Upload new photos weekly. Make sure the quality and content is good and geo-tag your images. Adding new ones regularly shows Google you’re active and up-to-date, which positively impacts your ranking. Plus, customers get images in their search results, which increases engagement.
- Collect and respond to reviews. Reviews are the #1 influence on consumer buying, so this is a key ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. For most searches performed on Google, the first three local results that appear (in what is known as the “Local 3-Pack”) are the ones with multiple reviews and solid star ratings.
- Add your products and/or services. Include the name, description, and price (if applicable). The full description will show up once a searcher clicks on the product.
- Respond to questions promptly. Set up a notification so you can be quick to respond. You can also seed the questions asked to FAQs about your business.
- Add your social media profiles. Being up-to-date with your social media posting works to your advantage on Google Business. Customers can get to know more about your business and what you do.
- Maintain your Business Profile. Be sure to update with new information. post photos and promotions, and respond to reviews promptly.
The more engagement your listing has, the more likely it is to catch Google’s eye and climb higher in search rankings.
How To Access Your Listing To Make Changes
Once you’ve created your Google Business listing, it’s important to know how to access it again, as it’s where you’ll manage and update your business information. To do this, simply log into your Google account and search for “Google My Business” or go to business.google.com. From there, you’ll see your dashboard with your business listing. You can click on it to update details, respond to reviews, or check your insights.
Optimizing and regularly updating your Google Business listing not only helps you appear in top search results but also ensures that when potential customers find you, they’re getting the best impression possible.
Need Help With Your Google Business Listing? We’re Here For You Every Step of The Way.
At 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions, we make setting up and optimizing your Google Business listing easy. We’ll help you with everything—from entering your business details and verifying your listing to choosing the right categories and adding eye-catching photos. We know how to get your listing noticed, using targeted keywords and engaging content to boost your visibility in search results. We’ll help you create a Google Business listing that drives traffic, builds trust, and helps your business grow. Call us at 647-250-1494, or book a free consultation today.
