- What is Google My Business?
- How to use Google My Business for local marketing
- How to use Google My Business for SEO
- How to sign up for Google My Business
- Get started with Google My Business today
- How To Create & Verify Your Google My Business Account
- Why create a Google My Business account?
- What you need in order to claim and verify your business on Google
- How to verify your business on Google
What Is Google My Business & Why Do I Need It?
Nowadays, a huge amount of businesses create a Google business listing(a Business Profile) with the aim to receive more visibility on Google. In the case you correspond to such business owners, you may not comprehend that the creation of a Business Profile does not give you management over it, and you are in need with those management, as well as, editing capabilities if you crave your Business Profile to operate as an efficient SEO and lead generation tool as well.
If you are interested in the professional SEO for your website – write to us. We will be pleased to help you.
Well, how can you obtain management over your Google Business Profile ?
Here is the answer: it is not enough to create a free Business Profile. You also have to create a free Google My Business account for that profile.
If you want to manage your Business Profile, you need to have a separate Google My Business account.
The only means by which you can claim ownership of your Business Profile, attain management rights to it and unlock additional free features to raise your visibility on Google is to have a Google My Business account.
What is Google My Business?
As it was mentioned before, Google My Business is such a tool that provides an opportunity to manage and optimize your Business Profile on Google. In order to clarify what Google my Business is and describe how it works, we need to be confident in our knowledge of what a Business Profile is.
Your Business Profile is Google’s term designed for your Google business listing. Business Profiles appear in Google Maps and in the local results of Google Search.
To create a Business Profile is the same stuff as to add a place to Google Maps. It is quite easy and almost everyone is able to do it. The only thing that Google demands is the business name, location and category. After the confirmation, Google creates the Business Profile for the location. As a consumer of the Business Profile you can:
- leave reviews
- ask diverse questions
- add photos
The Business Profile can also be filled with data that Google pulls in from across the web.
In this way, a Business Profile is independent and can exist on its own, irrespective of a business account google.
And whether you have created your own Business Profile or not, you don’t have the possibility to manage the data that it displays or the reviews it collects.
After creating a Google My Business account, you will have the opportunity to access, customize, manage, and enhance your Business Profile on Google. Everything is for free.
How to use Google My Business for local marketing
We have already figured out that Google My Business is not your Business Profile. It is rather a special tool with which help you improve your Business Profile in order to increase its visibility, as well as, efficiency.
Here are the four key ways to use Google My Business with the aim to make your profile on Google listing a better local marketing tool.
1. Cooperate with consumers
There are various methods consumers can collaborate with your Business Profile and vice versa. You utilize your Google My Business account to cooperate back with them.
You can
- react to reviews
- give answers to the questions
- enable direct messaging
- set up associated alerts
At the same time, you can use Google My Business in order to publish posts to your Business Profile. The same you can do via diverse social media platforms.
2. Emphasize your business
A Business Profile alone contains limited information about your business. However, using your Google My Business account dashboard, you can provide hours, a link to your google my business website, products and pricing, attributes, and other details that give your business uniqueness. Likewise, you can use Google My Business to make edits and updates.
3. Receive insights
You can utilize the Google My Business dashboard to receive key insights about your audience and local search performance as well. In the analytics tab of the platform, you can see the queries that customers use to find your Business Profile, whether they found you on Google Maps or Google Search, a breakdown of actions taken on your listing, and how your photos are performing compared to other profiles in your category.
4. Perform local SEO
Just as Google has algorithms for ranking its ads and websites, it also has one for ranking Business Profiles.
With help of your Google My Business dashboard you have the chance to integrate keywords right into your Business Profile and implement other optimizations that will assist it rank in local results
category.
How to use Google My Business for SEO
Google Business Profiles are dynamic. Not merely do they change form based on platform, however Google will also give a priority to sections of your profile according to the term that has been searched as well as the type of data that is most significant to consumers in your category. Even better, Google will promote keywords in the content of your profile that it thinks are relevant.
Nevertheless there needs to be data to prioritize and keywords to promote in your profile in the first place. Solely as you would utilize a content management system like WordPress to optimize your website for search engines, Google My Business is used for your profile’s optimization and expansion of your reach.
How to utilize Google My
Business for local SEO?
So, whereas optimizing for Google is basically optimizing for searchers, it all boils down to the same three things:
- targeting
- quality of information
- trust
Target your data
If you want to utilize My Business for SEO, integrate relevant keywords into your Business Profile so that you can inform Google what you are trying to rank for. Do not forget to utilize them in your “from the business” description, replies to reviews, published posts, etc. Ensure to integrate them naturally as you would do with any other SEO strategy.
Sustain quality of information
The comprehensiveness and exactness of your Business Profile influences its rank, so make sure to submit the requested information in every section of your Google My Business dashboard. The most significant here is your contact information, special hours, and attributes.
Form trust
The ultimate approach to using Google My Business for SEO appeals to the trust component of Google’s algorithm. Maintain your information updated and exact as your business grows. Retain your activity in reviews and answers on them. At the same time, do not forget to upload new photos and publish new posts.
SEO is very significant for any business, however notably for small businesses that are able to utilize local targeting in order to deal with large competitors on the SERP.
Google is making local SEO simpler with its secure Business Profiles, thus a
Google My Business account is indispensable for any business that is trying to increase visibility in the local market.
How to sign up for Google My Business
If you desire to get a Google My Business account, go to google.com/business and click “Manage now”. Do not forget, a Google My Business Account does not automatically create a Business Profile. Instead, it gives you access to it and the ability to add more details to it.
At the same time, remember that the creation of Google My Business account does not give you access to the Business Profile.
Also remember that creating Google My Business account does not give you automatic access to your Business Profile. Once you have created and logged into your Google My Business account, next you will need to locate your separate Business Profile on Google Maps and then select the “Claim this business” or “Own this business?” link seen right on the profile. One time you have finished that process, your Google My Business account will then be connected with your Business Profile and under your management.
Get started with Google My Business today
After realising the main concept of Google My Business, how it works and how to utilize it, you can observe that using this free of charge tool is something more than a great idea for local marketing.
Get started with Google My Business today and attract more clients on the well-known search engine.
How To Create & Verify Your Google My Business Account
Your Business Profile is able to do more stuff than you consider. Being accurately optimized, it demonstrates your top features and assists consumers discover, as well as, contact your business. However, if you want to accurately optimize your Business Profile, you must have access to it. And to have access to it, you must verify with Google that you are the legitimate owner.
Probably this process seems to be rather simple, but it is not so easy. It demands three different Google accounts and two different Google platforms as well. All of them have similar names.
Well, firstly let’s figure out what’s what in Google and afterwards it will be clearly understandable how to create a Google My Business account in order to claim and verify your Business Profile on Google.
Why create a Google My Business account?
Use google for your business advancement.
The Google My Business account assists your clients to discover, find out and contact your business online. These are three key advantages of a Google My Business account. In case it is not enough to persuade you, think about the disadvantages of not having one.
- You are at risk of losing clients. If you do not have a Google My Business account, you cannot have any control over the information in your Business Profile.
- You are at risk of attaining a poor reputation. If you do not have a Google My Business account, you are not able to answer your Google reviews, that is the obligatory section of your Business profile. And at the same time, the reviews are considered to be both a Google ranking factor and the number one factor that impacts on customers’ purchase. The ability to manage them is a necessary condition.
- You are at risk of losing to your competitors. An empty Business Profile is similar to an unkept store. The clients will never want to collaborate with you, if you do not take care of your own business. They solely will not have any trust. Far more likely, they will pay their attention to a Business Profile that looks vivid and contains a huge variety of attractive information.
- You are at risk of losing SERP real estate. Google ranks Business Profiles due to their quality level. Moreover, it is not enough to have merely a Business Profile. Nevertheless, a Google Business Profile, managed with the help of a Google Business account, may be optimized to rank above competitors for appropriate keyword searches.
What is the most suitable listing for you? The unclaimed one on the left side or the optimized one ( with help of a Google My Business account) on the right side?
What you need in order to claim and verify your business on Google
So now it seems to be easily understandable that if you want to provide proper information, answer reviews, attract more and more clients and rank higher in local search, you need to create a Google My Business account and verify ownership of your business.
As it was mentioned before, the process is not easy. It consists of two different Google platforms and three different Google accounts that have similar names, and probably some of them you have already had. Well, to succeed, let’s first deal with our knowledge of the terminology.
Google Account: The free account you create with Google. There you can have access to Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Photos, Gmail, etc. Many people call it their “Gmail account,” however Gmail is one of the features. In fact, you can utilize any email to set up a Google Account.
The majority of business owners already have two standard Google accounts. The first one they use for their personal life and the second one – for their business.
Business Profile: It is your free business listing on Google that turns up on Google Maps, the local results of Google Search, as well as, the right-hand Knowledge Panel of Google Search.
Google My Business account: This is the free account you create. It gives you such stuff as a dashboard, that helps you to manage and improve your Business Profile.
How to verify your business on Google
So, right now, after you have already attained the clear understanding of the terminology, let’s put the pieces of this puzzle together in order to get a full picture of the process.
Our aim: to receive full access to your Business profile on Google.
The means: your Google My Business account that you sign up for utilizing a standard Google Account.
Five steps that will help to complete the process:
- Be confident you have a standard Google Account for your business.
- Be confident you have a Business Profile.
- Create a Google My Business account.
- Request to claim your Business Profile.
- Verify ownership of your business.
So now you are ready to effectively claim and verify your local business on Google. Let’s review these 5 steps in detail.
The 1nd step:
Be confident you have a Google Account for your business. If you already have it, skip this step and move forward. However, in case you don’t have it follow this instruction:
- Go to accounts.google.com/signin
- Click “Create account.”
3. Then click “To manage my business.”
4. Provide the necessary information.
The 2nd step:
Be confident you have a Business profile. The Business profile serves for you as the official term of your Google business listing. If you already have created a Business Profile, skip this step and move forward.
Note: Even if you haven’t created it, there’s a possibility that your Business Profile already exists. This is because a Business Profile is merely a place on Google Maps, which any person or computer can add. So to check and see if you need to create a Business Profile,do the next:
- Go to Google.com/maps.
- Search your business name.
- If your business name populates in the drop-down with an address next to it, congratulations, your Business Profile already exists and you can move on to the 4th step.
If your business name does not populate with an address, select it and you’ll see something similar to it:
4. Select “Add a missing place,” and you’ll see such screen:
5. Provide all the requested information.
The 3rd step: sign up for a Google My Business account
- Be confident you are logged into the standard Google Account for your business.
- Go to google.com/business.
- Select “Manage now.”
4. Provide the basic information Google asks for, including.
When you have connected this account with your Business Profile, you will be able to provide more detail about your business. These details will optimize your business for local SEO and attract more clients.
The 4th step: Request to claim your Business Profile
Claim request method #1:
1. Go to google.com and search for your business name and location. In case your Business Profile appears on the right-hand side, find the “Own this business?” option and select it.
2. From there you’ll be taken to a screen “Manage this business so you can reply to reviews,update info and more.”
3. Click “Manage now,” and follow the prompts to claim your business.
Claim request method #2: Google Maps
- Go to Google.com/maps.
- Type in your business name.
- Click on your Business Profile.
- Find the option “Claim this business.”
After clicking on “Claim this business” you will overlay the same screen as in the first method, however this time right over the map.
5. Click “Manage now” and follow the prompts.
The 5th step: Verify ownership of your business
After clicking on “Manage now”, you will be asked to give info to prove you are the legitimate owner of the business. If you aren’t a person who created the Business Profile, you will be sent a verification code that you will need to enter into your Google Business dashboard.
When you have received the code and entered it into the box, you have full ownership of your Business Profile on Google! So now you have all the opportunities to manage reviews, upgrade information, add diverse attractive details and optimize it for productive local marketing.
If you have faced particular issues with your my google page, you can turn to google my business help or write to our RegisReam. We are ready to help you on a daily basis.
