The Ultimate Guide to Google My Business

Google My Business is an incredibly helpful and free tool that was created by Google to help the owners of businesses manage how they appear in searches. Using it, you are able to add information about your business on Google, such as your contact information, business address, hours, photos of the business and details on what services you offer. 

 

Once registered with Google, your business will begin showing in searches, which will provide potential customers with a link to your website, as well as directions to your business and contact information. This is extremely helpful, especially if you are a local business, as people will know where to find you if they would like to acquire your services. This is all incredibly easy to do, as long as it is you managing the listing, which is why having a Google My Business account is necessary. 

 

By managing your own account, you can specify in your business’s description the area you’re from by using local SEO, which means that more people in your surrounding area will become aware of your organisation. For example, if you are a Knutsford business, you can state as much on Google so whenever anyone is searching for someone in your industry and your area, you will come up. 

 

By reviewing Google My Business, you will be able to understand: 

 

 

Once you understand this you will be able to plan online marketing strategies for the future more efficiently. By understanding what you appear for on Google, you can create SEO optimised content on your website catered to the searches you would like to appear in and review your position on Google My Business to find out whether it is working. 

 

 

Visit the Google My Business website and from there you will be able to carry out all the necessary steps to set up an account. Click on the 'Manage Now' button and you will either be asked to sign in or register an account. 

 

 

If you haven’t set up a listing in the past then once you are logged in you will be prompted to do so. Simply type in the name of your business for this step. Sometimes (albeit this is rare) your business may have already been listed, if this is the case then click on your business. If nothing appears then click on ‘Create a business with this name’. 

 

 

You have the option to show your address. This service should really only be utilised if you want people to be able to find your business, if you operate remotely then you should opt to hide the address to avoid confusion. 

 

If you want people to be able to find your business, you will need to set your location on a map by dragging and dropping a marker on Google Maps. Once you’ve done this, simply press ‘next’. 

 

 

This is a very important step as it will give your business visibility when people search for organisations that specialise in your industry. When you set a category, you are able to choose both a primary and a secondary category. When you type in what your business does you will be provided with a list of options, be sure you select the one which applies most specifically to you. 

 

 

Again, this is an incredibly important step as it will mean that potential customers will be able to get in touch with any queries or suggestions. You also have the option to add a link to your website, which is definitely worth doing. If you do not have a website, you should contact local web designers to help you create one as they can be incredibly useful for growing your business. 

 

 

Finally, you will need to verify your business. This could take a couple of days; however, whilst you wait you will be able to optimise your listing. Google will provide a few options on how you can verify your business but in most circumstances, you will be sent a postcard with a verification code on it to enter. 

 

The search results that are displayed on Google are displayed relative to location. Ranking as high as you can on Google is extremely important as a large majority of people, when browsing online, will click on the first website that comes up. 

 

Google can be a very useful tool for local businesses as if somebody searches something and Google thinks the product or service they require can be provided by a local business, they will include local results on their searches. 

 

There are steps that you can take as well to ensure that you rank even higher on Google by using language that includes local SEO. Ensure that you include all the details about your business on your Google My Business account, as well as your location and in-depth descriptions about what you do, as all of these will ensure you rank as highly as possible. 

 

Setting up a Google My Business account is an effective step when it comes to increasing your presence online; however, there is more that you can do to drive further traffic to your website. This can include creating content that makes you place higher in search engines, increasing the speed of your website's performance and using consistent branding to build a strong online following. 

 

If you would like help doing this, as we are aware it can be a daunting process, especially given setting up and running a business is already a lot of work, we at it’seeze Web Design Knutsford would be more than happy to help. We are a Cheshire web designer who are committed to providing clients with affordable web design packages that will give prospective customers a clear indication of the quality that your business has to offer. The internet is an incredibly effective marketing tool thanks to the likes of SEO, paid ads and Google My Business; however, before you can take advantage of any of them, you will need to have a bespoke website. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact Gemma and Mike today.