One of the most undervalued resources on the internet is known as Google My Business, which is also known as Google Maps Pack. If you list your company on Google in the proper way, you can instantly be put in front of potential customers who are ready to make a purchase.
In the event that you run an established company, there is a good probability that your company is already included in the Google My Business directory; all you will need to do is claim it. It is highly likely that additional businesses or new locations will need to be added.
Go to Google Business Profile
Go to Google Business Profile (Formally, Google my Business) and click the blue ‘Manage Now’ button in the top right corner.
Sign in to your Google Business
Sign in (If you already have a Gmail account) or create an account.
Once your listing is up, you will control it by logging into this Gmail account and making changes as necessary. Because fortunately, this email address won’t be displayed on your listing, it doesn’t really make a difference whether you use an email address associated with your company or just your personal email address. You can create a Gmail account by clicking the “new account” link that is located at the bottom of this page if you do not already have one.
Setup Your Google Business Listing
It is absolutely necessary to correctly configure your listing in order to guarantee the highest possible visibility on Google Maps. Although some of the processes may appear to be self-explanatory, there are still far too many companies in the area that make careless errors that end up costing them thousands of dollars. If you want to make sure that your Google My Business (Maps) listing is set up properly, follow these steps.
Input Your Business Name
This stage is quite straightforward; however, it is essential to keep in mind the significance of maintaining coherence throughout the web.
Simply type in the name of your company exactly as you would like it to appear on Google Maps. It is essential that you use the exact same name and spelling throughout the entirety of the internet, including on your accounts for the various social networking platforms. Any modification in the name can confuse Google, which can have a negative impact on your Local SEO ranking and the visibility of your business on maps.
Define your Business Address and Service Areas
Your website address, just like your company’s name, needs to be consistent everywhere it appears online. It is not a problem at all if your company does not have a physical presence where customers may visit it. Once your listing has been published, you have the option of concealing this physical address. Your ad will be far more visible to potential customers if you have a physical location, even though this is not a requirement.
IMPORTANT: The phrase “NAP,” which stands for “name, address, and phone,” is a frequent concept that highlights the importance of consistency among all of your business’s listings and citations. Check to see that this information is presented in the same manner throughout all of your listings, social accounts, and posts. Too often, companies will misspell their addresses (using St. or Street, for example) or neglect to include the appropriate area code in their phone numbers, among other common errors.
You have the option to add each location independently if your company services a particular location or geographical area. Your listing will have a better chance of appearing in these locations when potential customers search for the kind of business you run from these locations.
Choose The Correct Business Category
The category option is particularly significant since it determines both how Google will classify your company and the kinds of search queries that will result in your listing being displayed. For this reason, it is very vital that you select the appropriate category.
Google has predetermined Categories, also known as keywords, for each sector of the economy. You can begin by inputting your keyword to check whether Google produces any matches, and then you can choose the one that is most appropriate for your company. It is not a cause for alarm if you discover that more than one category describes your company. You will have the opportunity to add additional categories at a later time.
In light of this, Google recommends that you select the fewest number of categories that are appropriate for your content. It has been demonstrated that limiting yourself to just one to three extremely specific categories will give you the greatest possibility of being seen by the target audience.
TOP TIP: You can search your competitors on Google to find out what categories they are using, which can be helpful if you are having trouble selecting the category that best fits your products or services. It is usually a good idea to model your listing after other listings, especially if those other listings seem to get a lot of attention.
Verify Your Business on Google
Google will want to make sure that your business is actually situated in the location that you claim it to be in. They will carry out this action by sending an actual postcard to the address that you have provided in the previous step. This postcard, which should reach you within three to five days, has a verification PIN that will enable you to activate your listing.
TIP: While you wait for your Google My Business postcard, tell anybody who handles your mail to be on the watch for the postcard. This will help ensure that the postcard arrives in one piece. These postcards are frequently disregarded as unsolicited mail and discarded as a result.