Tip: Claim Your Google My Business Listing (It only takes 5 minutes!)
What is a Google My Business Listing?
Have you ever noticed those helpful boxes of information about a company that pop right up when you search for a business on Google? (On the right hand side on desktop, the top listing on mobile). The content you see in the knowledge box is pulled from a Google My Business listing, information from other online sources, and user-generated content.
Learn more about the different features of Google My Business listings here: https://www.google.com/business/how-it-works/
The good news? You can claim your business and make sure that information is accurate.
*Note: some elements of your listing you can control, some you have partial control over, and some are crowdsourced.
Why should you claim your Google My Business Listing?
- Your listing gives your business a visible public profile
- The information you provide can appear all across Google in Search, Maps, and Google+
- You can provide accurate information about your business including hours, location, and services
- You respond to customers
- A good listing can help you in local search results
Are you a home based business? You can still use your Google My Business if you don’t have a storefront - there is an option to list your business without an address.
How do you claim it?
- Go to: https://www.google.com/business/
- Click: “Manage Now”
- Complete the information about your company.
- Google will mail you a postcard with a verification code.
- Once you get the postcard input the provided code to verify your claim.
So what’s next after I claim it?
- Google will send you a monthly report with some analytics on your listing. These include page views and clicks from your My Business listing to your website.
- You can visit your profile to add and update information.
- Set a reminder to review your profile. Remember content is pulled from multiple sources, and isn’t always completely in your control.
*Note: It is helpful to have a Gmail account when setting up your listing so you can access all of your Google products under one login. Note: it is possible to use another email address, but you will have to register it as a Google account.
Want to optimize your listing?
Here are a couple helpful resources to take your listing up a notch:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-my-business#optimize
https://moz.com/blog/ultimate-cheat-sheet-google-knowledge-panels
Are you starting a company? You might enjoy this post: 6 Struggles and Lessons Learned Starting a Small Business
Dana Gevelinger
Dana Gevelinger is the owner and designer at Gevelinger Design LLC, a company that helps companies build their brand through strategic graphic design.