Google My Business Listing

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.

google my business listing

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?

  1. Go to: https://www.google.com/business/
  2. Click: “Manage Now”
  3. Complete the information about your company.
  4. Google will mail you a postcard with a verification code.
  5. 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

Dana Gevelinger is the owner and designer at Gevelinger Design LLC, a company that helps companies build their brand through strategic graphic design.

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