08 Nov How To Set Up A Google My Business Page (And Why You Need One)
How often do you take out your phone to use Google to find a restaurant near by, a service (like a hairdresser, gym, or mechanic), or a store? According to a study by MDG Advertising, 59% of consumers use Google every month to find a reputable, local business and 50% of all mobile searches are done with the hope of finding something local. A whopping 61% of those searches result in a purchase.
What would happen if someone Googled your business right now? Setting up a Google My Business page can help your business get found on Google and other search engines when people are looking for your service in their area. It’s a free, easy way of rising to the top of search engines and getting noticed.
Setting up an account is super easy. Here’s how:
Step 1: Sign-up for a Gmail account.
Feel free to use a generic business account, or your own personal account. Pages can have multiple managers.
Step 2: Visit Google My Business and click “Start Now”
Step 3: Enter in your business name. It should auto fill for you. If it doesn’t, click “None of these matches…” and fill in the required information.
Step 4: Enter in all relevant information
Step 5: Google will automatically create you a Google+ page with your address and information. Check the box “I am authorized to manage this business and agree to the Terms & Services” and click “continue”
Step 6: In order to verify your business is the real deal, click “Mail me my code” and Google will mail a code to your business location.
If you already have a business page, click here.
It’s important to note that now that you have a Google+ page, you should edit it accordingly by adding in all the relevant information, a description, a nice tagline, and some good pictures for your profile picture and cover photo. If you have this on a Facebook page, feel free to use the same content.
Organic search engine optimization
Being on Google+ will help you organically climb search rankings and increase your visibility as your target customers search for your product or service. When you search “Dentist office Toronto” in Google, your page will be much easier to find than your website.
Get easy reviews and testimonials
Google has made it easier than ever for people to review a business, and people no longer have to have a Google account to leave a review. Customer reviews heavily influence the likelihood of customers choosing your company over someone else, and now with Google makes reviews front and center on both the search engine and Google Maps. If you have a lot of positive reviews and interactions, it will increase your visibility even more.
Relevant content = Better SEO
Google+ is integrated with Hootsuite, making it easy to share content across all of your social media networks at once. Chrome’s extension, Hootlet, allows you to easily post content you find on the web onto Hootsuite. Fresh content is what will get you noticed by search engines, so posting on your business’s Google+ page will be extremely beneficial to your SEO.
In terms of an overall SEO, getting set up on Google My Business is a no brainer. It’s a free and easy way to get visibility for your business and turn clicks into customers.