Google My Business: Learn how to boost your physical business

Have you tried searching for your company on Google, but you got attractive results?

Learn how you can boost your physical business online.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free, easy-to-use tool for businesses or organizations to manage their online presence using Google services, including Search and Maps.

Google My Business is the only tool with which you can control the information of your company or business on Google. It is important to note that, to use this service, Google classifies and divides the service for 5 types of companies.

• Physical store.
• Customer service without public facilities.
• Hybrid companies (with physical store and Delivery).
• Independent professionals.
• Departments or companies within other companies (universities, medical facilities, and government offices).

Google My Business Setup Guide

If you are looking to position your business or company on Google maps and Google My Business, below we give you the step by step to achieve it.

Step 1: Access Google

You must go to the following link: https://www.google.com/business/ and click on the green "Start now" button. Next, you'll need to create a Google account or sign in to a Google account you have. Afterwards, you can search for your company by name and address.

If this is the first time you use Google My Business, you must click on "Add business" and complete the information requested.

In this first step, Google will ask you to confirm that the data you included in this form is correct. It is important that you provide the correct information.

Step 2: Verify your business

Now you must verify that your company is real. This involves Google providing you with a verification code, which can be done in several ways:

Phone call.

• Postcard sent to your company address.
• Email.

Once the code arrives, you can enter it to verify your business. After that,

Ready! Your business will now have a Google My Business page.

Step 3: Add additional information

It is important to note that the more information you add to your Google My Business page, the more effective it will be. And, although your business address will already be configured, there are other details that will give your business/company greater presence. Here we list some:

• Category – You can set what category your business is. For example, if it is a bar, cafe, restaurant, store, etc.
• Opening hours : configure the opening hours of your business or establishment.
• Telephone number : adding this information will make it easier for your clients to contact you.
• Website – Make sure your website link is set up so your people can easily find more information about your business.
• Appointment URL – You can also set an appointment URL to make it even easier for your clients to book your services.
• Add Photos – Be sure to set up your company logo and a cover photo. Adding more than 1 photo will give you the opportunity to show more about your business. For example, if you have a bakery, show images of your cakes, rolls or whatever you are looking to highlight.
• Reviews – Google reviews are an important part. Invite your customers to write positive reviews on Google so you have a five-star rating. Testimonials are a powerful way to show how your business is appreciated, and therefore, create better positioning.
• Posts – This is a relatively new feature that allows you to share events or blog content from your website. A post will last a week before it needs updating.

How to optimize my Google My Business page?

If you are one of those who already have all these steps done and have been using your Google My Business page for a while, it is time to consider optimizing the information you display. We give you some tips:

Create a correct description of your business

Take the time to write a good description of your business/establishment/company . Try to write it as local as possible so that it is more relevant to the user.

Keep in mind that the description is used as general information about what your business does and keywords related to your company can be used here.

A description on Google My Business can be up to 750 characters, but it's worth getting the most relevant information in the first few sentences. Try to include 2 to 3 keywords that best describe your business.

Add more posts to your Google My Business

One way to attract more interest to your Google My Business profile is through your posts, as the content you upload will show up in Google search and map results.

Don't forget that after creating a post, it's important to add a CTA (call to action). In fact, Google My Business recommends a few: 'Learn More', 'Book', 'Register', 'Buy' and 'Get Offer'.

Add more photos or videos to your posts

This last year Google enabled the option to add up to 10 photos or videos to Google My Business posts. This means you can do even more to elevate your posts and stand out from the competition.

Images and videos can help tell a story and the ability to add multiple images will definitely benefit any eCommerce business as it will help add more product images.

Don't forget to respond to reviews!

Whether good or bad, be sure to respond to all reviews so your customers know that you take their experience with your business seriously. This will also help other customers build trust with your brand. Recognize and thank your customers for leaving a good review. Also, think that you can use your reviews as an opportunity to improve your business.

Benefits of having Google My Business

If you are looking to position and improve your presence on the internet, without a doubt, using Google My Business is a must in your strategy.

1. It's free : It doesn't require any type of investment, just a little weekly dedication.
2. You don't need to have a website : If your business is physical, you can also advertise it on Google My Business so that it appears on Maps and users can find you thanks to local SEO.
3. It is intuitive : It does not require too much digital knowledge to use the platform and with a couple of days of use you will get the hang of it.
4. Functionalities : The options that the tool provides you make it an obligation to use it to better position your business on Google.
5. Reviews : Reviews are a way to show yourself to the world and increase the number of users who visit your business either online or in person.

Conclusion

With the digital age, having Google My Business for your business or company is essential. Starting with this tool can be very useful, since it is free, very easy and quickly helps to increase the visibility of your business in search results.

Additionally, with the rise of mobile search with local intent becoming increasingly popular, having a presence with Google My Business will help keep your products/business/company at the forefront.

Finally, if you have already decided to take advantage of this option offered by Google, it is important to go beyond the basics and work on creating a useful and eye-catching profile that encourages search engines to visit your store/website/request services or contact you.