![How to Set Up Google My Business to Get More Customers [Step-by-Step]](https://syntellio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/google-search-engine-on-macbook-pro-40185-scaled.jpg)
If you sell any consumer products, you know the power of Google given it is the world’s largest search engine. Google can literally make or break your business.
Google My Business is a service offered by Google to allow businesses to engage with their customers in a more direct way, and also to allow potential customers to find your business, and move towards purchasing. As such, if you are selling anything to customers, you need to be set up on Google My Business.
In this article, we will be talking through, step by step, how you can create your own Google My Business account for your business the right way, and start using it to grow your business.
Let’s get straight to the steps.
Firstly go to the Google My Business site and click on ‘manage now’.
Enter your business name at the prompt and click ‘next’. We have created a fictitious company called Wooden Handmade Jewellery for this illustration.
Identify the category that describes your business the best from the drop-down.
If you cannot find an appropriate category here, Google search for your businesses’ keywords to see what category other similar businesses use, add them, then click ‘next’.
Now add the physical location of the business that customers can come and visit and click ‘next’.
If you have a service where you go out to customers, then select the ‘no’ button. We will select the ‘no’ option for our purpose as our fictitious business sells online only.
On this next page you can search and select the geographical areas where you serve your customers and click ‘next’. You could for example, enter the name of your town or city, and then add a few other key locations in a short radius from where you are based.
Despite the number of locations you enter here, you will likely rank most highly in areas closest to where your business is based.
The next thing to do is enter your contact details including phone number and website.
And then click ‘next’ and now your Google My Business page has been created.
Despite having got this far, there are a number of things you should do in order to optimise this listing to ensure you stand out and represent your business in the best way possible.
The first thing to do following on from clicking ‘finish’ in the previous screen is to fill out your physical mailing address details.
This will be hidden from the public and is where Google will send you a postcard to verify the page. We will not do this in our illustration and will click ‘verify later’.
Now you are directed to your Google My Business dashboard that gives you a variety of options to fill out.
You can add to the listing by adding details such as your hours of business, a description of what the business does, and a business logo.
At this stage you can also add photos of your business, perhaps of your storefront or of products you offer.
A really good thing to do at the outset is to tell customers of any events, promotions or new products you have by creating a post and announcing this. You can access this by clicking on ‘posts’ on the left hand menu.
There is an option to talk about your products or services in more detail.
The primary category you added earlier will be shown but it is a good idea to add additional product or service details you offer.
The focus here should be on the keywords users are likely to use to buy what you sell.
When talking about your product or service description, also keep in mind to use the keywords important and consistent with your product or service set that will facilitate your rankings in search.
If you are happy to take free consultations then adding ‘appointment links’ is a good thing to do and then add the URL of a page where people can reach out to you or get in touch, such as a ‘contact us’ page.
At the end click the ‘verify now’ button from the ‘home’ section of the dashboard in order to verify the listing with Google.
Congratulations, now that you have your Google My Business page set, not only have you made yourself more visible for customers’ intent-based searches for products and services in your area, but you have also unlocked an ability to receive and respond to reviews.
The importance of ratings and reviews, as we all know, is to provide social proof and to help develop the reputation of a company in a niche.
As far as Google is concerned, ratings and reviews are an important ranking factor in their search algorithm and contribute heavily to search engine optimisation and page ranking.
Conclusion
If you are serious about growing your business, online or offline, it is critical you have a Google My Business page set up.
Not only with this allow prospective customers to find you more easily, but it will also allow you to engage with customers to build a relationship.
The steps outlined above should get you set up in no time.
Let us know below in the comments if you have successfully set up your Google My Business page yet.