Google My Business is an important tool to establish your business’s presence in your industry. Unlike SEO, which focuses on getting foot traffic to a website, Google My Business is focused on getting foot traffic into your locations, such as branches or stores. For this reason, optimization looks completely different for a Google My Business listing than your typical SEO strategy for your website. However, before you can move forward with ensuring your Google My Business profile is properly optimized, you must first understand how to create your profile and claim it as your own.
Claiming Your Business on Google
1. Sign In
- Go to https://www.google.com/business/.
- Click “Sign in” in the top-right corner.
- Fill in the credentials of the Google account that you would like to be associated with your business name.
2. Find Your Company
- Click “Manage now” in the top-right corner.
- Enter your business name in the search field.
- Select your business name from the dropdown if it appears as an option.
- If you do not see your business name in the dropdown, you will need to select “create a business with this name”.
3. Claim Your Business
- Under the Business Profile, click “Manage now”.
- Select a verification option and follow the on-screen steps.
4. Verify Your Business
- After you verify your business, Google may ask you to review your info and make any final changes.
- Please note that it may take a few weeks for your business info to show across Google.
Ensure Your Listing is Up to Date for “Near Me” Searches
Have you ever made a “near me” search that relates to your business and noticed the following snippet located above the organic search results section?
This section is driven from Google My Business, and the order in which your business appears depends on how well you optimize your listing. It’s important to keep listing information as complete and up to date as possible, all while having a lot of engagement with your ratings so that you can be visible in this snippet. If your institution has a long list of locations it may be beneficial to seek an automated listing management company, such as Yext. Listing management tools can give you better control over your listings, making it easier to manage numerous branches at the same time.
Contact us if you need additional help with claiming your business and follow our guide to an optimized Google My Business listing to ensure you are checking all the boxes to be visible to users.
