When you are running your small business, Google can really be your best friend. The only issue? Everyone and their moms are on the website, and it can be hard to make your page stand out from the rest. That’s why we’re here! As SEO bloggers for photographers, we’ve had quite a bit of experience helping our clients build their base by standing apart from the competition. If you have been looking for a comprehensive guide on how to list your business on Google, grab your coffee, make yourself comfortable, and let us walk you through it!
What Is A Google My Business Profile And How To List Your Business On Google
Before we get too carried away with listing your business, let’s chat about what a GMB business profile is, as well as why it’s so crucial for Google. First off, the acronym. GMB basically just means “Google My Business.” While the company might have started calling it Google Business Profile, GMB is still the term you’ll see thrown around a lot. This is a tool that Google gives you for a grand total of zero dollars and zero cents. Essentially, you are going to use this tool to create an online storefront where people can check you out. So, when they go to, well, Google your business, your page is going to come up.
Not only will it be clear and visible, but it will make you far more accessible to potential clients. You can list deals on there, tell people about any upcoming events, or answer questions that people might have for you. If someone posts a positive review, you can thank them for your business. If they post something less than flattering, you can work with them to resolve the issue so potential clients can see how passionate you are about doing things right. Restaurants can use the tools to let their clients order food straight from the Google page, while service-based companies can allow their clients to request a quote.
How Does Listing Your Business Help You?
Think for a second about how powerful listing your business on Google can really be. When someone is looking to, say, replace their roof, they are probably spending a lot of their precious time searching for contractors and placing phone calls. If you give someone the option to request a quote through submitting a request that takes all of five seconds, of course, they will at least inquire! In fact, SEO experts have reported that using a GMB will result in a call or visit from over 88% of local searches. Most of us simply cannot afford to miss out on those numbers!
Another great thing about setting up a GMB page is how much they let you track what’s going on with your business. As certifiable data nerds, we love getting to see information like what keywords people use to find us, how many people have viewed our website, and how many people have interacted with our profile in one way or another. Not only does it let us see how well we are currently doing, but it also gives us information on how to improve. If we notice more people are finding us based on certain keywords, we are going to optimize our site by using those more.
What Happens When You Don’t Use It?
While it can be easy to see all the perks of listing your business, let’s talk about what can happen if you decide not to use Google. Not only are you going to miss out on a lot of those opportunities we talked about earlier, but you will also lose credibility. Think about how often you use things like Google pages or product reviews to decide if you want to trust someone with your money. If you have no web presence, no reviews, and no known client experience, there’s a good chance people will simply ignore you and move on to someone they are positive will be a good match.
For those with a physical storefront, Google won’t list you on Google Maps, which can cause a lot of headaches for those who do decide to visit. For those with a simple online storefront, you are missing out on that precious SEO and likely won’t have nearly as many clients as you would by creating a Google Business Profile.
Okay, so hopefully by now, we’ve convinced you why you need a Google Business Profile. Now, it’s just a matter of knowing how to do it. We’re here for that, too. With this step-by-step guide, you’ll be getting brand new clients in no time!
The 10 Easy Steps For How To List Your Business On Google
Go to Google My Business
The very first thing you are going to do? Go to Google My Business. Easy enough, right? Well, while you are there, we encourage you to go ahead and bookmark that page. This way, you can make it a part of your daily or weekly Google routine to stop by and see how things are going with your business listing. Trust us, you should be using it a lot, so make it as easy on your future self as possible!
Log In With Your Google Account
Next up, log in with your Google account. Don’t have one? No sweat! Google lets you create a free account over at https://www.google.com/accounts. You don’t even need a Gmail address to start. They let you enter any valid email address to create an account. In fact, we always encourage our clients to use their business email address if they have one. This will ensure you have some professional consistency as people start to click. You will also need to set a password. Be sure to make it something people won’t easily guess. The internet isn’t exactly the epicenter of maturity and respect. You don’t want anyone else to access your account and take over your page for a minute or two.
Enter Your Business Name
Once you have a Google account, the very first thing they will prompt you to do is enter your business listing name. Be sure you type everything in correctly. Sure, this might seem like a simple reminder, but we’ve seen quite a few companies with inaccurate titles. Don’t let your excitement over new clients cause you to speed through this step. Otherwise, no one will be able to actually find you! Also, be sure to capitalize the first letter of every word. After all, you are a professional. Now, you need to let your clients know it!
Enter Your Business Address
Again, this is going to be where proofreading is going to be your bestie. When you list your address, you want to make it as exact as possible. Also, in a separate tab, type in “[your business name] address” to see if other websites or directories have your address listed. This is just to be sure there are no discrepancies in your listing and other webpages.
Choose Your Business Type
Next, it’s time to let people know what kind of business you are. Are you a storefront? Do you provide services in people’s homes? Do you have a private office but would rather not have people drop by randomly? These are all things you can specify. You can also let people know the mile radius around your business or what zip codes you will work with. That way, people will know they’re not wasting their time by inquiring about your services if they’re too far away.
Choose Your Business Category
Okay, this next step is pretty darn important for listing your business on Google. It can also be one that people get really stuck on. It’s time to categorize your business. If you do mess up, this can be changed later, but you are still missing out on potential clients until you get this corrected! Remember, you are here so people can find you on Google, and the right category will ensure people can actually do just that. For some people, this will be relatively easy. If you are a bakery, you can just enter “bakery.” If you are a family photographer, you can list that.
However, if you run a unique spot that can fall into different categories, spend a little bit of time looking at your competitors (you know the ones) and seeing how they have categorized themselves online. A nice feature that Google has added is the ability to choose secondary categories. This can be handy for places like, let’s say, coffee shops that want to be listed as cafes or Italian restaurants that deliver pizza across their cities. Just be sure you have a primary category you feel like best sums up your biz.
Add Your Contact Info
Next up comes adding your contact information. You already know what we’re about to say here, but make sure it’s accurate. Think of all the times you called a business by directly clicking on the little Google phone icon. Now, imagine if it went to the wrong number. You’d give up and just move on to your second favorite Chinese restaurant, right? Your contact information will also include your website URL as well as your email address. Additionally, if you have a storefront, you will enter your business hours, so customers will know when they can swing by to see your beautiful face!
Verify Your Local Listing
So, you have entered all the necessary information and are feeling pretty good about it all. Now, it’s time to go live with your Google business listing. But before you can do so, you will need to verify your business through Google. It might seem like just another hurdle, but we promise, this one is important! They want to make sure you are an authorized individual with the capability of managing your business. Trust us, you don’t want some random person to wind up with the ability to change your listing! You will have several options to do so:
Postcard by Mail: This is the most common option, especially with storefronts. With this, they will send a postcard with a code to the business address. Once you get it, you can log in and enter the code.
Phone Verification: This is an option for some businesses. Google will just call you with the code, and you can enter it in.
Email Verification: This one is far rarer (again, for good reasons!), but Google can occasionally email the code to the associated business address.
Once you have that, you can be shown in search results and on Google Maps!
Optimize Your Profile
Now, it’s time to get people to see your page! There are several ways to get more views:
- Describe your business: Don’t skip the business description, and don’t do the bare minimum! Tell people all about what you do by creating an engaging description using keywords that are relevant to your industry. This is going to boost your SEO so you come up first when people are typing things like “headshot photographers near me.” There are additional tools out there, including local SEO ranking checkers, to let you know which words perform best near you.
- Services and Products: Let people know what you do and why they need you in their lives. The descriptions and prices will help people decide whether they think you are the right person for what they need.
- Photos: Use high-quality pictures to let people get a peek into what you do. Show off the exterior and the interior, as well as some of the work you’ve done. This step is super effective! Businesses that have attached photos get 42% more requests for directions and 35% more website clicks.
- Special Attributes: Are you wheelchair accessible? Do you have health and safety protocols in place? Let people know so they can see if you are a viable option for them!
Manage and Update Your Listing Regularly (Like Posting Your Blog Posts!)
Now that you have your website listed, it’s time to maintain it so you can continue to gain credibility. Let people know how much you care about providing a positive experience by replying to reviews, both positive and negative. We also encourage people to look at their actual business websites to get noticed. At Rokee and Co, we offer SEO blogging specialists who will create posts on your website using keywords that boost clicks. It’s an easy way to regularly move up in rankings and land yourself on that coveted front page! And don’t forget to utilize your social media!
You Will Love The Difference You See After Using These Tips For How To List Your Business On Google
We hope this guide on how to list your business on Google helps you as you get your business off the ground. If you do want to learn more about using blogs to boost your SEO, let’s chat about it! We would love to tell you all about how we’ve helped professionals just like you organically grow their client base with hardly any extra work. Reach out today to get the convo started! And if you aren’t on it already, join our email list below to be the first to hear about our periodic sales and get great tips like these directly to your inbox!
