How to Create a Google My Business Account
In this week’s Momentum Monday blog, learn how to create a Google My Business account, how to set it up, and why it is important.
Welcome back to another installment of our Google My Business series!
Now that you know what google my business is and how to add a new user to your Google My Business account, let’s go back to the basics and learn how to create a Google My Business account!
If you haven’t heard by now, Google My Business is Google’s free, local listings platform for Small Business Owners. Set up your Google My Business account in minutes for your business to attract more customers.
Google My Business is more than just a business listing – it is a business profile through Google that answers any potential questions a customer may have about your business.
This “profile” displays photos, FAQs, customer reviews, and much more that will build trust with a potential customer before they walk through your business’ door.
Sounds easy, right? Yes! However, only 56% of small businesses have claimed their Google My Business Listing. Are you one of those businesses who have not claimed theirs yet?
Read below to learn how to set up your Google My Business account and creating your business listing in minutes!
Select The Google Account for Your Google My Business Account
If you already have a business account with Google – fantastic! Use this as your email for your Google My Business account.
If you don’t have a business email created, create a free gmail account to begin creating your Google My Business listing.
Go to Google My Business
Once the email is selected/created go to business.google.com to begin creating your Google My Business Listing.
Sign in with your existing google email or create a Google account
When you land on the Google My Business page, Sign in to the Google Account you have already/have created for your business.
Once signed in, you can begin to manage your Google My Business listing.
Add a new location for your company business profile
On the Google My Business dashboard, you will see all existing Google My Business listings. This is where you will add the information for your business location.
Select “Add Location” to create a new business location.
Insert the name of your business
The first step to creating your business’ listing will be to insert the full name of your business under the “Business Name” category.
Google may have already scanned and indexed your business based off of the information found about it online. So, as you type in your business’ name, it may automatically populate as an option as you are typing.
If that is the case – great!
You can use the auto-populated business information to build off of for your Google My Business account.
If nothing appears, the business name will populate with the words “Create a business with this name” below the full business name. Create a new business by clicking this box.
After completed, select “Next.”
Add any additional business information
Business Location
Next, Google will ask you if your business has a location that you want your customers to physically visit.
For this option, simply select “Yes” or “No.” This will vary based on the type of business you have.
Business Address
If “Yes,” Google will then ask you to insert the address of your business.
For the business address, this needs to be a verified location. In other words, you can’t just make this up!
Google will actually send you something in the mail to ensure that this is your physical business address, so beware!
Business Scope of Work
Once the address is inserted, Google will ask if you serve customers outside of your physical address.
For this option, the answer will be totally dependent on your business and it’s products/services. Select “Yes” if you do and “No” if you don’t.
Business Areas of Service
If your business serves other areas, Google will then ask you to insert the areas that you want to focus on. For this option, you can insert multiple areas if you serve multiple cities/states with your business.
Simply insert a city or state and hit enter on your keyboard to add it to your list of serviceable areas.
Once you are happy with your list, hit “Next.” This can always be changed or updated later on.
Business Category
For this section, choose the category of business that best fits your business.
You can change your business category or add more to this in the future, once your business’ Google My Business account is set up.
Set up Contact Information
Insert any contact information that you want your customers to have.
This initially includes a phone number and a website. If you do not have a business website, Google gives you the option of not inserting one or for Google to generate a free website for you based off of the information that you have provided thus far.
Finish GMB and Verify the Information
Once you finish and verify the information – your account will be set up! You can edit, change, or add different information later on.
In order to fully manage your location, you will need to verify your information first.
As we stated before, in order to verify your business, Google will send you a postcard in the mail. This will typically take up to 5 days to make it to your business.
This postcard will include a unique code for you to enter into Google My Business to begin managing your business listing.
Select “Mail” for Google to send a postcard out to your location. Once submitted, you will see a completion page letting you know that the postcard will be in the mail.
Explore Your Local Listing
After your listing is created, the goal is to get your Google My Business listing as close to 100% complete as possible.
This means adding little things, like your business logo, business operation hours, and business description, to your Google My Business profile.
You can begin posting directly to your Google My Business listing for customers to see. Google My Business also can create a unique business email for your business through the platform – that looks like yourname@yourbusinessname on the G Suite.
On your Google My Business dashboard, you will find:
- Posts Tab. This is where you can add and manage posts to your Google My Business account.
- Info Tab. This is the main place to start with your new Google My Business account. This is where all of the current information about your business resides. You can also add or change information about your business on this tab.
- Insights Tab. This tab explores how customers are finding your Google My Business listing and what actions they take once they do.
- Reviews Tab. This tab allows you to manage your business’ customer reviews.
- Messaging Tab. This tab allows you to respond to messages from customers who find your listing on Google.
- Photos Tab. This tab allows you to add and manage photos of your business, products, and services.
- Website Tab. This tab allows you to manage the website that is linked to your Google My Business account.
- Users Tab. This tab allows you to manage and add new users to your Google My Business Account.
Ta-da! Just like that you have successfully created your Google My Business listing.
Once all of the information is inserted, your job is not done.
In order to rank, you want to constantly be managing your Google My Business listing and updating the important information.
If you successfully complete this and update the information frequently, you are guaranteed to get free, local business from this listing.
If you have any questions feel free to leave us a comment!