Google My Business (GMB), is an online dashboard that allows you to manage all of the information that Google displays about your company in searches and in Google maps. You can provide everything from your company name, address and phone number to information regarding your services along with pictures, reviews, and more.
If you optimize your free Google my Business listing properly, it can become a 24/7 local lead generation machine!
Sound important? It is! Because over 86% of searches come from Google, it’s important to make sure that all of the information in your business’s listing is up to date. Google My Business listings will give you a fairly high SEO boost as well. For local businesses especially, the time spent on your GMB account is invaluable.
The initial set up for a GMB listing isn’t extremely difficult, and won’t take you very long.
Depending on what option you end up choosing, verifying it can take a few weeks.
If your business doesn’t exist in Google yet, you’ll need to create a brand new listing. This is common if you just launched your first website or only recently started your business. A new listing will submit your business information to Google so it can show up in search.
Once you’ve claimed and verified your listing, you’ll be able to update your business’s information, and optimize your google business profile and google map listing. To do this, visit business.google.com and log in with the email you used to claim the listing.
On the left side, you’ll see a list of areas you can make changes or view analytics. Choose ‘Info’ and you’ll be able to edit all of the information visible. Add as much accurate information as you can.
While claiming your Google My Business listing is easy, most businesses don’t ever think to do it. However, having an accurate and up-to-date listing will improve your website rankings, as well as possibly give you access to the “Maps 3-Pack,” the top Maps search results that show on both Google Maps and Search.