If you don\’t know what I\’m talking about then you\’re missing out on one of the best (and easiest) Local SEO for Small Business factors. A Google My Business (GMB) listing is easy to create, gives you a great opportunity to market your business, gather reviews, and play to Google\’s ego. This Super Fast, Bite-Sized Guide will walk you through the quick links and how-to\’s for creating your listing. Let\’s get started:
Create Your Google My Business Listing
Let\’s run through the checklist and keep things as simple and brief for you as possible. Here we go:
- Choose your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) – make sure this information is consistent across all of your online listings. For example. don\’t use \”First Call – Web\” for your Google listing and then use \”First Call – Websites\” for your Facebook. Keep it consistent!
- Follow this link to Create Your GMB Listing.
- Follow the prompts to add in your basic NAP for your listing. If your business already exists then Google will prompt you to claim it using either a postcard or phone call. If you are creating a listing, you may need to work through this verification as well.
- If necessary, create a business-only gmail to tie to the listing. Why? In case you want someone to update this listing in the future, you won\’t have to give them your personal gmail to do the update.
- Voila! You have created a basic GMB listing.
What Now?
You\’ve knocked out the most basic step to get your GMB listing. This listing is used by Google to display in its Maps and Google Searches. You can leave this as-is and be happy you\’ve made it this far or you can take it to the next level by uploading images, videos, descriptions, and posting regularly to this listing as you would a social account.
According to Google, \”Businesses that add photos to their Business Profiles receive 42% more requests for directions on Google Maps, and 35% more clicks through to their websites than businesses that don’t.\”
Google will favor your listing if you show that you update it regularly. Likewise, you should absolutely check this listing regularly for Google Reviews. These reviews should always have a reply since this is a feature of Local SEO. Likewise, encouraging customers to leave a review here can also help you rank better overall.
There is a lot you can do to boost your Local SEO overall but this is one thing some businesses overlook. Don\’t miss out! It only takes a few minutes. Go do it now!
