At Google Marketing Live 2022, it was said that more than 4.9 billion individuals are connected to the internet.
And every day, more than a billion people use Google to shop.
If you want to increase your consumer base and expand your business, you should list your business on Google if you haven’t already.
Being on Google will allow more people to see what you have to offer, whether you are a home-based business or a tiny brick-and-mortar store.
But how does one get their business listed on Google?
Don’t worry, this is something that anyone can do.
Follow along as I walk you through the process of getting your small business listed on Google My Business.
Let’s get started
Carry out an online search.
To begin, type Google My Business into your browser.
You might want to try using Google Chrome as a web browser.
For this demonstration, I’ll be utilizing that browser.
When the search results appear, select the “Google Business Profile-Get Listed on Google” option.
The first result on the page should be it.
That link should send you to the page that states, “Stand out on Google with a free Business Profile.”
Then click the blue button that says “Manage Now”.
Please log in
Then you’ll notice where you’ll be asked to sign in. You may use your Google email address to sign in.
A Google email address is recommended. You’ll be able to utilize other Google services like YouTube and Google Sites as a result.
Find and manage your business
Here you can check to see if your business is already listed on Google.
It’s possible that it was previously listed for some reason.
If say it was previously listed, Google will prompt you to claim it if it hasn’t already been claimed.
If it is that your business isn’t yet listed on Google, you can go ahead and add it.
Start building your business profile
The following steps are for you to add your business name and choose your business category.
You can choose a category that is comparable to yours if your business type isn’t mentioned.
Continue by pressing the next button.
Do you want to add a business location customers can visit, like a store or office?
If you want to add a place for customers to visit, you can select “yes”.
If you don’t have a physical storefront or want to run your business entirely online, you can choose “no”.
After that, press Next.
Where do you serve your customers?
On this page, you will be asked to choose your service area or areas.
For this section, you can choose just one or more than one town, city, or country.
Then select Next to move on.
What region is your business based in?
On this page, you may now indicate the region or country your business is based in.
Click next after you’ve selected your region or country.
Let’s keep going since we’re making tremendous progress.
Add contact info
Now it’s time for you to add your contact info.
You can list your business’s phone number, website, or both here.
This is where you enter your website if you have one. If you don’t have a website, you can check the box that says, “I don’t have a website.”
Then, to proceed, click Next.
Stay in the know
On this page, Google will ask if you want to be notified of any new updates.
You can choose “yes” if you want to stay current.
After that, you can move on to the next step by clicking Next.
Please enter your mailing address to verify
Your address is what you should enter here.
For this, you can use the physical location if your business has one.
Or if, say, it’s a home-based business, you could add your home address or a P.O. box.
When you are finished entering your address, click next.
Choose a way to verify
Your phone number may be used by Google to validate your account.
Don’t worry, this is a simple process.
They may send you a text message containing the verification code.
And all you have to do now is enter it to be confirmed, and then you can move on.
“Your code was accepted,” the next page should state.
If that’s the case, you can move on to the following step.
Add you services
The service you should select here is whatever you provide for your customers.
Earlier you were asked to choose a category, so you may add the same thing here.
Google may preselect a service type that matches your business category.
You may choose another service by clicking “add custom service”.
After you’re satisfied with that, you may then click next.
You’re almost at the end. Let’s finish this up.
Add business hours
When it comes to your business hours, you have complete control over which days and times it will be available to the public.
If you’re running an online e-commerce store, for example, you can configure your hours to be open 24 hours a day.
After you’ve finished setting up your opening hours, click next.
Add messaging
Customers will be able to contact you more easily if you have messaging set up for your Google My Business profile.
This is beneficial to your business.
So you may toggle the swish next to “Accept Messages”.
Click Next when you’re finished.
Add business description
Because your business will appear on Google services such as Search and Maps, you may want to quickly describe what your brand does.
Spend some time writing a description that will entice readers to want to learn more about your business.
You can skip this section and come back to it later if you like.
Click “skip” or “next”.
Things are shaping up nicely. Let’s continue.
Add photos of your business
For the photo section, you can add pictures of the front of your business if you have a physical location.
That way, your customers could easily identify your business if they were to do a location search on Google maps.
Other photos can be those of inside your establishment.
It’s a great way to give your existing and potential clients a look at what you have to offer.
You can add these later if you’d like as well.
I highly recommend Canva as a great website to find additional images and videos for your business.
They also have a ton of social media post templates. This link will take you to their website where you can learn more about them.
So choose “Skip” or “Next” after you’ve decided what you’re going to do with the photos.
Get free advertising credit
If your business is based in a major country, like, say, the USA, Google may offer you a $500.00 advertising credit.
Your edits will be visible once you’re verified
That’s it!
You are at the end of the setup process…
All it is for you to do now is to give Google a few hours or days to fully verify your information.
In the meantime, you may want to go through and finetune any data that you think you want your customers to be aware of.
Please note that any changes you make on your business profile Google may need to verify.
I usually don’t do any further updates to the Google My Business profile until after it’s first verified and live on Google.
I hope you found this step-by-step guide on how to set up your Google My Business profile and get your business listed on Google for free, useful.
If you think you might need some help with this or something else for your home-based or small business, feel free to get in touch. May your online ventures be successful.
Please note: The information and photos on this page are just meant to be used as examples. As a result, when you’re going through the Google My Business website’s step-by-step setup, the material may look different…
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