Here’s How to Create a Great Google My Business Page

If you are like many people, you might not realize that Google will give you a one page business listing to help customers find you online, and it’s absolutely free! It’s called a Google My Business Page. You may have noticed that some businesses show up as a “dot on a local map” whenever you’ve done an online search for say, a “dentist in San Rafael” or “chiropractor in San Anselmo.” Those businesses appear on the map because they have a Google My Business Page.

This blog post is about how to set up your Google My Business Page so that it is helpful to current and prospective clients and as search engine friendly as possible.

SEO-Google-Business-Page

This “dot on a map” aspect of Google My Business Pages works for “brick and mortar” businesses, such as chiropractors, attorneys and retail stores. If you aren’t the type of business that has a physical presence that customers come to, like mine, a Google My Business page is still valuable because it will display your address, hours of operation, phone number, link to your website and customer reviews whenever someone Googles your business by name.

Hint: you may already have a Google My Business Page that has been set up by Google, using information that it has gathered somewhere on the Internet. Google’s information about your business could be inaccurate. If that’s the case, you’ll need to “claim” your page before you can change it.

Here’s how to set up or claim your Google My Business Page:

  1. Get started by logging into Google My Business.
  2. Enter your basic business information: name, phone number and address. If you don’t want to show your physical address on your business page, you can check the box that says “I deliver goods and services to my customers at their location.”
  3. If you don’t have a Google+ account, you’ll have to set up one up at the same time – it will just take a few minutes.
  4. Google will want you to verify your business by postcard or phone. None of the information you enter on your Google My Business Page will appear online until you verify your business. I always recommend verifying your business, then continue entering your business information while you’re waiting for the verification postcard.
  5. Pick a business category, or several categories. There are hundreds of business categories to choose from. If your business specializes in more than one category, add it. You may not find a category that exactly matches your business, but find one that is close. For example, I use Internet Marketing Service because there’s no Google category for SEO or writer.
  6. Add the hours you are open.  This will be displayed in your listing.
  7. Add photos that represent your business or, if you are like me, examples of your work. Be sure to add a profile photo too!
  8. Save your work and wait for the postcard to arrive in the mail with your verification code. This usually takes 3-5 business days. Then, follow the instructions on the postcard. As soon as your listing is verified by Google, it will be live. Congratulations! You should have something that looks like this that tells the world about your business.  Now, customers can provide reviews.

Website Wordsmith Google Business Page

Carolyn Kohler is an SEO writer who specializes in helping businesses get found online. Her company is Website Wordsmith, and she is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.