By Alison Flangel

As a small business owner, online exposure is the quickest way to recognition. It is not a secret that Google is the ultimate search engine; a Google Business Profile guarantees that people discover your business when searching for services in your local area.

PROS OF USING GOOGLE MY BUSINESS:

  • Google my Business shows customers where and how to visit your business. This includes the hours of operation, the location of your business, as well as an option for directions on how to get there
  • A Google my Business profile improves local search engine optimization. In other words, your business is more likely to come up when people search for nearby businesses on applications such as Google Maps
  • Using a Google my Business profile allows business owners to control and update contact information, as well as details such as business hours when needed. Google my Business has priority over other third-party sites, and will rank over those who might have out-of-date information
  • Customer reviews are a big part of Google my Business. The site allows consumers to leave reviews; as much or as little information as they’d like to share about their experience at your company. Having a strong review status can encourage customers to visit your business in the future

HOW TO SET UP YOUR OWN GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE:

  1. On your computer, sign-in to your Google Account, or create one if you don’t have one already. If you are creating a new account, sign up with your business email domain
  2. Once in your Google Account under your business domain, you’re automatically logged into Google Business Profile Manager.
  3. Enter the name of your business under “Name”, and then click “Next”
  4. Search for and select a business category. This is catered to indicate what type of business your company falls under. After choosing the category, click “Next”
  5. Next, choose whether your business has a physical location that consumers can visit. For businesses with a storefront that is staffed during specific hours, click “Yes”. You may then be asked to enter the business address, when finished click “Next”. For businesses that do not have a storefront staffed during specific hours, click “No”
  6. Then, you can enter the service area of your business, which gives Google an idea of what region your business caterers to. You can set your service area based on cities or postal codes (up to 20 service areas accepted)
  7. Lastly, enter a phone number and website URL that serves your business. After doing so, click “Next”
  8. To finalize your page, click “Finish”. This will then prompt you to select a verification option for security purposes – to verify at the moment, at the top of the page find a red banner and click “Verify Now”. To verify at a later time, click the “Verify Later > Later” button