Here's How You Can Put Your Business on Google – Fast

How to make a google account - Chicago

Nothing could be more painful to a business than not being found on the biggest search engine on the planet. While there are many methods to put your business' footprint on Google SERPs, the first step is the simplest – you need to know how to make a Google account. This step will come as a surprise to many who already know how to create a Google account but have yet to maximize a free platform from Google – Google My Business.

GMB is an excellent tool for managing and optimizing your Google Business Profile. So, before we get into what Google My Business is and how it works, let's clarify what a Business Profile is. Your Google company listing is referred to as your Business Profile by Google.

In addition, local results from Google Search and Google Maps both include Business Profiles.

Adding a location to Google Maps is almost the same as a Google Business Profile, which anyone can do. Google only requires the category, location, and business name for an automated entry by Google. Once Google has confirmed that the new entry is not a duplicate, the Business Profile for that location will begin to live in Google Maps.

Customers can start leaving reviews, uploading images, asking questions, and even answering queries on specific Business Profiles. Google can also begin populating the new Business Profile with data generated and gathered elsewhere on the web. What this means is if someone leaves a harmful or zero-star review elsewhere on the web, Google can pick that up and reflect the lousy review on the automated entry on Google Maps.

A GMB account isn't required for a Business Profile to exist, foremost. And regardless of whether you built your Business Profile or not, you have no control over the data it displays or the reviews it collects and subsequently shows to potential clients or customers. Having no control over your business profile anywhere on the web is terrible news. In this case, Google My Business comes in handy. GMB makes it easy to claim a business on Google. In addition, companies that open and maintain their presence on the Google My Business platform can access, support, and enhance their Google Business Profile - free of charge!

How to Add a Business to Google

"How to add my business to Google?" Lots of business owners who have never fully committed to digital marketing ask this question. The answer to the question "how to get my business to Google?" is always the same – get on the GMB platform ASAP. A business may not know how GMB works, but Google pulls up GMB profiles millions of times per day to help people find local businesses. Queries like "dry cleaners near me" are so common that SERP results for these are solidly stacked – and those with GMB profiles are dominating their respective local markets. Here's a crucial insight – up to eighty percent of customers looking for businesses online lose trust if they see incomplete, inaccurate, or plain wrong information on business listings. Remember – Google can generate and pin business profiles on Google Maps. If you didn't create a profile and exist on Google Maps, chances are, that business profile is a wild horse and who knows what customers see in it.

You can get started on your Google My Business profile in a snap. Follow these steps:

1. Create a New Google Account

We recommend setting up a particular Google account that you will use specifically for managing your GMB profile. If you already have a central business email that's not too messy or crowded, that works too, provided it's a Google Account. Google offers a variety of services, and at any point in your interaction with these digital services, you can create a free Google Account. So, take your pick – Search, Maps, YouTube, Play, News, Gmail, Meet, Chat, Contacts, Drive, Calendar, Translate, Photos, Duo, Chrome, Shopping, Hangouts, Books… and plenty more. Make sure that your new Google Account is secure – add a strong password and use a professional-sounding username, too.

2. Visit Google My Business

GMB's homepage lives here. Since you will be updating and upgrading your GMB profile regularly (we hope!), it would be best to bookmark it.

3. Add Your Business Details

Enter the name of your company. If your name is like that of another business in your area, the autocomplete tool will propose the names of those firms to you. This is to check if your company listing already exists (to minimize duplication) and add a new GMB profile to an existing business listing if you've recently opened a new location. Don't be concerned if your company has been claimed by someone else.

Submit the form with as much detail added. You will receive a request confirmation email, and Google will contact the business's current email address. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait another seven days before contacting Google Business Support. If you receive confirmation that account ownership has been turned over to you within this period, that's fantastic! If you receive an email about ownership denial, the best thing you can do is engage with the GMB Help Community and ask one of their volunteers for guidance.

After that, enter your company's address. Then, check the box corresponding to a Service Area Business that provides goods and services to your clients from a physical location that serves a specific locale.

Service Area Businesses have two immediate options:

· Enter your business address, check the box, and click 'Next' if you can receive customers there.

· Leave the address field empty, check the box, and then check the 'Hide my address (it's not a store)' box that displays below if you don't have any physical location where people may visit you.

All enterprises that supply goods and services directly to their clients will specify a Service Area.

Next, select the appropriate business category. This is a required field that will affect the kind of search keywords for which you appear in Google and display in your Google My Business page. When it comes time to update your Google company listing, it's also something worth experimenting with. While you can change it later (which will require re-verification – more on that later), we recommend doing some research on your competition and going through a long list to pick the most accurate category for your company.

Include a phone number and a link to your website. Neither is required, but both are strongly suggested if you use GMB features like call tracking. If you ever need to update this on your Google business listing, make sure that all your other business listings are updated, too. If you don't already have a website, Google will even allow you to construct a new 'Google Website' using the information you've provided. However, there are many more SEO benefits if you have a site outside the Google ecosystem.

Don't forget to complete the verification process for Google My Business. The most common verification method is postcard verification, which is available to all firms. A verification postcard will be mailed to you. The physical postcard should arrive in about five days. Once you've got the code, you may use it to validate the business in your GMB account. If your code does not appear, go to GMB and click the 'Request another code' banner.

And now you know how to answer the question "how to put my business on Google?"-fast!

GMB in the Post-Pandemic World

Google My Business (GMB) is no longer optional — it's an essential aspect of any company's online presence and is frequently the first place customers turn for up-to-date information. This is more true than ever in the age of Covid-19. GMB has risen to prominence in the digital marketing world because of the events of the past year.

Business hours used to be reasonably steady and predictable, but that is no longer the case due to the quick changes in public health orders. As a result, you must be ready to notify your clients or customers instantly if your working hours or health protocols change.

GMB thrives in this area.

Google is the first place where consumers look for information about businesses. So it makes sense for companies to keep their GMB profiles current with their most recent business hours and any other pertinent information clients may need to conduct business. Fortunately, GMB allows you to input your business's operating schedule on the GMB panel, making any scheduling or operational updates to your audience a breeze.

You can bet that if your clients want to find out about your new opening hours or phone to check about your health and safety practices, they won't turn to the Yellow Pages. Instead, they'll Google your company's name and look for the information they need on the right-hand panel. They might search elsewhere if it isn't there. Keeping your GMB profile current is crucial when businesses reopen at a breakneck pace in a post-pandemic world. You'll lose out to your competition if you don't.