Having a strong online presence is essential for any business looking to attract and retain customers. But with so many options available, where do you start? Google My Business (GMB), now known as Google Business Profile , is one of the most powerful and underutilized tools for ensuring your business is found by local customers.
If you're not already using Google My Business, you're missing out on a valuable opportunity to improve your business's visibility.
In this in-depth guide, we'll show you how to create and optimize your Google My Business profile , highlighting the information you should include and best practices for standing out in Google search results and Google Maps.
Ready to take your online presence to the next level? Let's get started!
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business, now known as Google Business Profile, is a free tool that helps you manage your company's online presence . With it, you can share important information like your name, address, and hours of operation, add photos, respond to customer reviews, and understand how people are finding your business online.
This feature is essential for local businesses that want to be found by potential customers searching for services or products in their area.
Why the name change?
In 2021, Google announced that Google My Business would be renamed Google Business Profile. This name change better reflects the tool's functionality, which focuses on helping businesses manage their online business profiles more efficiently.
The new naming convention aims to simplify the user experience, making it more intuitive for business owners to understand the platform's purpose and benefits.
👉Check out: Local SEO: what it is and how to increase the chances of your company being found by local consumers
Why use Google My Business? Advantages of the Tool
- Digital Reputation: What it is, and why it is important for companies Voice of the Customer (VOC): What it is, and how implementing the methodology improves the customer experience
- Win more customers : Businesses that add photos receive 42% more requests for directions on Google Maps and 35% more clicks to their websites than those that don't add photos.
- Understand and expand your online presence : Google Insights allows you to track the performance of your profile, providing valuable data on how customers are interacting with your business.
Who can use Google My Business?
The tool is ideal for businesses with a physical location or that provide on-site service. If your business is exclusively online, Google My Business may not be the best option. Learn more here to see if your business qualifies.
How to create a Google My Business account
1. Create your account for free
- Go to google.com.br/business and click “Start now”.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- Enter your company name and click "Next." You can select your company from the suggestions displayed.
- Enter your business address and click "Next." Position the marker on the map.
- If you deliver at the customer's location, follow the additional steps to define the delivery area.
- Select a business category and enter your company's phone number or website URL.
- Complete the registration and confirm your relationship with the company.
Note 1 : If you see the message "This listing has already been claimed," click Request Access and follow the instructions to claim your business. Learn more about claiming ownership of a listing in GMN .
Note 2: It is very important that you keep the information about your company, or the multiple locations you manage, complete and up to date.
2. Check your page
This step is required for you to edit and manage your page on Google. You'll be asked to choose a verification method, which is how Google verifies that you're the owner or an authorized representative. These are the two most common methods:
- By phone: Google will contact you to confirm your registered information. The call will be made to the number you provided when registering your business.
- By mail : You'll receive a letter with the code printed on it. The letter will be sent to the address you provided when registering your business. After receiving the verification code, return to google.com/business . Log in and click Verify Location in the menu (or click the Verify Now button). Then, follow the instructions to enter the verification code from your postcard.
- Bulk Verification: bulk location verification option . Follow this link to learn how to verify multiple establishments on the platform .
3. Resolve duplicate profiles
When you type in your company name, GMN displays a list of companies, one of which may be yours. However, the platform may display two or more accounts for your company, which are not branches, but duplicates from the same location.
If this happens to you, do the following: go to Google Maps, search for the business you want to register, and look for the one with the most complete or relevant information in the results. Give preference to the account with the most reviews or photos. Now return to Google My Business and register your chosen business following the steps provided by the tool. Your next step is to delete the duplicate location.
4. Report duplicate locations on Google Maps
- Open Google Maps .
- Find and select the duplicate location.
- Click Suggest Change.
- Select Remove this location.
- Select Duplicate Place as the Reason for Removal.
- Click Submit.
Watch our webinar on how to register your company on Google My Business Correctly
How to make my business stand out with Google My Business
Managing your online performance through the tool will help more potential customers find your business on Google.
1. Keep your information up to date
Make sure information like hours of operation, address, phone number, and photos are always up-to-date. Outdated information can lead to missed opportunities.
Keep an eye on:
- Opening hours;
- Physical address (if you change your address, you will need to go through the verification process again to confirm your new address)
- Phone number;
- Category;
- Website;
- Photos.
Here are some tips for photo types:
- Photos of the business's exterior: These help customers get to know your business. When taking the photo, try to capture the image as it would reflect what the customer would see when approaching your business.
- Interior photos: help customers get a feel for the atmosphere of the place. Accurately capture what it's like to be inside your business. Explore the various angles and details that can capture the essence of the establishment.
- Product photos: help customers get a better idea of what you do and offer. Show photos of your most popular products. Ensure the images you capture are well-lit.
- Staff photos: These help showcase the more human side of your establishment. Show something a little less formal and more relaxed to humanize your company. The idea is to highlight your employees' personalities and convey a sense of who you are.
2. Interact with your customers
Share photos: Showcase your company's day-to-day operations. Real photos are more popular than stock photos.
Respond to reviews: Interacting with reviews shows that you value your customers, increasing trust and attracting new customers.
👉Check out: How online review management impacts your social media planning
3. Factors that impact Google's local ranking
Want to appear in the top 3 of Google's local search results? Learn about the 3 main ranking factors that will help you achieve this:
- Relevance
- Distance
- Prominence
1. Relevance:
Relevance determines the best match between a local business and a user's search. Adding complete and detailed business information helps Google better understand your business and position it based on its relevance to the consumer.
2. Distance:
How close are you to the person searching for a particular business? Distance is the physical distance between each potential search result and the location used in the search. Keep in mind that relevance will be the strongest signal. If a more distant business is more likely to offer what the consumer is looking for, Google will rank it higher than a closer business (which, in Google's view, satisfy the customer
3. Prominence:
How well-known is your business? Prominence refers to a company's popularity. It's measured based on Google's web information about a company (such as links, articles, and directories). Its position in web results is also included, so SEO practices also apply to local search optimization.
👉Check it out: Want to appear in Google's local search? Discover the 3 main ranking factors that will help you do so.
4. Add owners and managers
Share responsibilities by adding owners and admins to your Page and keep your online presence up to date. Users with whom you share access may have different access levels, and you can see more details at this link .
To add a location owner or admin, follow these steps:
- Sign in to Google My Business .
- If you have multiple locations, open the one you'd like to manage.
- Click Users in the menu.
- In the top right corner, click the “Invite new users” icon
- Enter the name or email address of the user you'd like to add.
Note: If you're adding an agency to your location, you'll need to include their location group code here (you may need to contact the agency and request this code). - Select the user role: Owner, Administrator, or Location Manager.
- Click Invite. Guests will have the option to accept the invitation and immediately become users.
Watch our webinar on how to optimize your Google My Business presence to attract more customers to your physical stores organically.
How to correctly complete your company profile on Google My Business
The more complete and up-to-date your profile is, the better your chances of ranking on Google. Here are some helpful tips on the types of information you can add to your company's GMN listing:
Company name
Enter your business name exactly as it's used in the real world. Tip: This name should be exactly the same everywhere your business has an online profile: TripAdvisor, Facebook, website, etc. This allows Google to see that all the information is from the same place, strengthening your online presence.
Category
Choose the option that best represents your main activity. You can choose up to 9 categories, but the category entered in the first field will be considered the primary one. If you have multiple locations, they should all share the primary category. Tip: Don't use categories solely as keywords or to describe an attribute of your company. This could lead to missed opportunities.
Address
Enter the full and exact address of your business location. If you don't serve customers at your address, leave this field blank. Do not include information such as "Corner of Presidente Vargas Avenue and Rio Branco Avenue" or "Facing Diário Square." Remember: If you change your address after requesting verification, you will need to verify your business again.
Opening hours
Inform customers of your normal business hours. You can also establish special business hours for holidays, for example. Some businesses should not disclose their business hours, such as hotels and similar types of accommodations, those with varying business hours (such as schedules for different types of activities, including performances, religious services, or classes), and those that operate by appointment only.
Website and phone number
Enter a phone number that's most directly related to your business's location, or provide a website that matches it. Tips:
- Prefer to use a local phone number instead of a call center number.
- Don't provide phone numbers or URLs that direct users to landing pages or phone numbers that aren't actually your company's, including pages created on social media sites.
- The phone number must be controlled directly by the company.
Attributes
Attributes provide customers with more information about your business (e.g., "Has Wi-Fi," "Has outdoor seating," etc.). You can edit some concrete attributes (such as outdoor seating). However, subjective attributes, such as whether the business is known to locals, are related to the opinions of Google users who have visited it.
Photos and videos
Add your own business photos to showcase your products and services to people who are searching for what you offer. Explore diverse photos to highlight features of your business that customers consider when making purchasing decisions.
Description
Be as brief and objective as possible, and talk about what your company offers, what sets it apart from the competition, its history, or other useful information for customers. Please note: the description is not the place for information about promotions, prices, or sales. Focus on what makes your company unique.
An example cited by Google itself:
Our artisanal cafe is just a few meters from the city center and is very busy with people meeting friends for ice cream or pizza. We deliver. We have 35 flavors of homemade ice cream and sorbets, served by hand year-round. We also serve delicious thin-crust, crispy pizza every day starting at noon. We look forward to seeing you!
Menu or Services
If you're a food and beverage or health and beauty business, this option will appear for you. List your menu items or services with their prices. Group them into sections to keep the menu organized. When customers find your profile, they'll see your items under "Menu" or "Services."
Now that you know what information to enter in your GMN profile, see how to change or update that information.
Editing your business information
Sign in to Google My Business .
- If you have multiple locations, open the one you'd like to manage.
- In the menu, click Information.
- Click the section you want to change and enter the new information in the box that appears. To remove a section, click the X next to it. Remember:
- Removing previously added information can take up to 60 days.
- It is not possible to remove information that is also publicly available or has other sources.
- You also can't remove editorial summaries or web keywords that appear alongside your business.
- Click Apply.
Conclusion
Google My Business is a powerful tool for increasing your company's online visibility. Keep your information up-to-date and respond to reviews to improve your reputation and attract more customers.
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