Wake up! Your customers are using their phones to look you up more than their desktop. Which means, they’re GOOGLING you. Let’s make sure you can be found. Many business owners have not added their business to Google. Let’s go through the steps one-by-one.
1) Go to 'Google my business'
Head on over to the ‘Google My Business’, a website created by Google.
Why would you want to do this? Well, for one, this is how you add your business on Google. Second, you get all the benefits Google provides, for example, placing your business front and center for your customers. That means your customers will be able to find you on Google Maps and the original Google Search.
2) Find your business
In order to successfully add your business on Google, you have to click the green ‘start here’ button to search for your business.
Enter your business name and address so Google can find it.
3) Select or Add your business on google
If you can’t find your business by entering your business name and address, then you must add your business to Google.
Carefully consider how you will be adding your name, address, and contact information because this is what your customers will see when they search for your Business.
For example, are you going to spell out “Street” in your address or simply leave it at “St”? Here’s a hint, keep your address consistent across all of your social media channels to assist in your web presence.
It goes without saying, but make sure you have accurate information on your listing. We can’t tell you how many times we run across businesses advertising for a completely different thing than their trade or business.
4) Select your category
Don’t spend too much time on this section as we know it can be tricky on what to select. However, select the most appropriate industry your business functions in.
Begin typing the industry or keyword, and Google with spit out a few suggestions for you. Don’t worry, you will be able to go back and add a few more categories after you are done adding your business on Google.
However, make sure you are not putting down ‘Restaurant’ as your category when you’re really a dentist clinic.
5) Verify your business
We’re almost done now! Google will ask you to verify your business (for good reason). They accomplish this one of two ways:
1) Via postcard with a unique PIN code
2) Via text message with a unique PIN code (available for select categories)
We recommend going with the text message option (if available) because it’s the quicker option of the two. The postcard can take up to 1-2 weeks to deliver and confirm.
6) Done!
Now you know how to successfully add your business to Google, a tactic that not a lot of business owners are aware of. This will alow your customers to find your business even faster, and be able to check out your website, social media, and reviews! We can’t tell you how many business owners we find that don’t know how powerful this tip is and that ANYONE can claim their business listing for themselves. That’s why it’s important that you act now and add your business on Google.
