Most Effective Way To Create a Google My Business Profile
Get Your Business Where It Deserves To Be The Map Pack
Why is Google Business Profile Important?
Do you know that there are more than 1.5 billion people on Google Maps? These numbers show the power of a well-optimized GMB and the need for every business to have one. On this page, we will discuss how Towne Lake SEO can create an optimized Google My Business account and how important it is to your business growth.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that helps business owners manage their presence on Google. The Google My Business tool allows business owners to create a page, add content and manage their online presence.
Many local business owners don't realize the importance of keeping all your information accurate across several platforms. Information like business name, business address, business location, business hours, and business website URL can change over time, leaving Google unsure what is the correct information. Google will find information on the internet to create a google business listing even if the business has not claimed its profile.
What is a Google My Business profile?
A Google My Business Profile is a free business listing to help customers discover local businesses through a local search on the Google search engine. Customers can leave google reviews on the business profile. Creating a professional Google My Business profile will optimize your business for the services offered.
As mentioned above, Google will create a business listing and business profile even if the business owner has not set up a business profile. Most business owners are not aware that even after they have claimed their Google My Business listing, Google will continually attempt to provide customers with the best possible information about your Roofing Business. We advise all of our home service customers, from HVAC contractors to Roofers, to check the Google My Business dashboard for changes users or Google is suggesting. If these changes go unchecked, Google will make the changes to the Google My Business profile permanent.
What are the benefits of having your business listed on google?
Your Google My Business profile is one of the essential cornerstones to your digital marketing presence. Towne Lake SEO will use the Google My Business dashboard to help set up your google account, maximize your customer reach, and improve local search results.
Some of the benefits to optimizing your Google My Business account is:
- Opportunity to show up in the local search results under the map.
- Great way to get in front of customers
- Enhanced local SEO to boost organic traffic
- An effective way to increase local rankings
- Increased customer engagement
- Control over Business Profile
- Run offers directly to customers viewing the Google My Business account
- New customers can read positive reviews.
- Easy for Small Business Owners
- Set a service area for the business
How do I get my business at the top of Google Search?
Properly optimizing a Google My Business account is one of the most effective ways to increase visibility in local SEO search results and get a Google business account to the top of Google Search. Providing business information like business service areas will narrow your competitors to only those that serve customers for your industry in that local area.
Another factor that will come into play with local ranking is staying active on your Google My Business profile. Regularly create posts to keep potential customers updated on events happening with your business. Post pictures of the team at or participating in the events the company is hosting. Share these posts to social media accounts such as a Facebook page.
Having a complete online presence with an optimized website and listing the business website address in the Google My Business dashboard. Link Google Search Console and Google Analytics to the business website.
What is the most effective way to create a Google My Business Listing?
The most effective way to create a Google My Business listing is through a Local SEO Company like Towne Lake SEO. There are many facets to creating a Google My Business profile. Google accounts evolve sections are added and taken away. Google is consistently looking for ways to improve the accuracy of the information it gives to customers.
Towne Lake SEO offers SEO for Home Service Contractors, this includes SEO for HVAC and SEO For Roofers. Towne Lake SEO understands a small HVAC contractor business is not ready to hire a Home Services SEO professional to create a Google Business listing. We have set up this free how-to guide to creating an account for the HVAC contractors or Roofers just starting.
Is Google My Business Free?
Your Google My Business profile is a free google account. Google offers a paid Google business account which should not be confused with the free Google My Business Profile. Remember, by adding Roofing business accounts to Google’s business listings. Roofers are helping Google to serve its customers better and improve customers’ search experience.
Is it worth it to create a Google My Business Listing?
Absolutely yes! It is worth it to create a Google My Business listing. If the business owner decides not to claim the free Google My Business Profile, Google will scrape information from the internet to create a profile as accurately as it can. To this day, there are 1000’s of businesses that have a Google My Business Profile automatically created but never claimed. The verification process has been made simple as having a verification code mailed to the place of business for the owner to later enter into the Google Business Profile.
The auto-generated Google My Business profiles are known to contain errors which is why it is so important to take the time to set up the business account properly. Business accounts should have basic business location, business name, business phone number, and select the appropriate business category.
Your Free account is waiting for you to claim. It all starts with your Google My Business Profile and a verification code sent out. Keep reading to learn how to create a Google My Business profile.
Why is my business not showing up on Google?
There are several reasons why a business is not showing up on Google for a relevant search. Looking to Towne Lake SEO’s Google Search Engine Optimization Guide, local business profiles should provide a high EAT (Expertise, Authority, and Trust), which helps increase the business visibility.
Suppose the Google My Business Profile was auto-generated by the Google bot. There is a good chance some information is incorrect such as business location, business address, or business category. If Google did not find a physical address for the business, Google could have created the listing as a SAB or Service Area Business in place of a Brick and Mortar.
Brick & Mortar vs. Service Area Business (SAB)
While setting up the Google My Business account below, the selections in step 3 below will help Google determine how the business interacts with customers. These Google My Business account options allow Google to determine if your business is a traditional brick-and-mortar or service area business.
Although several businesses fit the description of a brick-and-mortar business and services area business, most companies only really fit into one of the two options.
Brick & Mortar
Brick and Mortar style business model is a more traditional retail type of business, usually with the business name predominantly displayed on the front of the building above the main entrance where customers will find the business hours.
While many business models are shifting to being more web-based, brick-and-mortar businesses are still the backbone of our economy. They encourage customers to engage with products in a physical location. Many customers prefer to physically touch and interact with the goods they are about to purchase.
Towne Lake SEO is here to help create your optimized Google My Business account.
Examples of Brick & Mortar Businesses
Several examples of brick-and-mortar businesses include grocery stores, Kroger, Publix, Weis, or Sprouts. Membership stores are considered brick and mortar. Examples of these would consist of BJ’s, Costco, or Sam’s Club. Other brick-and-mortar businesses would include restaurants, department stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, and professional services.
Professional services also fall into brick and mortar business model—some of these would-be doctor’s offices, dentists, Chiropractorsor, and gyms.
The examples above require customers to travel to a central location, the store location for goods and services. When searching for new services, 68% percent of customers use Google search to find local businesses. Many of these new customers will rely on a Google My Business profile to choose which company they will hire for the job.
When searching for local business customers, rely on Google My Business profiles. Customers will often read business reviews and rely on the contact information listed on the Google My Business Profile. The contact information should be filled out and optimized for the services the business provides. Basic information should include the business phone number, physical address, business name, and most accurate category.
What is a Service Area Business (SAB)?
Service area businesses (SABs) play an essential role in our daily lives. Services area businesses are businesses where the service provider will travel to the customer to provide service. These services are impractical for the customer to travel to the place of business and receive assistance.
One such service that would not be practical for a customer to travel for service is air conditioning. The customer, in many cases, is not qualified by law to work on many parts of their home’s ventilation system. Therefore they need to call a technician to come out on-site and work on the air conditioning unit at their house.
A valid service area business will not have accommodations for meeting customers. These types of locations Google will hide the address on the Google My Business profile. Google does not want to give customers directions to a place not customer-friendly.
With business addresses not displayed on the Google My Business account for service area businesses, it is imperative to optimize the business listing. Many larger companies will have an advantage by having a physical location to interact with customers, making them a hybrid between brick and mortar and service area businesses. Google will display the addresses of these “hybrid” business models, building more GEO relevancy for the company profile.
Examples of Service Area Businesses (SABs)
Examples of Service area businesses would be small businesses that do not accommodate customers at the business address. Many small HVAC, Plumbing, and Roofing companies do not have a physical location for customers to come to visit. For these types of businesses, there isn’t much need for a physical location.
A landscaping company, Tree removal companies, and home restoration companies are other types of companies that may be service area businesses.
How to create a Google business listing?
The most effective way to create a Google My Business listing is by logging in and starting from the beginning. There are no changing preferences or settings once you have completed your business account. From here, select “Start a Business” and choose the type of business you want to start. Once that’s done, add your phone number or website details for your business.
Google My Business is a free and easy way for small businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search, Maps, and other products. It helps people find your business when they search on Google, find your location when they use Google Maps, and connect with you on other platforms like YouTube or Gmail.
Step 1 Sign in to your Google account.
The first step to start the verification process is to sign into a Google account. Signing into a Google account may seem obvious, but several business owners did not realize they needed to do this to create their Google business listing. If you do not have a Google Account, click here to set up a free account. Follow the steps prompted to create a new account.
Step 2 Log in to Google My Business and Claim your business profile.
Once logged into the Google account, go to the Google My Business site to claim the business profile. In the upper left corner, click "Manage Now."
Start typing the business name in the text box. A dropdown will appear dynamically, showing Google Business accounts already listed. Don't be alarmed if your business is already listed. Google will create business listings based on the information and popularity (customer searches) of the company found online.
Step 3 Identify how the business serves customers.
There are four identifying ways a business can serve customers.
These identifiers will allow the Google My Business account to provide features best suited for your specific business type, brick, and mortar, or service area business.
Step 4 Business Website
If there is already a business website, enter the URL into the space provided. If there is no website for the business, it would be an excellent time to reach out to Towne Lake SEO to talk to us about our website design services.
Step 5 Click on Get Started
Choosing the Right Google My Business Category
Google provides several business categories. These business categories help Google’s search engine determine how the company best fills the needs of Google’s customers and what searches are relevant for the business.
Google is constantly looking for ways to provide accurate and relevant solutions to customers. By selecting the most accurate categories for the business, Google will better understand which customers to display the business listing.
The Services Editor
The services editor is where the business gets to tell Google what services they provide to their customers. The Google My Business account allows for descriptions to be added to each of the services to help optimize the GMB listing.
If you want to take your online presence seriously, the first step is creating a Google My Business profile. Towne Lake SEO provides white-glove service to ensure your business gets noticed.
Contact us today so that we can help you get started!
Whether it’s helping set up an optimized Google My Business profile or other aspects increasing digital business visibility Towne Lake SEO is here to help with your Internet Marketing needs.
Towne Lake SEO - Creating Google My Business
Final Thoughts on Creating a Google My Business Profile
Starting a Google My Business profile is an easy and essential step to take for any company that wants to get the most out of its online presence. The business owner will need to log in with a Gmail account, identify how they serve customers (service area or brick-and-mortar), provide a phone number or website URL, enter the service descriptions, and select appropriate categories for their business type.
We hope you found this article informative!
Whether it’s helping set up an optimized Google My Business profile or other aspects increasing digital business visibility Towne Lake SEO is here to help with your Internet Marketing needs.