Millions of people search every day for the opening hours or the contact telephone number of businesses. It may be that a local company or industry does not have a website or social media profile. But your presence on Google My Business is essential. I will give my views on how to create a successful business listing and make it appear in the top positions of Google.

WHAT IS GOOGLE MY BUSINESS?

Google My Business is a well-known tool that places local businesses and businesses "on the map." Thanks to it, it is very likely that potential clients in our area of ​​influence (neighborhood, town, or city) will find it.

But, what happens if our company, not even writing its commercial name, appears on the map? It is at this moment when we ask ourselves: Why is my competition yes and my company not? Avoiding this is very simple. You have to register your company in the old Google Local. Let's see how.

Process Of Registering a Company in Google My Business?

The whole is process is fairly simple. It is only necessary to have an email account (it does not even have to be from gmail.com), access Google My Business ( https://business.google.com ), register, and start creating the company file. - If we already have a Gmail account, registration is not necessary -. It may be that our company file is already formed, but we need to take control of it. In this case, we must reclaim our business, and the process is the same.

At the end of this process, to verify that we are the owners of the premises or have the owner's authorization, we must verify the file. How? Keep reading.

First, we choose how we want to receive the verification code: landline, SMS, or postal mail. If you choose the latter option for verification, it will take at least 15 days to receive it, so it is advisable to select any of the other two means, although many times, we are not given another option.

If you allow us the option "verify through landline," which is the most comfortable, click on the "verify" button, and in a matter of seconds, the phone that appears in our file will ring. An answering machine will tell us a code number. We write it in the box "Verification code," and we just have to wait for Google My Business to review it.

A warning. If when the Google Street View car passed by the street where our business is, it was not open yet, or there is no indicator on the facade that announces the place, almost certainly they will not approve the file. If this is the case, they will call us and ask us to send by email a photo of the facade where the name of the company or business appears visibly (sign, board in the directory, etc.), or we will have to contact Google My Business via form contact and show them that it is a real business. This process they do to ensure that all the listed companies are genuine.

The file can be updated at any point in time. We can also know for days how many times it has appeared in the search results, and if someone has been interested in us, that is, they have consulted our file. In the image, we see the graph of where customers know the company in Google, search file, or map file.

SEO OPTIMIZATION TO APPEAR PROMINENTLY :

But registering our business is not enough to make it appear prominently. To make it stand out, to make the famous pushpin appear, we have to optimize our local business file as SEO. How? Very simple, following these recommendations:

COMPANY NAME :

In my opinion, you have to include the keyword that identifies us, as long as it is part of the company name. If not, better not to add anything else.

CONTACT DETAILS :

Update your Address, city, telephone, email, website, hours, etc.

BUSINESS CATEGORY :

We can include several, although we must establish one as the main one. For example, Mediterranean food restaurants, vegetarian restaurants, food delivery restaurants. This will increase our visibility in different searches.

PAYMENT METHOD THAT IS ACCEPTED:

Write about which type of payment method you are providing, for example - Cash, Card, or any other payment method.

PHOTOS OF PRODUCTS OR FACILITIES:

It is now possible to include photos of the equipment, the establishment's interior, and the exterior. In this way, your potential clients will get an idea of ​​what your place is like. If it stands out for its decoration, take advantage of this option and put photos of the best possible quality, and that best describes the atmosphere that is breathed in your establishment.

POST FREQUENTLY ON YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LISTING:

To make it more comfortable, use tools like Metricool for it.

VIEWING ON THE WEB PAGE:

Add to your web page the display of your location in Google maps through a link or by embedding it. It is also essential that the same data is always displayed on any page or directory where your business address appears.

GENERATE REVIEWS: THE MOST IMPORTANT:

And most importantly: the reviews or recommendations. Encourage your customers to write reviews, as long as they are real. It is useless; instead, it would harm you, create false accounts for yourself to write positive comments. You can encourage this practice by suggesting it with a sticker placed at the entrance of your establishment or by other means: commenting on it to your customers, through social networks, or by sending them an emailing. And an important question: do not forget to thank and answer correctly all the reviews you receive, even the ones you like the least.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO STAND OUT ON GOOGLE MY BUSINESS:

Many times, when your potential clients carry out a local search, they click more easily on the Google Local results, since the option of calling by phone appears directly. Customers can also read the reviews of other users and thus create an opinion. In addition to this, this tool also offers users additional beneficial and valuable information: They can, for example:

• • Make comments or read those of other users.
  • Know how to get there from where you are.
  • Call directly by phone.
  • Check the schedule every day and know how much time is left before they open or close.
  • See what other businesses are in that area.
  • Or know other similar places.
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Does your business already list on Google My Business? If not, I recommend that you register it as soon as possible. And if it appears but not prominently, it is a matter of getting to work and optimizing your listing in terms of SEO to achieve greater visibility and that your customers call you. Let's do it!