What is Google My Business and how does it help my local business?

Google My Business, the best tool for local markets

Google My Business is increasingly present in the digital marketing strategies of companies, and this Google tool provides us with various options to better position our business in the search engine. 

Through the creation of a business file we can work on the SEO of our brand. Google My Business mixes the applications of Google search engine, Google Maps and inherits the most strategic part of what was Google +.

Thus, it becomes an easy to use tool, free of charge and that helps especially the local shops and businesses.

What can we do with Google My Business?

Overall, with Google My Business we can:

1. Generate completely updated business information at any time so that users and potential customers can find us easily and simply. Data such as location, telephone, opening hours...
2. Interaction with clients through the different types of publication that we can manage from our company profile. As well as collecting reviews to increase our visibility.
3. Attract new customers through local and targeted advertising campaigns

Always remember, before you start, to read through the Google My Business policies and guidelines to understand the different elements that can affect your business listing and how they are managed. 

And now, let's create our listing.

How do I create my profile in Google My Business?

First of all, go to the Google My Business page and sign in. If we log in with a Gmail account, we'll be able to access it using the same password. We can also sign in with a corporate email address.

Once we have logged in we will be able to create our first business file. It is important to remember that this tool is intended for those businesses that have a physical location and although we can register virtual business cards, we will not have as many options available.

Add a location

Adding a location The first step is to add the location of our local business. To do this, we will first have the option to do a search to check that no one has registered our business. This is not a common practice but it can happen. 

Once we have not found any results we can enter the name of our business. In this step it is advisable to read the terms of service and the privacy policy. 

Later on we can make small changes to our business name if we have made a mistake but we must be careful how we put it to avoid future verification problems.

Choose category

The next step is to choose the category that describes the business. It's this category that helps Google My Business know what we do and make it easier to track, so it shows up faster in the results. 

We can also change this section later.

Adding services

Now is the time to add tags about the services provided in the business. Initially we have a sample tag that we can add to our list if it's interesting. 

We also have the option of manually adding those services that we consider. We can edit them at any time, so if we don't put them all in the first place, we can always come back.

Adding the location 

We can now add a physical location or not. If we add it, it will be the one that appears on Google Maps and in the search results when users use the Google search engine. Once added, the map and the location we have marked will be displayed in case the exact location needs to be adjusted. 

If we decide not to add the location, we will have the option to include the service areas

Once these steps have been taken, Google My Business will ask us what contact information we want to show our customers, and therefore, this will be public data that will appear next to our result. 

Among this information we can show or not, the contact phone number and the website address. Adding this last data, we only have to finish the file and we can start managing it. 

Verification

Once we have finished creating the file and before we can start managing it, Google My Business gives us the opportunity to choose how we want to check our file. 

All the files must be verified in order to have access to all the information, to have all the options of the tool available and to show the users that the company is real and meets all the requirements to be in operation.

Verification is done via postal mail (if we have indicated an address) or via text message (if we have indicated service areas). 

The postal card is Google My Business' way of making sure that the business address you choose matches your actual address. The card may take up to 13 days to arrive and during that time we will have the card incomplete. The card has a 6-digit code that must be entered in the verification space of the card to perform the synchronization. 

What can I do with my Google My Business tab?

Once we've created our Google My Business tab we must start filling in the information on it. This information will improve the brand's position in local search results.

We can add a lot of information related to the brand, product and services. The more information we have, the better we position ourselves and add more opportunities for future customers to find us. 

All the information and options available to us in Google My Business can be found in the menu on the left. 

Adding information

En esta pestaña trabajaremos con toda la información relacionada con el negocio en sí mismo y que facilitarán el contacto de los usuarios con nosotros. Algunos de los campos disponibles son:

• Category: we can modify the one we chose when creating the card
• Adding service areas
• Add schedules
• Add phone
• Adding websites
• Add company description
• Tags to make it easier to find us
• Other informative elements: opening date, store codes, telephone extensions...

Publications

This is a very interesting section in the question of local positioning, since Google My Business allows us to create different content that will appear in the general information tab of our file in the results of a search. 

Among the different publications that we can find, we have

• Offers: they allow you to show discounts and promotions. These include the start and end date of the offer. You can add photos, videos and call to action buttons. 
  
• Updates or News: they allow you to make publications on company information or share links to blog articles. You can add photos, videos and call to action buttons.
• Events: allow you to promote specific company events. You must include the title information, dates, times... You can also include a link to the ticketing page, add photos, videos and call to action buttons.
• Products - Allows you to create product publications that are sold either through an online store or in a physical store.
   

Statistics

This section is very important since it allows us to know how our Google My Business file works, as well as to actively follow everything that happens in it in relation to the website or other channels that we have linked.

In this section we can find information related to:

• The terms that users have used in their searches, as well as the times that Google showed the file and the clicks that were obtained. With this information we can work well the keywords in the contents that we make.
• The way in which users search for your company, that is to say in a direct way (putting the name of the brand) or indirect way (searching by categories, products or services).
• The destination of the users who have made the searches. In this case it can be the tab that appears in Google search or the one that appears in Google Maps. 
• Actions carried out by users on the file. A user who accesses a business listing in Google My Business can visit the website, request directions, make a call, or send a message.
• Photo Views: A graph shows how many times users have viewed the photos posted on the tab. In this case it also shows the number of times similar businesses have been visited.

Services

In this section, Google My Business allows us to create information sheets related to each of the services our company provides. 

These services can be grouped into business categories and main categories. The space for the description of the service is 300 characters that we must take advantage of to explain everything that is offered and to use the ideal keywords to position ourselves in the search results.

Photos

It is the most visual section of the file and where we will have to load the images related to the business, products, services...

Depending on the type of business and category we will have at our disposal different sections to upload the photographs, depending on the type:

• Details
• Photos of the owner
• Customer photos
• 360º photos
• Videos
• Photos of the interior
• Exterior photos
• Team photos

Reviews

This is one of the sections that users know best and that makes them decide to choose one business or another. 

Reviews are opinions and comments that customers leave about our business. They are composed of three elements:

1. Star format rating: the customer can rate his satisfaction by giving a star format rating. These range from 1 to 5 depending on how satisfied or dissatisfied they are.
2. Commentary: the customer can also include a text commentary explaining his experience (positive or negative) with the brand, a product, the service...
3. Images: the client can also add photos about their experience to share with the rest of the readers. 

Clearly, all businesses seek to obtain the maximum number of reviews with the highest possible stars, but these must be properly managed. 

Google My Business does not give the option to share this space with our clients through a specific URL generated for the particular file. This email address can be sent and shared with all those from whom we wish to request a review. To increase the effectiveness of these comments, it is important that each review is given a personalized response, whether the comment is positive (to thank) or negative (to try to solve, know or even apologize if it is the case). 

Other elements

Within this left menu of options that we have in the tab of Google My Business we have some more options that we will be able to go configuring and working as we advance in the management of the contents. 

We also find the option to activate a message service so that customers can easily contact the business; the option to get a personalized Gmail account for the corporate account; the option to create a basic website or to add more locations to our Google My Business account.

Local Advertising Campaigns

One of the last options we found in the menu of our Google My Business tab is the option to create advertising ads through the Google Ads tool. 

If we already have a Google Ads account, this option will take us directly to our account to start the campaign.

In the case that we do not have an active account yet, we will start with the learning process that Google offers to know the advertising tool and how to use it effectively. 

This type of advertising campaign is called Intelligent Campaigns and allows you to create ads for Google searches in a few steps. They are local type ads since the Google My Business tool aims to promote commerce and positioning geographically close to the business. 

Before creating a campaign it is always advisable to know the main details of how online advertising works and thus better target each of the ads. From the initial guide of Google Ads you can make a 'tour' through the platform and its main uses at a beginner level. 

Summary

The Google My Business tool is especially suitable for local businesses. It is a channel designed to assist with near and far positioning and provides businesses with many free resources to help them better manage their visibility within Google search results. 

At present, on search platforms such as Google has more than 3,000,000 daily searches worldwide, it is necessary to be able to segment who we want to reach, find our close audience and get them to interact with our brand in a more active and proactive way. 

Luigi Nori

He has been working on the Internet since 1994 (practically a mummy), specializing in Web technologies makes his customers happy by juggling large scale and high availability applications, php and js frameworks, web design, data exchange, security, e-commerce, database and server administration, ethical hacking. He happily lives with @salvietta150x40, in his (little) free time he tries to tame a little wild dwarf with a passion for stars.