Google My Business – Leapfrog your local competitors the easy way

How to get started

Google My Business is a fantastic free tool and can be a great way of getting ahead of other local businesses. Used correctly, it can be your secret weapon in getting more local enquiries. There are two main ways of getting a page up and running as follows:

Claim your business – Click on the button and submit the required information

Make sure you have a Google account – This is free to set up

Verify your page – To prove you are the business owner, Google will send you a pin number to access and edit your page

Complete your page – Add lots of information and photos

Creating a new page
If you’re a new business it’s more than likely you’ll have to build your own page but don’t worry – it’s a pretty straightforward process. You’ll need a Google account (if you have a Gmail account you’ll already have one!), if not it’s free to sign up.

Login to your Google account – Find the Google My Business section and sign up

Add information – Complete and submit the required information

Verify your page – To prove you are the business owner, Google will send you a pin number to access and edit your page

Complete your page – Add lots of information and photos

These points are only the basics – There’s lots of information readily available on-line so search for subjects like ‘Setting up a Google My Business page’

Optimise your local listing

If you already have a Google My Business Page or have just built a new one, now’s the time to maximise its potential by optimising it. In essence, this means making sure it conforms to all the criteria Google uses to rank your page. Here’s the basic information you’ll need to work at…

• Complete all the sections and add as much information as possible
• Choose the correct category that best reflects the nature of your business
• Research keywords and add them to your listing (The words that describe your business)
• Build citations – This means signing up to as many free directories as possible
• Add content – Descriptive text that includes your keywords and photos
• Do regular updates – Show Google you’re proactive by writing posts and uploading pictures
• Get positive customer reviews – More about this on the next page

These points are only the basics – There’s lots of information readily available on-line so search for subjects like ‘How do I optimise my Google My Business page’

How reviews can directly generate more business.

Positive and 5 star reviews can help you generate more local business in 2 ways. Firstly, they show customers what other people have said about you…good or bad. More consumers use reviews to judge a business and they can directly influence their decision making process.

Secondly, Google uses reviews to show ‘social proof’ and 5 star reviews can directly boost your page’s rank. The more you have the better your chances are of reaching the all important top 3 spots. For instance, the combination of a well optimised Google My Business page that ranks high on the listings with positive customer reviews is more likely to attract more local enquiries.

To summarise, Google reviews…

• Can boost your page ranking
• Provide customer reassurance
• Directly influence decision making

Read part 3 – How to get more reviews