Google My Business | Step up in 10 easy steps

If a potential Client/Customer searches for your brand on Google, you can provide them with key information relevant to your business and ensure you are getting traffic straight to your door!

By having a strong Google My Business profile you will also be able to build trust by generating reviews that link directly to your brand.

Set up your Business Profile

1. On your computer, sign in to your Google Account, or create one.

If you create a new Google Account, sign up with your business email domain.

1. Go to create a profile.
2. Enter the name of your business. You may also be able to select your business from the list of suggested businesses as you type.

• If you get a message that someone else has already verified the business, request ownership of the Business Profile.

3. Search for your business category.

4. Click Next.

5. Choose whether you have a location customers can visit.

• For businesses with a storefront staffed during business hours: Click Yes.
  • You may be asked to enter your business address or position a marker on a map for the location of your businesses. When finished, click Next.
• For businesses that don’t have a storefront staffed during business hours: Click No.

6. Enter the service area of your business.

• You can set your service area based on the cities, postal codes, or other areas that you serve. You can add up to 20 service areas.
  
• Tip: We recommend you do not extend the boundaries of your overall area farther than 2 hours driving time from where your business is based. For some businesses, it may be appropriate to have a larger service area.
  

7. Enter a phone number and website URL.

8. Click Next.

• You also have the option to create a website based on your information.
• Tip: We recommend entering the individual phone number or store page for each location, rather than a remote call center.

9. Click Finish.

10. Select a verification option.

• Tip: We recommend reviewing your information before you request verification.
  • To verify now: At the top, find the red banner and click Verify now.
  • To verify later: Click Verify later > Later.
  • If you’re not authorised to manage the Business Profile for the chain: Find the person in your organisation who’s authorised and continue the process.

Best Practices:

Only create ONE Business Profile for the area you are located. Your Google account may be suspended if they find multiple profiles for the same business in the same metropolitan area.

If your business doesn’t have a storefront where you receive customers, you must hide your business address.

During initial set up, you should select that you’re a service area business. If you didn’t make this selection, or changed your business model to become a service area business, follow the steps below:

• If your service business is already verified and displays its address, you must remove or “hide” your business address. After it’s hidden, your Business Profile only shows your service area. If you didn’t enter a service area, a local area is chosen for you by default. You can then edit the local area as needed. To hide your business address:

1. Go to your Business Profile. Learn how to find your profile.
2. Select Edit profile and then Business information and then Location.
3. Tip: On your desktop, using Google Search, select Edit profile and then Location.
4. Next to “Business location,” select the Edit icon Edit.
5. Toggle Show business address to customers on or off.

With all these steps and helpful tips you should have a perfectly set up Google My Business profile!