Have a Local Business? Sign Up for Google My Business Now!

In an era that is completely digital, businesses must begin to understand strategy digital marketing to increase online presence. One of the most important tools for local businesses is Google My Business or Google My Business.

Try it, if you just moved to another city. Suddenly hungry and want to find a restaurant. While you don’t really know the city, what will you do?

I usually open Google Maps, then search for the word “restaurant” or “restaurant” and a selection of restaurants near me will appear.

The second way is to go to Google’s site, and also search for the words “restaurant near me” or “restaurant near (area name)”. The search results that came out were a list of several restaurants.

Just check the location, see the food menu, open it or not, what’s the review, and finally choose the restaurant that suits you.

Are you doing the same thing? Yep, according to a survey, 82% of smartphone users do a “near me” search.

Well, that’s why as a business owner you have to register your business with Google My Business so that your business appears when searched by potential customers.

Keep scrolling to the bottom because I will share about how.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free tool provided by Google to help businesses or organizations improve online presence in the Google search engine and also Google Maps.

If your business or business has a physical building, I recommend using Google My Business to attract more customers.

Especially if you don’t have a website (although I recommend having a website too), you can manage your business information such as address, operating hours, interact with potential customers, and also the most important thing is to increase exposure or online presence.

What businesses can benefit from Google My Business?

1. Restaurants, cafes, restaurants.
2. Salon, beauty clinic.
3. All kinds of shops, like bookstores, grocery stores, heavy equipment stores, clothing stores, etc.
4. Hotel, hospital, bank, supermarket etc.

From the picture above you can see information related to the business such as address, telephone number, opening hours, menu, reviews, photos. There’s even a button call to action such as call, direction, website, reserve a table, or place an order.

Also read: Want to make money online? Try this way

How to register Google My Business

Here are the steps or how to register Google My Business:

1. Login to the Google My Business site

Go to the Google My Business site here and sign in to your Google account. If you don’t have an account, you should first create one in Gmail.

2. Select “Add your business to Google”

3. Fill in the requested information

Just follow the prompts and fill in the requested information such as:

• business name
• Business category
• Location address
• Phone number

You only need to fill in basic information, after becoming an account or listing you can edit and add photos, etc.

How to verify Google My Business/Google My Business

There are two ways to verify Google My Business, namely:

1. Verification by mail. Enter your name information then Google will send you a letter containing a verification code. Just follow the steps.
2. Verification by email or phone. Certain businesses can verify via email or phone which can be found in the “more options” section

Optimizing Google My Business

There are several tips so that your Google My Business listing can appear on the top view of the Google search engine or Google Maps:

1. Add cover photos and other supporting photos that are business-friendly. Photos must be clear with the recommended Landscape size, 1080 x 608 pixels (min 480 x 270; max 2120 x 1192 px). Maximum photo size is 5 MB.
2. Ask your customers to leave a review. Invite your loyal customers to leave reviews by providing incentives such as discounts on their next arrival. Don’t forget to reply to reviews from customers.
3. Add a call to action button. Like making an appointment, making a reservation. Usually this feature uses a third-party provider or features from your website.
4. Always up to date by adding status or events. If you are going to hold an event or there is a new promotion, you can add it to your Google My Business account.

Also read: How to increase engagement and increase followers on Instagram

Conclusion

Businesses that have physical buildings can take advantage of Google My Business to appear on Google search engines.

Signing up for Google My Business is free, aka not paid, so there’s no reason not to use this tool.

I’ve made it clear how to register Google My Business, how to use it, as well as some tips for optimization. Hope it is useful!