Google My Business is essential for your business. It shows customers what you offer, your location, reviews, website, pictures, and more. This free tool is very powerful and can help any business grow. Nearly 60% of mobile users contacted businesses directly through GMB.
Step 1:
Log into the Google account you wish to be associated with your business or create a Google account if you don’t already have one. A Google account can be created by clicking on “Create account” at accounts.google.com.
New accounts have the option to be associated with personal use or for business use. If you just want to create an @gmail.com account, use the “for myself” option. If you want to tie Google to an existing brand email, such as info@nameofmybiz.com, choose the “to manage my business” option.
Once you have completed the creation process, sign into the account.
Step 2:
Go to google.com/maps and click the 4 horizontal lines at the top left hand corner. Then, select “Add your business.”
If your business has already been verified by a previous owner, you will need to request ownership of said business. The current profile owner will get an email that asks them to contact you and you’ll get a confirmation email.
Step 3:
Enter the name of your business and the category associated with your business.
Step 4:
If you are a virtual business you will input your home address. Once Google has verified your business you can update your GMB and type in the cities/locations/states that you service.
If you have a physical location that customers can visit, you will input that address.
Step 5:
Choose how you would like to verify your business. Google offers many types of ways for verification.
Verification options include:
- Postcard: you will receive a postcard in the mail from google with a five-digit code. Log into your Google account and select “verify now” and enter the code.
- Phone: similar to postcards, Google will text you a five-digit code. Follow the same steps and click “verify now” then enter the code.
- Email: if verifying by email, log into your account. In your inbox, you should see an email from Google. Open the email and click the verification button.
- Instant: for instant verification to work, you need to have the Google Search Console, a tool that analyzes your website’s SEO and traffic. Since you already verified the business through this tool, Google My Business will allow instant verification.
- Bulk: for multiple locations needing to be verified, you can use bulk verification. Select the “chain” option and complete all the fields necessary.
