How to Get a Google Maps Listing
So, you’re a local business and you want to promote yourself as reputable, approachable and well-established? Google Maps is an incredibly popular tool that has proven itself to do just that and is pretty much essential for an online business to thrive.
You’ll be able to take advantage of Google Maps by claiming your business on Google My Business and spending time optimising your profile. Let’s go through the steps.
- Head over to Google My Business
Google My Business is a completely free listing which allows you to appear in local search and, of course, on Google Maps – crucial to any local SEO campaign. Get started by hitting the ‘Manage Now’ button, where you’ll need to sign in with a Google account.
- Claim or create your Business Profile
You’ll now need to create a new business profile, or perhaps your business may already have a listing – in that case, you’ll need to claim ownership.
To create your profile, you’ll have to submit some basic details about your business, such as location, category, website, phone number and opening hours. You should choose a category that describes your business and will help potential customers find you easily.
- Verify your business
After creating or claiming your business profile, the next step is to get it verified. You need to verify your business to ensure that only the business owner or manager has access to the listing and proves the information you provided is correct
To do this, you have a couple of options. The most common way is for Google to send you a postcard to the business address you provided with a verification code. The postcard can take a little while to get to you (up to 2 weeks), but it’s probably the best and easiest way to get verified.
The next option is to verify your profile over the phone, by email or through Google Search Console, but only some businesses are able to do this. If one of these options is available for your business, Google will notify you to let you know.
- Spend time checking and optimising your profile
Great, you now have a Google Maps listing! However, this doesn’t mean that your listing will instantly stand out or attract customers.
Make sure all your details are correct, as search engines value correct, accurate information. Make sure the map marker is in the correct place – there are many instances where it may place you a little further down the street, for example.
Top Tip – Our biggest piece of advice is to spend time optimising your listing to help give potential customers useful information to show off your business. Make sure to collect customer reviews, add your logo and non-stock images, fill out as much information as possible, add special opening hours, questions & answers… the list goes on!
- Regularly update your profile
And it doesn’t stop there! Once your listing is live, you need to commit to regularly updating your profile with important information (special offers, holiday hours, etc.) and making the most of Google Posts. Take a look at your Google My Business dashboard and click ‘Posts’. Here, you’ll be able to let customers know about updates, offers, blog posts, new products and let Google know you are an active business with updated information.
The more detail you add, the more you will stand out amongst the crowd – don’t underestimate the power of a Google Maps listing.