If you are the owner of a growing business, you most likely want your HQ to rank at the top of Google Maps when it’s searched. Here are a few tips that can make the process easier.

 

Claim/Create a Business Listing on Google

Creating a business listing is the first step in placing your company’s location on Google Maps. Keep in mind that a location may already exist if customers have left a review in the past. If that is the case, you would need to claim the listing, instead of creating one from scratch. If there isn’t a listing at all, you would simply follow the instructions on your Google Business Profile. The site will ask you to fill in some basic information, such as:

• Location/Address
• Category 
• Website
• Phone number
• Opening hours

After doing so, you have the ability to choose/create a name, and attach your site’s URL. 

 

Verifying Your Account

After creating a business listing, you would need to verify your business. This can be done by sending a postcard to your business address. The postcard would take a few weeks to arrive. It would contain a 5 digit code that you would use on your business profile. Depending on the type of business you have, you may be able to verify it using a phone number or email address. Make sure you go over your options when verifying your account

 

Make your Profile Stand Out

Creating a business listing isn’t enough to put your location at the top of google maps. It’s important that you make your profile stand out from the crowd as well. This can be done using a multitude of strategies.

• Filling out your entire profile increases the chances for success. Almost 70% of users view completed profiles. Doing so will make your profile appear to be more attractive to consumers, thereby increasing the traffic
• Be consistent with your citations. The more citations your business has, the better you end up doing in the market. This all depends on the consistency of your site. If you have two addresses, and one of them is written a different way than the other, this only confuses Google. It will hurt your chances of gaining traffic on their platform
• Reviews. Google likes to rank businesses with higher reviews at the top of the list. Be sure to motivate your customers to share their opinions regarding the service

As long as you follow these steps, you’re sure to find success in placing your business’ location on Google Maps. If you need any assistance with setting up your Google My Business profile, please contact our Virtual Image team!