Google Business Profile Set Up: 2024 Step-By-Step Tutorial For Best Results (Includes Verification)

in today's tutorial you're going to learn how to easily create a Google business profile like this one step by step so people who are searching for a business like yours can find you on Google Search and Google Maps in 2024 verifying your profile is a crucial step if you want your listing to be found by Searchers and has changed a lot since last year I have included a detailed guide on how to do this as part of this lesson which means you'll be up and running in no time this tutorial is Broad Bren into chapters so it's very easy to follow even if you can't watch the whole thing today you can jump back in later and pick up right where you left off using the time stamps on the timeline of the video if you're ready let's jump [Music] in before you can set up a Google business profile you must create a Google account many of you might already have a Google account in the form of a personal Gmail address but it's a good idea to make a new one just for your business this will keep your personal emails and emails related to your business profile separate to do this head over to accounts.google.com then click on create an account fill in your name and date of birth then hit next you'll be given the choice to pick between a suggested Gmail address or make up your own there is also the option to use a non-gmail address the choice is yours I usually create a custom Gmail address based on a business name so it's easy to remember today I'm going to to set up a Google business profile for an imaginary moving company located in Denver Colorado called Denver move Masters and go for the following email address Denver mover Masters gmail.com next set up a password then follow the few extra steps until you get to the page confirming your Google account is ready from there you can jump straight into setting up your Google business profile which is what we're going to cover in chapter [Music] two just go to google.com/ buus and sign in with a Google account you created in step one it is possible Google might have already created a listing for your business using information it has found online you'll want to check this first before creating a listing otherwise you may end up creating a duplicate listing which will create some issues later start typing your business name in a provided field if your business appears in the auto suggestion results select it you'll see a notification informing you the listing already exists if this is the case simply click on the manage Now button and continue with the process if there is no existing profile for your business you can safely click continue to progress to the next step at this point in the process you'll be prompted to specify your business type you have three options to choose from and it's important to note that these options are not exclusive to each other for instance your business can be a local store with a physical location while at the same time having an online store or it might be a service-based type of business that visits customers at their homes the choice is yours and the information you'll need to provide further in the setup will vary based on your selection in the next chapter I will go through the two most common business types physical location where customers can visit you and service type of business that visit customers at their homes if your business is a physical location like a store or office where customers can visit choose the local store option this is suitable for businesses such as a hair salon gyms bars veterinarians and lawyers amongst many others when claiming a Google business profile using the local store option your business will be marked on Google Maps with a pin just like this one next select your business category type in what you think your category might be based on the main service you provide and Google will suggest the best match after choosing your category enter your physical address contact phone number and website address if available then click next the next page is to confirm you agree with Google's terms and conditions additionally if you're interested in tips for improving your profile op in at the bottom of the screen before continuing this will take you to the profile verification step where you'll need to confirm your business operates at the address you specified before we jump into the verification process let's have a look at the other popular business model which is for those of you who visit customers at their homes also known as service area businesses typical examples would be dog walkers landscape gardeners lock smiths plumbers and so on when claiming a Google listing for these types of businesses Google Maps will highlight the boundaries of the area where you are willing to travel as opposed to a map pin choose the service business option option and again select your business category as Guided by Google suggestions next you'll need to define the area your business serves you can select up to 20 service areas entering either location names or zip codes I suggest you use location names here since these are commonly used in Google searches rather than zip codes it's important to note you should only add areas within a 2hour drive from your business location adding areas Beyond this r goes against Google's guidelines once you've added your service areas click on next to proceed enter your contact phone number and website address if available then click next confirm you agree with Google's terms and conditions this will take you to a Google business profile verification process which is what we're going to cover in our next [Music] chapter at this point regardless of whether you've selected a local store or service business option you should have reached the verific ation process stage this step is vital to demonstrate to Google that your business is legitimate and authentic and to verify the accuracy of your location information it also helps to make sure that only the people who should be in charge of your business's information are the ones handling your Google business profile Google offers several verification options the most straightforward method is done by phone an automated call is made to the phone number you provided when entering your contact details this call delivers a verification code which you can use to confirm the legitimacy of your business another way you might be able to verify your business is through postcard verification Google sends you a postcard that has a five-digit code on it once you get it just sign into your profile and enter this code you might also come across other methods like live video calls or email verification but these are less common the last method I want to go through in detail is the video verification ification one to eradicate the creation of fake Google Business profiles Google is now using video verification as the main method to check if a business qualifies for a listing and many small business owners struggle with it so let me break it down for you and make it easier if you have to go through it your video should be done in one single continuous recording and include the following information if you run a physical store it is simple you'll need to prove your location first so start by filming either a stet sign near your store if there is one available or nearby businesses next you'll need to add something in the video that matches with the business category you've chosen for your listing for this you can use the inside of your shop the equipment to use or some of your products finally you'll need to show you're the official person running the business you can do this by filming yourself unlocking your store or office showing the tools you use for payments or a document that proves your address remember you don't have to include everything I've just mentioned just make sure you have at least one element for each point to show your business is legitimate for service area businesses like plumbers or electricians it isn't as straightforward as you don't have a physical location people come to start your video by showing street signs nearby businesses or the area around where you claimed your business is located use things like a branded vehicle business tools or equipment or your business card to show that your Google business profile matches with the business category you've selected finally to prove you're the legal representative of the business film yourself unlocking your company Vehicles show some of the business software you use or a proof of address like with physical stores you only need one piece of evidence for each point however for service area businesses I recommend including more than one when you can to make it clear to Google many service area businesses don't pass the video verification because they don't provide enough clear evidence keeping the video length between 1 to 2 minutes is highly recommended if you want to maximize your chances of being verified fitting all the right information into a short video might take you a few tries so you'll need to do some planning which you can do once you finish setting up your listing ultimately Google decides which method you'll be given so if video is the answer only method available to you that's the one you'll have to use if you need further help with verification methods you can check out Google guides and instructions there's a link to it in the description below you don't need to verify your profile now so for the time being let's click on the verify later [Music] Link at this point in the process Google should prompt you to add services to your business listing depending on your selected business category Google might have automatically included certain predefined services and may suggest others for you to consider you have the option to customize this list by selecting each predefined service to either add or remove them based on their relevance to your business do not skip this step as predefined services are a ranking Factor this means that including them in your listing will help your business be found on Google Maps when someone searches for them if you need to add specific services that are not already listed click on the add custom service link to include them in your profile if this page does not appear don't worry it simply means Google cannot suggest relevant services for your business and you'll be automatically directed to The Next Step which is what we're going to cover in the next [Music] chapter at this stage you'll be asked to set your business hours a simple yet crucial step you just need to choose the days your business is open and set the opening and closing times for each day important note you may have heard that Google uses business hours as a ranking Factor on Google Maps this means your listing is more likely to rank higher during your operating hours compared to win your Clause with this in mind you might consider listing your business as open 24/7 to maximize leads however unless your business genuinely operates Around the Clock avoid doing this it's against Google's guidelines and could lead to your listing being suspended if Google finds out the key here is to make sure the hours you add to your listing matched with the ones that can be found on your website any signage outside your store or other places on the web where your business is listed like Yelp or the Yellow Pages once you're done setting your hours click on [Music] next customers who find your listing on Google Maps and Google search can contact you directly through the messaging feature in your Google business profile this feature is enabled by default when you create your profile it's a great tool for generating more customer leads provided you respond quickly enough to messages if you're slow to respond a you risk frustrating customers and B Google might automatically disable this feature if you're not confident about keeping up with messages on your profile it might be a good idea to switch off this feature simply toggle It Off but if you think you can handle it go ahead and leave it on then just move on to the next part of setting up your [Music] profile now it's time to add a business description to your profile if you're unsure what to write think of it like the about us page on your website this is a spot to share a quick summary of what you offer what sets you apart from the competition a bit of your history and anything else that might be helpful for for potential customers no need to cram your description with a bunch of keywords hoping it will boost your rankings the business description isn't a ranking Factor also do not include any promotional message or phone number in your description either as it is against Google's guidelines you've got 750 characters to play with so make each one count once you're finished just hit the next [Music] button the final step of this process is to Jazz up your Google business profile with photos Google says that businesses with photos on their profiles get 42% more request for directions on Google Maps and 35% more website clicks than those without photos so adding some pictures onto your profile can really boost your business use photos to show off your product Services happy customers the inside and outside of your store and even your company Vehicles the goal is to make your profile feel real and authentic so don't use use generic stock photos and use real images that reflect your business instead and remember adding photos isn't a onetime thing keep your profile fresh by regularly updating it with new photos once your listing is live once you're pleased with the photos you've added go ahead and click next you'll come across an offer for free Google ads credit just skip that bit for now you can always grab it later if interested after that you'll just have one more step hit continue and voila your Google business profile is all set up you land on a Google search page showing a neat summary of your listing along with a dashboard you can use to update or improve your listing further most of you watching this tutorial will find your listing isn't verified just yet and it won't show up on Google Maps or search results until you get that sorted so get on that verification as soon as you can by clicking on the get verified option in the meantime while you're waiting for verification it's a great chance to add more cool stuff to your listing we've only scratched the surface today there are loads of other features you can include in your listing that on't part of the basic setup luckily I have covered them all in this video it's packed with tips to make your listing really shine and attract more customers so I recommend you go and watch that next

Channel: Ranking Academy

Views: 51,887

Keywords: google business profile, google my business, google my business tutorial, google business account, google my business 2023, google business, google business profile manager, how to create google business account, how to create google my business account, how to set up google business profile, how to create google business profile, business profile, how to make google business account, how to set up google my business, google business page, how to put your business on google

Id: U71txGAumVE

Length: 15min 19sec (919 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 02 2024