Yes, you can get your business listed on Google My Business for free. To sign-up for the service, all you need is a Google account. While it seems as though it should be as simple as “step one create, step two claim, and step three verify, the process is neither that simple nor that linear which, if you’re reading this post, you have already figured out. That’s because it requires three different Google accounts and two different Google platforms, all of which have very similar names.
As mentioned earlier, however, the process is not super simple. It involves two different Google platforms and three different Google accounts, all of which have similar names, and some of which you likely already have. So to get you off on clear footing, let’s first iron out the terminology. Once you have a Gmail account, you can continue setting up your Google My Business profile.
In this section you must add all the information related to your business, such as your hours, which holidays your business is open or closed, business description, categories, labels, etc. However, this is not over and you should continue shaping your Google My Business account and fill in all the fields to score higher on Google. Whether you’re a local mainstay or are just starting a business, your Google Business Profile makes it easy for consumers to discover, learn about, and contact your business online. But in order to properly optimize your Business Profile, you need access to it, and in order to access it, you need to verify with Google that you are the rightful owner.
The problem with this is that the business owner has no control over the information in that Business Profile until they claim it, and this is done through Google My Business. You won’t be able to edit any field on your Google My Business listing until you verify your business account. A Google Business Profile managed through a Google Business account, however, can be optimized to rank above competitors for relevant keyword searches. Make sure you are logged into the standard Google Account for your business (and not the standard Google Account for your personal life).
Now that you know how to set up a Google My Business profile, it’s time for you to spend some time optimizing your listing. Now, with the groundwork laid out, you are armed and ready to successfully claim and verify your business on Google. In this tab, you can create publications that will display on Google when users search for your business name. Once you connect this account with your Business Profile (the final step of this post), additional fields will open up in your dashboard so you can provide even more information about your business.
As you have just seen, Google My Business is the best digital window for your local business and, on top of that, it is free. First, access Google My Business page here, if you don’t have a Gmail account yet, you must create one as shown in the image below. So, in this post, I’m going to first iron out for you exactly what’s what in Google, and then give you a clear-cut roadmap to create a Google My Business account and using it to claim and verify your Business Profile on Google. Get started with creating, claiming, and verifying through Google My Business today so you can get the most out of this incredible and free tool available to you.