Google Business is a free listing that a business can create to be found and considered credible by Google. This listing has been previously known as “Google My Business.”
Your Business Profile is your Google Business Listing which appears in the local results of Google Search and Google Maps. Creating a Google My Business account enables you to manage, access, customize, and optimize your Business Profile on Google for free.
Once you have access, you can edit your business name, location, and hours, monitor and reply to customer reviews, add photos, and view insights such as where and how people are searching for you. Creating a Google Business Listing or Business Profile allows you to gain more visibility on Google. But remember, creating a Business Profile does not give you management over it, and you need those management and editing capabilities if you want your Business Profile to be effective. An optimized business profile can enhance your SEO and be a lead-generation tool.
The opportunity with this listing is to share all of the important information with Google directly and build trust to start ranking for specific keywords.
Optimizing the listing to include specific keywords to be associated with your business. Selecting your category is the first keyword you will be ranking for. Choose wisely.
The Google Business listing can be found in a couple of different places.
#1: Google Search - when a “your business name” search is done, the Google listing will be found on the right side of the search results.
#2: Google Maps - when a user is searching for services “near me,” the businesses physically located the closest to the user's IP address will rank the highest. Google Maps show the location of the business to the user to make a selection.
The way to get your listing to stand out is by using Google reviews. Many users focus on the reputation of a business before considering contacting them. The more positive reviews you have than your competitors, the better chance you are selected over them. The star rating is just as important as the number of reviews. Do your best to provide excellent customer service for a top rating.
There are many ways to optimize the Google Business listing to rank number one.
Read this other article to learn How to use Google My Business for SEO.
Google My Business also has an app you can download to keep on top of your listing from your phone. However you decide to manage it, it is important to start your gain access to Google My Business as soon as possible.