Think back when you first started your Business; why did you start in the first place?  If the answer is to make money and work for yourself then keep reading; if it wasn’t then you should still read.

With any business you need customers; you are not going to be in business long if you are not able to get customers.  Customers will not visit your location if they can’t find you.  We have moved away from traditional means of finding a business.  Do you remember when the last time you opened the Yellow Pages in the phone book to find a business?  The answer is likely not recent.  How do most people find a business? GOOGLE.  Most people are going to turn to Google to find the address of your business or to find your type of business.

Now we know we need to get found on Google, how do we start?  Starting is simple, first Search your business’ address in Google Maps, if you find your Google Places Page *(Google has these pages created for some businesses with information it has gathered from the internet).  When you scroll down the page it will ask if this is your business.  All you need to do to claim your business is to click the link and link it to a Gmail account (they are free to set up as well).  After you fill out a small bit of information Google will Mail you a post card (most common), text you, or call you with a verification code.   Once you get the code log into your Google places page and type in the code.

 

Once you have verified your Google My Business Account, you can access it from the Gmail you linked to it.  From there set up the account by adding pictures, editing your hours, adding your website, and any other information you want to add.  Once you have done that in Google My Business, hover over the ‘My Business’ Icon to see Google + for your business.  Google + is just like Facebook, except it is directly indexed into Google Search.  I will be going over Google + for Business later.

Now that you have verified your business, it helps Google know that your Business is an Actual business, and it can link it into local searches for one of the categories you have chosen.  Now that your page is set up, log out of Gmail, or open a new browser and search for yourself.  Take a look at your My Business page, and take a look at other Businesses My Business Page (I recommend using Google Maps Classic Viewer).  If you like what you see, you should still consider adding more.  Give the customer everything up front, from your menu, types of products you sell, to a virtual Tour of your business.  If the customer has everything they need up front, they are more likely to visit your business over the competition.

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts On Google + for Business, Google Business View, Google My Business, and more.