Google My Business: How to Optimize a Google listing

Surely you have come into contact with “Google My Business” several times. Because it is a short overview with the central information about a business that is displayed next to the search results. There you will find the most important information about the respective company. If you didn’t know this before, chances are you aren’t using it for your own business just yet. This is more or less fatal because you waste a lot of potentials. In this article, we will tell you exactly what Google My Business is and how you can use it for yourself.

In order to give you a comprehensive overview, we will tell you in advance which questions about “Google My Business” will be answered in this article:

Google My Business: What is it?

Google My Business is a feature of the most well-known and used search engine in the world. In Germany, people search almost exclusively via Google, so the Google search results are an important source of traffic for your website or for your company. However, Google My Business is not a website and also not a direct search result. It is a kind of information box that is displayed next to the actual search results on the desktop and usually even above them on mobile devices.

This box includes the following information about your business:

• Company name
• Company address (on request also with directions via Google Maps)
• Current updates
• Phone number and email address
• Company website
• Opening hours
• Photos
• Customer rating (here you can interact directly with customers)

You can reach many people with a simple Google My Business entry, who in turn can see the most important facts about you and your company at a glance. Those interested do not have to search long and are not deterred by a potentially overloaded website.

Google My Business: costs

A website can sometimes cost a lot of money. It’s not about a few euros, but sometimes about four to five-digit sums. But the beauty of Google My Business is that it doesn’t cost you a penny. You can register your company there for free and also have your entry published for free. Google doesn’t want any money from you, so you have nothing to lose here. The effort to create the entry and to keep it up to date is extremely low and bears no relation to the creation of your own homepage.

That’s why Google My Business is worthwhile for your company

Basically, Google My Business has a number of advantages. Even if there is only one interaction via the dashboard, it is worth it, since the investment in money and time is close to zero. But the listing on Google My Business is mostly interesting for the people who run an offline business. Because with such business models, it is primarily important that the customer finds your shop – not necessarily your website. And the hard facts such as opening times and location could hardly be presented more easily and understandably on a website than via Google My Business.

Therefore, always make sure that your data remains up to date. It would be extremely annoying if a customer decided to visit your store and ended up at the wrong address because your store has moved and you didn’t change it on Google My Business. The same applies, of course, to the opening times.

Keep an eye on everything with simple monitoring

In fact, it makes sense to monitor the success of certain advertising measures. With some marketing strategies, however, this is difficult. Not so with Google My Business. Google provides you with an analysis tool that allows you to monitor exactly how well users interact with your listing. You can simply display how your company was found and which websites the user previously visited. This data can help you to optimize your online presence. You don’t need a lot of technical know-how to access this data. The Google My Business interface is easy and intuitive to use, so you don’t have to worry – even if you’re a bit at war with the technology itself.

When is your business displayed?

Now it is probably also interesting for you when Google shows your company as a My Business post. There are two options here:

• The user is looking for your company
• The user searches for the type of business you run

If the user searches for your business, you will be the only My Business post to the right of the search results. That’s good for you. But even if the potential customer searches for a more general term such as “pizza + location (e.g. Frankfurt)”, it is possible that you will be displayed as a My Business profile. For more general searches, however, it is likely that other companies will be displayed beside you. Usually, you will also see a Google Maps map on which the locations of the different companies can be seen. Below are the summaries of the Google My Business entries, which can be accessed with a click.

How to create a Google My Business listing

So that you know step by step how to create your perfect entry, we will go through the individual phases of creation with you.

Register an account and create a profile

If you call up the Google My Business start page, you can easily start with the entry by clicking the “Get started now” button. To do this, you must first set up an account. If you already have a Google account, you can use it here as well. If you have successfully registered, your profile now exists and you can start creating your entry.

Add location and address

In order for customers to be able to find you, you must enter your location and thus also the address of your business. If you even have several locations, you should also enter them all.

Enter further company data

Here you enter all the relevant data that customers should know about your company. This includes your name, your business category, your website, a phone number, and also opening times. The more detailed your information is here, the more information the user gets at a glance.

Confirm profile

Once you have completed the entry, you will receive a confirmation code for verification. This verification is important so that the entry is also displayed.

Update photos

Photos that you can add after you have created your contribution are also particularly nice. Because this gives the user a direct insight into your business premises or products. So take the opportunity and include attractive images that may convince the customer.

Keep entries up to date

You should also always keep posts, ratings, and answers to questions up to date. So check comments and ratings regularly to react accordingly. This way, your potential customers will see that you care about them and they will always find the most important information about your company.

Conclusion: A Google entry is always worthwhile

If you don’t have a lot budget or you simply don’t need the website because everyone can understand your business and your offer is clearly definable, then you should definitely create a Google My Business profile and your company in Google make search visible. However, always note that regular maintenance of the profile is essential. It doesn’t matter whether you’re about to move your business premises, change your telephone number or change your furnishings and should therefore upload new photos – an up-to-date and “tidy” profile is the be-all and end-all here.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Google My Business

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a feature of the Google search engine. However, Google My Business is not a website and also not a direct search result. It is a kind of information box that is displayed next to the actual search results on the desktop and usually even above them on mobile devices. This infobox displays company information such as an address, opening hours, pictures, and a direct link to the website.

Why should I create a Google listing?

Google My Business will make your company more visible and less visible. It’s especially interesting for offline businesses that rely on customers coming to the store. Important information such as opening hours, telephone numbers, or reviews allows customers to find you immediately and find out more about your company.

How much does Google My Business cost me?

You don’t have to pay anything for the Google listing. Google enables this feature as a free tool.