Google My Business is a free tool with which you can post your business data on maps and in Google searches. This is a kind of directory of organizations from Google. My Business Profile increases your chances of appearing in organic local search and in the maps.
Google My Business is only suitable for organizations that have a physical address where customers can go. At the same time, employees should be able to communicate with customers in person during the stated opening hours, and not only by phone or the Internet.
The service cannot create pages for brands and organizations operating only on the Internet. That is, if you represent, for example, online courses and you do not have an office, then the organization will not be registered.
The issuance of the card is most influenced by the company’s rating (ratings and reviews), the distance to the object and the user’s personal interests.
In regions that are under Google sanctions, such as Crimea, registration of a new address is not available.
HOW TO REGISTER AN ORGANIZATION IN GOOGLE MY BUSINESS?
To register a new organization, follow the link and select “Add business details to Google”
Next, you need to enter the name of the company. This step is necessary in order not to create duplicates of the same organizations. Therefore, here you need to specify a unique company name or choose from the proposed ones (maybe your company is already registered by someone, then you will need to claim the rights to this branch, following the instructions). Starting from January 2019, once the company is established, it is not possible to change the name Therefore, be especially careful when filling out this field.
Also, according to the rules, you cannot use double names and names that contain keywords. For example, if you have language courses, you cannot name the organization “English Courses” or “English Language – School of English”. If this is not part of the official name, then this is a violation of the rules and during verification the account may be blocked. In order to define the scope of activity, there are categories.
The next step is to indicate the physical address of the organization and select the category of activity that is most suitable for your company as a whole.
This is an important point, since your company in the future will often be found not by direct request, but in the search by category (categories can be very different, for example, “Internet marketing services”, “tea shop”, “insurance agent”). You can find a complete, but not official, list of categories here.
It is important, if you did not find your business category, choose the more general one from the suggested ones. today there are more than 4000 of them. You cannot create your own new individual categories.
If you own two campaigns at the same address, for example, you are the owner of a hotel with a restaurant, create two separate objects – a restaurant and a hotel.
Depending on the specifics of the activity, various options may be available for your category (for example, rating the convenience of rooms for hotels or a booking button for beauty salons).
Next, you need to specify contact information. The data must be reliable, since the specified phone number during working hours can be called and checked whether the organization is really working. If a company fails the audit, it could be blocked.
At the same stage, you can select the option “Create a free website” based on the information provided. But be careful, if you choose this option, this free template will be used by default in Google Maps. That is, people clicking on your organization will go to the free site, not the main site. In general, if you have a working site, then it is better to leave “I do not need a site.”
The next step is to confirm that this company belongs to you. You will most likely have a confirmation email option available. A paper letter with a code will be sent to the mailing address you specified within 13 days.
Some accounts also offer phone verification options (receive a call to the specified number), email (receive a code to your email address), instant confirmation (if your site is verified in Google Search Console).
Until the company passes verification, the functionality of the account will be limited.
To post data about an organization where mail services are not available (for example, ATO zone: Donetsk, Lugansk), you must request a letter, wait 14 days and only then contact the support service to prove the organization is located in any other way. Most likely, you will be asked to take photographs of the facade of the building, where it will be seen that the organization is located here.
HOW TO ADD MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS?
If a campaign has 10 or more affiliates, you can change their details using bulk upload.
To do this, you must have a working email address in the corporate domain, for example [email protected], where uaa.com.ua is the domain.
Next, you need to create a branch group so that you can delegate the right to manage information about their branch to employees. For example, you have a chain of stores in different cities of Ukraine. Each branch will have its own working hours, its own photos and its own reviews.
Enter the name of the branch group and click done. Now you can migrate existing branches to your organization account or create a table for bulk data upload.
To load the data on branches in bulk through the table, go to the branch group – Add address – Import data – Download template. Correctly fill in all the fields, the link contains all the mandatory requirements. Below is a sample of what the finished table looks like.
After that click Add Address – Import Data – Select File. Click Submit to confirm your changes.
To edit users, click the gear icon. You will be presented with the basic settings of the address group. Here you can add or remove users and assign them basic roles (owner or administrator).
HOW TO SEE THE STATISTICS ABOUT THE COMPANY IN GOOGLE MY BUSINESS?
To understand how effective your placement is, look at the statistics. Thanks to her, you can find out exactly how your organization is found and what targeted actions are taken next.
You can view statistics for a specific branch or for the entire account.
To view statistics for several branches, select addresses – actions – statistics. Set the period, select Search data for your company – Download report.
Importantly, statistics reports are only available for verified pages.
To view statistics for a specific branch, go to it, select the statistics section.
Here you can see:
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on what requests users go: direct or by category;
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search queries for which they found a company;
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Google services that find your business (search or maps);
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user actions (opening a website, laying a route, calling you);
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route requests (from where customers plan routes to your company);
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statistics on phone calls (when and how many times customers call you);
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photo views (how many times users have viewed photos of your company and other organizations).
HOW TO LINK MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT WITH GOOGLE ADS?
If you want to add the Places extension to your Google Ads, you need to link your My Business and Ads accounts. When both accounts are registered on the same mail, then you need to go to the Ads and extensions tab, Extensions, click + Address and select an account.
To link to a Google My Business account that you don’t own, enter its email address. When your request is approved, you can display addresses from that account in your ads.
To view and accept requests to link to My Business, open the Linked accounts tab, in the Requests section, click confirm or deny.
If there are several addresses in the account, then along with the Google Ads ad, the one that is closest to the person making the request will be pulled.
If you need to add only one address to a specific advertising campaign. You can add it using filters.
To make your organization appear above the rest for a search query in Google Maps, but marked with ads, do not forget to enable search partners in the settings of advertising campaigns.
HOW TO OPTIMIZE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS OR INCIDENTAL LIFE HUCKS
To make the card with your organization appear as high as possible, check these points.
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Fill in everything Basic information about the organization: address, opening hours, services, website, description, company history, photos from the owner.
If you don’t fill out this information yourself, your competitors may add it. -
One of the most significant ranking factors for an organization is quantity and quality of reviews… Responding to reviews increases your visibility on search engines, especially for local queries. Just do not need to “wind up” them, adding artificially – such Google notices and removes. Ask satisfied customers to share their experiences. It is desirable that reviews contain the name of the services provided, the location and other details. You can come up with a motivation system for buyers, for example, by offering them a discount on their next purchase, subject to leaving a review. Be polite in your dealings with customers, even if you leave negative reviews. From your My Business dashboard, you can monitor and respond to new questions and feedback about your company.
- Use messaging… Free version of mini chat. You can provide customers with the ability to send you messages directly from the company page. With this feature, you can quickly answer questions and share information. To use it, you need to download the application from the Play Store or App Store.
- Photo and video campaign… Especially the video. Significantly increases your chances of showing up in search results higher.
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Recordings… You can add company news, ongoing events, give bonuses directly from your Google My Business account.
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Statistics on records are available to you separately. Your organization’s card looks more impressive and brighter in search results. If you do not know what to post, there is a button “Need ideas? See what kind of records other companies are publishing? ” Here you can add products and select a call to action.
A little life hack – entries without an end date stop showing after seven days. If you want your organization card to look attractive, say, throughout the season, add a promotion that expires in a few months.
Thus, Google My Business is an essential tool for promoting your business on the Internet. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain and develop this free source of potential buyers.
