Increase you visibility with a step by step guide to Google My Business.

Welcome to another article in our "How to Increase your Sales 101: Visibility in the Age of Social Media" series. In this week’s step-by-step guide, you will learn how to set up a free business listing on Google. This should take you around 15 minutes, so let’s get started!

Things you will need:

1. A Google Account
2. Information regarding your business (your address, OPTIONAL – your number, website URL, pictures)

Step 1:

Open Google My Business and click on the “Start Now” button on the top right.

Step 2:

If you are not logged in, Google will now prompt you to sign in. After, it asks you the name of your business. Add it in the field and click next when done,

Step 3:

Add the location of your business and click next when done.

Step 4:

Add the category of your business. Google has pre-specified categories and you cannot make your own. Pick one that is the closest match to your business category. Click next when done. (Note: The following are available categories: Contractor, Electrician, Electrical Wholesaler, HVAC Contractor, Plumber, Wholesaler etc.)

Step 5:

This is an OPTIONAL STEP (but highly recommended). Add your contact information and website URL if you have one. Click next when done.

Step 6:

That’s it! Click on finish and your business is now listed on Google!

Note: the following steps are not necessary, just additional tips.

For these, you will go to the Google my Business homepage

Tip 1: CHANGING OR ADDING NEW INFORMATION

• In case you wish to change any of the information above, go the Google My Business homepage. Click the “Info” button on the left panel.
• In addition to changing any info, you can add Hours of operation, special hours (for holidays) and pictures. People love pictures, it lets them know you’re a real human being. If you don’t have any, and you’re in the Toronto area, contact us and we’d be happy to schedule our in-house photographer to help you out.

Tip 2: CREATING POSTS

• To create a new post, click on the “Posts” section on the left panel.
• Alternatively, you can just click on “Create Post” on the homepage.
• You can engage with your audience using the posts section. You can add your prices, new stock availability, event promotion, or any information that you think is useful for your customers.
• You can see our article on writing clear, concise and efficient posts online.

Tip 3: MANAGING REVIEWS

• We will focus on this more next week. But you can manage your reviews by clicking on the “Review” button in the left panel.

Tip 4: CREATING WEBSITE

• We will focus more on websites in the next section of the series. But, you can create a free website with Google. It is just a different layout of all the information available on Google My Business.

Thank you for following along! Join us again next week for the next part in the series: “Why Online Reviews Matter”.

Let us know if you have any comments or further questions in the comments section below.

 Written by,

Mahima Jhalani, Business Success Associate at Phyxter.

For more helpful articles, an amazing free app for skilled tradespeople, and a cost conscious website builder for HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical businesses...CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE.