Google My Business is a Google tool that allows you to create and edit your company profile on the world's largest search engine.
If you have ever searched for a business on Google, and then saw all of the business’ information on the right side of the search results, then you have encountered Google My Business (GMB). Company profiles appear on both Maps and search results and are a great opportunity to attract new customers.
Let's review what Google My Business is all about and how you can use it to improve your business results.
Google My Business is a free tool created by Google to help companies manage their online visibility and find local customers. Creating a GMB account allows you to identify yourself as the owner of a company and modify the information that appears in Google, for example, the description of the company, contact information, opening and closing hours, and a link to your website.
Google My Business is not a single tool, but a sort of control panel that allows you to manage various elements of your business' presence on Google.
Although in principle Google My Business is intended for businesses with a physical store, you can also use it if you work from home or if your business is a local service company, even if you do not have a postal address.
The Google My Business company profile includes what was previously known as Google Places for businesses, Google Listings and Google+ For Enterprise business pages, for internal corporate social networks that are using G-Suite.
To start using Google My Business, you need to verify your company. You can do this by phone, SMS, or by requesting a card with a code from Google to receive at your postal address.
In addition to accessing Google My Business from the web interface, you can also download the Google My Business application, which allows you to access the same functionalities.
Company profiles and websites are the two key elements to ensure your company is properly displayed on Google. Let's review what they consist of and what you can do with them.
The company profile in Google My Business is a kind of information sheet that allows you to manage how you want your business to appear in Google’s search engine results page and Google Maps. These are its main functionalities:
Google My Business helps you create an attractive website to establish your company's online presence and attract new customers.
These are the main advantages of Google My Business websites:
If you already have your own website, don’t worry! The websites and business listings in Google My Business are independent. This means if you already have your own website, you can link it to your business profile even if you didn't create it through Google My Business.
Google My Business is a tool specially designed to help you reach more users and convert them into customers. These are some of the features you can take advantage of to multiply your leads:
Google My Business is completely free, but if you want to make the most of its potential to attract new customers, you can strategically combine it with a Google Ads campaign.
In August 2020, Google launched some new features in Google My Business, especially oriented to small businesses. According to their data, approximately 90% of the profiles in this tool are local businesses with a single location.
These are the main new features: