How To Create & Set Up Your Google Business Profile
Before even creating a profile, it’s important to know the Google Business Profile ranking factors. Knowing which factors influence rankings will help ensure that the listing is properly created and optimized. Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business) plays a major role in Local SEO and online visibility. This is because over 88% of local searches result in a call or visit within 24 hours, and localized searches that include “near me” have grown by over 900% (ex: “plumbers near me”). For product and service-related searches, Google (almost) always provides localized results. Google My Business gives you important data about how customers find you and relate with your listing. Google My Business is a free tool that helps small businesses create and manage their Google listings, which appear when customers find businesses on Google Search result page and Maps.
Follow these steps to create and set up your Google Business Profile:
- Sign in to a Google Account
- Log in to Business Profile Manager
- Enter the name of your business
- Choose a primary business category
- Add your business address
- Specify service areas (Only for Service Area Businesses)
- Add your phone number and website
- Complete your profile
- Verify your listing
If your business does not have a website, I strongly recommend creating a local SEO landing page one as part of your search engine optimization strategy. Doing so will improve your chances of ranking, and help build backlinks from your Google Business Profile to your website.
