Claiming your Google My Business (GMB) listing is one of the preliminary steps in establishing an effective local marketing strategy, and an incredibly powerful way to build online credibility.
Verifying your business with Google gives you an opportunity to feature the best of your brand, properly optimize your Business Profile, and manage how your business information appears across Google Search and Maps. This further allows potential clientele to discover, learn about, and reach your company with just a few taps or mouse-clicks.
Follow these 5 easy steps to the verification process:
Step 1. In the Google My Business Dashboard, access your Google my Business account by simply signing in with your business email domain, or set up a new Google account for your business listing if you don’t have one yet.
Step 2. Enter the address of your business location. You may be prompted to position a marker on your business location on a map. For businesses which do not have physical location, such as online shops, but operate with a particular service area, you may list and specify the area instead. In this step, you will also be able to choose how your business will display on Google Maps.
Step 3. Select a business category. Using Google’s extensive list of business categories, search for and select the most accurate category that fits your business best. This information will appear within your GMB profile, and help customers to find your products and services whenever they are searching for a business like yours.
Step 4. Enter contact information. While this is not mandatory, adding your contact phone number and website URL, whenever available, is highly recommended to optimize GMB functionalities (i.e. call tracking). Google also offers an option to create a free website based on the given information.
Step 5. Complete your GMB profile and choose a verification option. Prior to having your business listing displayed in Google Search and Maps, you will need to verify your connection with the business to ensure that all given information are accurate and that only the business owners have access to it.
- Postcard verification. Some business owners choose to complete their verification process through verification postcards, which will be sent to the registered address within five business days. This card contains a code that will be entered in your GMB account to verify the business.
- Email verification. While verifying through email is the easiest option, this is however only available to selected businesses. For eligible business, a “Verify by email” button will appear on screen. In this option, verification code will be sent to your registered Google account that is associated with the GMB listing.
- Phone verification. Similar with the email verification, only selected business will have the option to verify their listing over the phone, where you will be receiving an automated message with a verification code.
Claim your Business through Google Maps
Once your business appears in Google business listings, you may claim it as yours through Google Maps.
1. Head to Google Maps and enter your business name in the search bar.
2. You may also use the link from the confirmation email, which will be automatically sent once business has been added to Google’s listings
3. Select the correct business name and click “Claim this business” which is usually found on the left-hand side of the map. Check out the “Manage now” menu and fill out the required information.
4. For a business listing that was created by someone else, you will need to confirm and verify your account as the legit business owner. Follow the verification process as stated above.
Do you want to boost your local SEO rankings? Or to simply connect and engage with customers across Google search and Maps, as well as provide them with the most complete and up-to-date information about your business? Then, what are you waiting for? Claim and verify your business on Google now!
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