How to Add Your Business to Google Maps
It’s time to increase the exposure your business gets online. Get your business on the world’s most popular map with these three steps.
Why Put Your Business on Google Maps?
While getting your business on the first page of Google can increase traffic to your website, getting your business on Google Maps can increase traffic to your store. When you put your business on Google Maps, you are paving the way for greater brand reach. Customers searching for, say, coffee, in their local area will open up Google Maps in search of that cup of joe and discover that your business (a café) is just a few minutes away from their location. With no work on your end, you’ve just scored a new customer!
Getting on Google maps can also increase website traffic because your Maps listing contains your website.
The more easily and frequently your business’s name appears on Google Maps, a trusted source of information, the more people will start trickling in. Even if you don’t own a brick and mortar store, you can benefit from the exposure Google Maps provides.
If You’re Already on Google Maps
If you’re already on Google Maps and have claimed your listing, check to see if your business is optimized to appear for relevant searches. Our free tool below will give you a fast and easy assessment:
How attractive is your Google maps listing?
3 Steps to Putting Your Business on Google Maps
You may now be saying, “Alright, let’s do it. Tell me how to put my business on Google.” We’ve got you covered. We’ve outlined the process—which is FREE, by the way—in this easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide. Here is short, listed version. Below, we’ll go into more depth for each step.
- Check to see if you are already listed
- If you aren’t listed, create a place on Google Maps
- Claim your listing through Google My Business
Here are the steps laid out in more detail.
1. Check to See if You are Listed Already
Search for your business on Google Maps. If it shows up, this means your business is already listed.
If your business does not show up, you’ll see a prompt to add a missing place.
2. If You Are Not Yet Listed—Create a Place
To add your business as a place, click the prompt that shows up in the search result.
Provide your name, address, and category. Your category selection is important as it enables your business to show up in results for searches other than your business name (like “appliance repair “). These are the searches being performed by potential customers!
In the category box, you’ll see a drop-down box with common categories, but you can also start typing in your industry keyword(s) to see the most closely matching categories.
3. If/Once You Are Listed, Claim Your Google Listing
Adding your business as a place will put your business on Google Maps, but that doesn’t ensure you will rank on Google Maps. In order to rank for searches relevant to your business (and get new customers), you need to optimize your listing. This requires submitting accurate information and updating it as needed, which requires you to have ownership over your listing.
Anyone can add a place (which is why your business might show up on Google Maps even if you yourself haven’t added it.) In order to be able to add and update your information, you need to claim your listing.
To claim your listing, click on “Claim this business” once you’ve added your business as a place.
After you’ve filled in all your info and selected a business category, Google will verify your business’s address by physically sending a postcard to you.
This postcard is inscribed with a verification PIN, which you will then input online to complete the verification. Phone verification, email verification, and instant verification do exist but are only available for select businesses. Here is Google’s page on verifying your business listing.
Getting your business on Google Maps is only the first step in the process. Head to our page on How to Rank Higher on Google Maps to get your business showing up higher for relevant searches.
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