Claiming Your Google My Business Page

Let’s jump right into creating your Google My Business page!

Your objective in this chapter is to locate and claim your Google My Business page.

Step 1: Locate your business. Go to google.com/business and click “Get on Google.” This will bring up your company’s “Google My Business” page. On the following page, you will have to type in your business name and address. (Hint: If you cannot find your business, try using your business name and city/state. If your business does not show, click “I’ve correctly entered the name and address.”)

More than likely, your business will show. Click on it.

Step 2: Claim your business. Depending on the current status, you may get a few different screens. If the location is claimed by someone else, you will need to request rights (like in this example). Remember, if you don’t own the business, don’t waste your time trying to claim another business listing.

If the business has never been claimed, you will see a screen that looks like this (photo has been edited to remove actual business name). If you are an authorized representative, check the box and click “Continue.”

Step 3: Verify the listing.

To do this, there are three different methods. However, Google will only show you one or two.

Option 1: Verify by phone (easiest and fastest method). We recommend this if possible.

Option 2: Mail a postcard. Google will send a postcard in the mail to your business address with a code on it. You will need to enter this code to claim the listing.

Option 3: Verify via Google Analytics, proving that you have control of the website for the business. (This one is relatively new and is not usually available since Google is just rolling it out.)

Follow the instructions provided to you in this section. (We don’t have a screen shot for you because we’re not currently in the need to claim a real business.)

Once you have claimed the page you will be able to add additional information. For example, you can add links to other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. You can also connect it to your website (which we highly recommend) because it builds additional trust for your brand within the search engines.

The Page is Claimed… Now What?

After you have finished the claiming process, it’s important to add occasional updates so potential customers can see you are still in business. This doesn’t have to be done every day, but we recommend you do it at least 1-2 times a month. If you follow our recommendation to add content to your blog twice a month, you can simply share that post on your Google My Business page (while also adding it to your other social profiles). This builds safe backlinks to your site and also keeps you fresh in the minds of your social media followers.

Final Thoughts

Getting your Google My Business page set up, claimed and filled out is probably the second most important thing you can do for your business online (only second to having a website). It is a huge source of traffic for many businesses and typically the first thing searchers coming from a mobile device will see when they perform a search. It costs nothing and has a huge upside, so make sure you get it done!

You’ve met your objective in this chapter of locating and claiming your Google My Business page.