You may have noticed the local listings on Google when you do a search for a particular type of business in a particular city. For example, if you type in "pizza shop Greenville" or "shoe store New York" you receive a listing of what Google considers the top ten business those categories. Pretty neat.
Even neater is that these listings are at the top of page one, displayed before any of the organic search results. If you understand how important being at the top of page one on Google can be for a business, your palms may already be getting sweaty. That is prime real estate, the "million-dollar-view" in the search engine results.
Even with all this potential, lots of business owners haven't taken advantage of this great, free chance to be listed here by Google. The steps below show you how to get your business in the game. And while simply creating or claiming your business's local listing isn't a guarantee Google will put you in the top ten, it's well worth your time to create a local business listing for your company.
Step 1) If you don't have an account with Google already, go to their homepage and create one by clicking the login button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. After signing up and verifying your account you're ready to move on.
Step 2) Check to see if you already have a Google local business listing by going to Google Maps (maps.Google) and typing the address of your business. If the name of your business appears below the address you typed in, Google has beaten you to it by automatically creating a local business listing for your business. More often than not, if your company has been around for any length of time, Google will have already created a local business listing for you from information it's gathered about your company from other sources like YellowPage listings, etc. Believe me, if you exist in any significant form, "Big Brother" Google knows.
If your listing's already there, go ahead and claim your local business listing by clicking on the business name under the results for your address. In the info bubble that appears over the map, click on the button to edit the listing. It will ask if you are the business owner. Answer in the affirmative and complete the steps Google provides for claiming your business. Now with your stake claimed, you're ready to jump right in to creating the listing in Step 3.
If Google doesn't know about you yet just go to (Google/local/add) and create local business listing there by clicking on the "add new business" button. Then move on to Step 3.
Step 3) Now the fun part, creating the listing.
First, fill in your business's address and various forms of contact info if it's not there already.
Next comes your business's description, arguably the most challenging, yet very important piece of your local listing. Google limits business descriptions to 200 characters or less, including spaces. Google appears to have adopted the famous line from Dragnet's Agent Friday, "Just the facts, mam' just the facts," as its motto for this section. Trying to intelligibly describe your business in such a small amount of space can be a real challenge, but doable. Just remember, in your quest for brevity, don't neglect sprinkling your description with keywords you believe your customers would use when searching for a business like yours.
Next, select your business categories. Don't overdo it here, but let Google know every category of products or service that you offer. Google will display a list of suggested categories as you're typing. If it makes sense, use them, if not, continue typing out your own. You don't have to use Google's cookie-cutter categories. Don't rush through this section, Google relies heavily on the business categories you're creating here when deciding whether to include your listing for a certain category of searches.
Now, fill in your hours of operation and methods of payment you accept.
Google allows each local business listing to upload up to 10 photos and 5 videos. If you've got them, use them. The more information you provide Google with the better.
Finally, complete the additional details section by providing the small stuff, like if parking is available, if you carry any specialty brands, etc.
Step 4) Click confirm, get a telephone call from Google with a verification PIN number, enter their PIN, and you're done! According to Google, local listings become active in 24 hours or less. So you won't have to wait long to enjoy well-deserved fruits of your labor.
Congratulations! You did it. Now go reward yourself by Googling "pizza delivery (your city here)" and reward a fellow local listing compatriot with your business!
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