Technology is now available to everyone and, when it comes to advertising for companies, we must be able to take full advantage of the technological advantage in order to re-emerge on competitors. One of the most effective tools for making your business known, whether it is an online business or any type of service, is called Google My Business, which is the server to promote a business on Google maps and, consequently, on the Google search (in case the search carried out by users is consistent with the activity carried out by our business). It therefore becomes possible to advertise for free on Google within Google Maps, to be easily found in the maps by registering with Google My Business, a kind of modern Yellow Pages, where you go to record businesses, shops or any person who wants to do know others where and how to contact them. Let's see together how to add activities in Google Maps and how to use Google My Business .
What is Google My Business
As mentioned in the introduction, Google My Business allows you to manage all the information related to our business on all Google services, including Maps and Web Searches . In addition to the basic information, we can also use credits (sold separately) to advertise the company in related searches and provide quick information directly under the search bar, so that users do not even have to open the information sheet (as in the photo here down).
This type of search integration helps potential customers find us when they do a simple Google search or when they use the Google Maps app on their smartphone to find us. Not taking advantage of this type of opportunity is deleterious, so it is better to equip ourselves immediately with a Google account and be prepared to manage the online activity too.
How to promote the business
With a Google or Gmail account already in our possession, we can start managing our activities from the Google My Business site, by clicking on the Login button and, after logging in with the Google account, on the large + at the bottom right.
We will be asked for the type of activity carried out and the address in which the activity is present, so that we can check whether it is already present in the Google indexing (which is based on the shots taken with the Google Car and the information available on other sites or from information shared by other users). If there is no reference to our company (perhaps because we have recently opened), the time has come to fill in the form with all the useful information on the activity.
To do it quickly we can also access the tab already present on Google about our business (created automatically by Google for Maps) and click on the wording You are the owner of this business ">
In this way we will immediately become the owners of this information sheet and we will be able to insert exact information on the activity (in addition to the photos and the preview of the map). Google obviously will carry out checks to check that we are really the owners of this business, so as not to leave anything in the hands of users unrelated to it.
Information to be entered
But what information do we need to enter to create a nice summary sheet of the activity? Below we have collected what we consider indispensable, which Google My Business itself recommends to fill in in detail:- Name - We insert the name of our business, avoiding unnecessary information such as the full company name. To benefit you we can also insert a small reference to the type of activity carried out, so as to facilitate the search (if our pizzeria is called Ristoro, we will have to write Pizzeria Ristoro and not only Ristoro).
- Category - On Google My Business we find over 2, 000 categories available, with all types of activities that can be opened in Italy. Let's examine them carefully and choose the one most consistent with the business: there is nothing worse than a customer who comes to us by mistake!
- Description - We insert important information on the activity carried out, avoiding unnecessary propaganda slogans (totally useless!). For the description we have 700 words, useful to describe the history, the peculiarities and the qualities that reflect your business compared to the competition.
- Address, telephone, opening hours - These are undoubtedly the most useful information for customers: we check that the address is correct, that at least one telephone number is always available and we fix the opening hours with maximum precision (indicating also any days of rest in which we are closed). If your business hours change over time, remember to update them promptly on the card as well: another very unpleasant thing for the business is to find customers outside the door convinced that we were open on a specific day or time.
- Web Link - If in addition to the file we also have a website dedicated to the activity, we can insert it among the information, so that the user can always access it (especially if it is an integral part of the activity).
- Peak times : we can also indicate (obviously in a completely theoretical line) what the times are with the number of people, so as to allow customers to come and visit us at more convenient times for us.
- Additional attributes - Some particular categories (for example restaurants and hotels) can show information on the services and products offered (for example Free Wi-Fi, outdoor seats, air conditioning, wardrobe, suitable for children, suitable for families etc.) . By adding this type of attributes to our business, users will be "guided" in their choice, which will bring them straight to us!
Let's not forget to insert a nice cover image and to add at least 4 photos related to the activity, so that we can convince even more customers to choose us. If you are wondering if it is possible to deactivate or pilot the comments, immediately give up: Google does not provide you with this "power", which therefore remains in the hands of customers (who can evaluate our business independently). This is the price to pay for online advertising: if your business has only 4 stars or less, do everything to improve the service or products, so bring the judgment to the level of competition (a good business always has at least 4.3 stars out of 5).
Statistics to check
After creating our information sheet, from Google My Business we can check all the statistics relating to the card and the visibility of our business.
From the site page we can see the number of views on Maps and on Google, take advantage of any advertising credits offered or purchased by Google, add new photos, create an AdWords ad, add a post on Google+ (which remains available for companies) or check more advanced statistics on the type of users who are looking for the page (PC or smartphone), on the time when the most research related to the activity and the most sought-after information about us are carried out.
Conclusions
In this guide we have given you just a smattering of the potential offered by a powerful tool like Google. To find out more, we can always consult the complete guide to Google My Business.If our business is deeply tied to the Internet, we recommend you read our guides How to make money with a blog or website and How to activate Adsense on a Blog and what requirements are required .
