13/06/2022
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In an effort to gain more visibility on Google, many businesses create a Google business listing (known officially as a Business Profile). If youโre one such business owner, something you might not realize is that creating a Business Profile does not give you management over it, and you need those management and editing capabilities if you want your Business Profile to work for you as an effective SEO and lead generation tool.
So how do you gain management over your Google Business Profile? The answer is that, in addition to creating a free Business Profile, you must also separately create a free Google My Business account for that profile.
A Google My Business account is the only means by which you can claim ownership of your Business Profile, attain management rights to it, and unlock additional free features to increase your visibility on Google. In this post, Iโm going to cover everything you need to know about Google My Business, including:
โข What Google My Business is
โข How to use Google My Business effectively
โข How to use Google My Business for SEO
โข How to create a Google My Business account
Read on so you can incorporate this free and powerful tool to your marketing toolkit!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ?
As mentioned, Google My Business is a tool that enables you to manage and optimize your Business Profile on Google. So to explain what Google My Business is and how it works, letโs first make sure weโre clear on what a Business Profile is.
Your Business Profile is Googleโs term for your Google business listing. Business Profiles appear in Google Maps and in the local results of Google Search.
Creating a Business Profile is the same thing as adding a place to Google Mapsโwhich is something that anyone (including a random stranger or an automated listing generator) can do. All that Google requires is the business name, location, and category. Once Google confirms it is not a duplicate, they will create the Business Profile for that location. The Business Profile is then open to consumers to leave reviews, add photos, ask questions, and even answer questions. The Business Profile may also get populated with information that Google pulls in from across the web.
What this means is, a Business Profile can exist on its own, apart from a Google My Business account. And whether you created your own Business Profile or not, you donโt have the ability to manage the information it displays or the reviews it collects.
That is where Google My Business comes in. By creating a Google My Business account, you can access, customize, manage, and enhance your Business Profile on Google, all still for free, which weโll get into next.