At first glance, it may seem like the question of why you need a Google My Business profile and how to show up on Google Maps are unrelated. But the connection is crucial, as you need a Google Business Profile to appear on Maps. Explore some of the other reasons to have a Google My Business profile, as well as what exactly you have to do to appear on Google Maps. Schedule a call to optimize your GBP.

You Need a Google Business Profile to Show Up on Google Maps

As mentioned, you need a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) to appear on Google Maps. So, the process of claiming that profile and ensuring you appear accurately on Google Maps is as follows.

1. Claim Your Profile

Start by searching for your business on Google to see if there is already a profile for it. If there is, claim it. If there isn’t, create it. Whether or not a profile already exists will depend on if someone uploaded a photo or wrote a review of your business.

Google will ask you to fill out the following information:

• Business name
• Address (or service area)
• Website
• Phone number
• Hours
• Category
• Attributes

You can also choose a URL and short name, which you should do.

1. Verify Your Business

After claiming your Google Business Profile, Google will ask you to verify it. This prevents misinformation and other issues by ensuring you are really the owner. You can verify with Google Search Console, email, phone, or a postcard sent to your address with a verification code.

1. You Will Be on Google Maps

At this point, your business will appear on Google Maps, assuming you have a physical location. Not all contractors have physical locations, but you should still show up if someone searches in your service area.

You can still optimize your profile to help your business show up as one of the first results on Google Maps. Do so by encouraging customer reviews, ensuring your profile is accurate and complete, and optimizing your Google Business Profile with photos and posts.

But other than ensuring you appear on Google Maps, why else do you need a Google Business Profile?

Google My Business Is Crucial for Local Marketing

Simply put, your Google Business Profile is essential for your local marketing strategy. Claiming your profile is one of the very first things you will need to do as part of your local SEO efforts. This is because Google prioritizes results from businesses with a profile, and most people search on Google.

That’s crucial because a large chunk of your new customers find you online via local search. That’s likely especially true if you offer emergency services, such as emergency plumbing.

Not only will your business appear in the search results, but with proper optimization, it can be one of the first three. This will mean it appears above general search results with the other top-ranked businesses. That gives you an incredible level of visibility, dramatically increasing website traffic and phone calls.

People Can Leave Reviews on Your Profile

Another crucial reason you need a Google Business Profile is so people can leave reviews – and others can find them. Customer reviews are crucial as the vast majority of people will check reviews for a service before hiring a contractor.

Someone could theoretically leave your business a review if you don’t have a Google Business Profile yet. But they would have to input your business information, making it more effort than they are likely willing to put in.

Keep in mind that reviews don’t just increase your client base. They also help you rank higher on the Google search results page, especially for local searches.

Google Business Profile Comes with Additional Features and Analytics

In addition to helping with visibility, claiming your Google Business Profile also gives you access to some crucial data and insights. Just log into your account and click on “Insights.” You can see how many views your profile is getting, as well as view counts for posts and photos. You can also see keywords people are using and get data on the people following and interacting with your profile.

You can use those insights to adjust your marketing, focusing your efforts on areas that are the most important.

Conclusion

Using your Google Business Profile is the only way to ensure that your business appears on Google Maps. In addition to visibility on Google Maps, using your profile helps with visibility in the search results. It also provides insights to help you improve your marketing, and best of all, it’s free.