Get Free Leads with Google My Business

Imagine getting free leads forever with just 10 minutes of work.

If your local business does not have a Google My Business listing then you are missing out on any chance of being shown in Google’s Local Pack at the TOP of Google’s search results.

Figure 1: Google My Business Listings are displayed in Local Pack at top of Google search results.

Without a Google My Business listing, you are literally handing your fair share of free leads to your competitors.

Fortunately, it’s quick and easy to get your local business listed with Google My Business.

Click here to get your Google My Business now.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free service that allows business owners to easily list their company with Google and manage information that is presented to the public. GMB listings contain basic business information such as company name, address, phone numbers, website, services, and hours of operation.

Google My Business also provides features to encourage businesses and the public to communicate with one another including:

• Posting specials and events
• Asking questions
• Submitting and displaying reviews
• Publishing photos and videos
• Private messaging

Figure 2: Information card resulting from Google My Business listing.

How to Create or Claim Your Google My Business Listing

To start you’ll need a Gmail or Google account. If you have one, log in:

https://accounts.google.com

If you do not have Gmail or a Google account, you can sign up here:

https://accounts.google.com/SignUpWithoutGmail

Once you have a Google account, you can create or claim your GMB listing. Google My Business is constantly changing. For this reason, it is best to follow the current instructions from Google. Click the link below to view Google’s instructions to “Add or claim your business listing”.

https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en

When creating or editing your GMB listing, you’ll want to follow Google’s guidelines to avoid complications, such as having your listing suspended. You can find the guidelines here:

https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en

Common problems local businesses encounter when entering or updating company data:

• Use your full official company name. Do not add “keywords” to your company name. For example, do not change “Johnson’s Painting LLC” to “Johnson’s Painting – Interior & Exterior”. Two reasons:
  • 1) It’s against Google guidelines and if they detect it, your listing will be flagged and removed from search results.
  • 2) Google attempts to match your business to various online and offline data sources to determine its “prominence”. Variation in business name may result in Google assigning less “prominence” to your business and lower rankings.
• Use an actual physical mailing address. Google does not accept PO boxes as an address. Google also does not accept addresses that are commercial mailing facilities such as UPS Stores or Mail Boxes Etc.
• Use your local phone number as the primary phone. If you have a toll-free number list it as a secondary number. Reality is people expect local businesses to have local phone numbers. Toll-free numbers are for non-local companies.

Verify Your Google My Business Listing

You must complete verification of your GMB listing. Failure to verify your listing will generally result in your business being removed from Google’s Local Pack. Seriously, why would Google show an unverified business when there are so many verified businesses?

To verify your business Google will usually send a letter, mailer, or postcard to your business address via USPS. The mailer will contain a verification code. When you receive it, simply follow the instructions. Complete the verification process as soon as the letter arrives. The sooner verification is completed, the sooner you’ll start getting valuable leads. Fail to complete the verification process and your business will not be shown to motivated potential customers in the Local Pack.

Figure 3: Contents of Google My Business verification mailer.

Important: If the verification mailer does not arrive within 2 weeks, login into your GMB listing, verify your business address is correct, and request Google to send another mailer by clicking the “I don’t have a code” link circled in red below.

Figure 4: Google My Business administration page for unverified business.

Learn more about the verification process here:

https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en

or watch the fun video below:

What if my GMB listing is already claimed?

This is a common problem. Many GMB listings have been claimed in the past, generally by former employees or former marketing companies.

In this case, you’ll want to request ownership of the listing. Requesting ownership is easy, though it can take a couple weeks.

Instructions for requesting GMB ownership can be found here:

https://support.google.com/business/answer/4566671?hl=en

Important: Avoid creating more than one GMB listing for any given address and local phone number. Google tries to prevent multiple listings, but if duplicates slip through, Google periodically scans all local listings and flags duplicate listings. Flagged listings are generally marked as inappropriate and removed from search results.

Once you have created, claimed, or re-claimed ownership of your GMB listing, you are ready to put it to use.

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The author, Fred Lovine, is president of 99 Calls which specializes in highly cost-effective lead generation for contractors and local service area businesses such as roofers, painters, plumbers, cleaners, electricians, damage restoration, handymen, landscapers, pest control, paving, photographers, and more.