Guide for Google Business Profile

If you’re planning to build your local SEO, Google My Business is a must.

Google My Business (GMB) is a free, easy-to-use tool for businesses and organisations to manage their online presence on Google, including Search and Maps. It lets you connect with customers directly and keep key information current, your business name, location, contact details (phone, website, email), opening hours, review replies, photos, and more.

When people search for a nearby product or service, they’re usually close to making a purchase. In fact, 50% of people who run a local search like “computer repair store near me” visit a store that same day. Using GMB keeps your business info public, complete, reliable, and optimised, a genuinely effective way to turn leads into sales.

Now you’re probably wondering how to actually set up your Google My Business account, claim ownership, and verify your listing. It’s simpler than it sounds, just follow this step-by-step guide and you’ll have it running in no time.

Create a Google My Business Profile

1. Sign up for a free Google Account for your business (or log in if you already have one).
2. Go to https://www.google.com.au/business/sign-up/index.html and select “Continue” to create your GMB account.
3. Enter your business name.
4. Choose the category that best fits your business. Be as accurate as possible here, since it determines which customers actually see your listing.
5. Add your business address or location, for a store or office, for instance.
   • If you serve customers at your business address:
     • Enter your business address.
     • Click Next. If you also serve customers outside your business address, you’ll get the option to list your service areas too.
   • If you don’t serve customers at your business address:
     • Enter your business address.
     • Check the box at the bottom, “I deliver goods and services to my customers,” then select Next.
     • List your service areas, then click Next.
6. Add your business phone number and website URL.
7. Select a verification option. It’s worth reviewing your information carefully before requesting verification.
   • To verify now, find the red banner at the top and click “Verify Now.”
   • To verify later, click Verify Later, then Later.

For more on reviewing your business information properly, check out the Google My Business Help Centre.

How to Verify Your Business on Google

Keeping your business info accurate across Google requires verification. It protects you from anyone trying to falsely represent your business.

You’ll need to verify your business before you can edit any of its information on Google.

There are several ways to verify, postcard, phone, email, instant verification, and bulk verification among them. If you want to dig into these options further, this Google article is worth a read.

For GMB verification, many businesses go with Postcard Verification, becoming verified through the mail. Here’s how it works.

If you sign up for Google My Business and go straight into verification:

1. At the top of the page, click Mail.
   1. Do not click Verify later.
2. Enter the name of the person the postcard should be addressed to, or leave it blank. Google can send it to your listed business address automatically.
3. Click Send postcard.

If you signed up for Google My Business but didn’t start verification yet:

1. Sign in to google.com/business.
2. In your Google My Business dashboard, click Verify now in the top-right corner.
3. At the top of the page, click Mail.
   1. Do not click Verify later.
4. Enter the name of the person the postcard should be addressed to, or leave it blank. Google can send it to your listed business address automatically.
5. Click Send postcard.

Most postcards arrive within 14 days. Once it arrives, it’ll include a unique verification code you’ll need to enter into your Google My Business account to confirm your business is actually located at the listed address. Here’s how:

1. Sign in to google.com/business.
2. Verify your business one of two ways:
   1. Under “Verification needed,” click Verify now, or
   2. In the left menu, click Verify location.
3. Follow the instructions to enter the verification code from your postcard.

Congrats, you’re now verified on Google. That means you’re ready to edit your business information, respond to reviews, and add photos of your store, products, or services. It might still take a few weeks for everything to display fully across Google.

Once your info is live, check out your Business Profile by searching your business name or location in Google Search or Maps. Worth noting, results other people see might differ slightly due to Google’s local ranking factors. We’ll cover those next so you can fully optimise your listing.

How to Optimise Your Google My Business Listing

Once verification’s done, it’s worth optimising your listing as much as possible to help your Google ranking climb. Here are the best ways to do that.

Regularly update your business info

Head to your Google My Business dashboard, click the listing you want to work on, and choose a section to update. This keeps customers in the loop on what’s happening with your business and gives your listing more visibility overall.

Providing complete and accurate info

Google Local results favour the most relevant match for each search. Businesses with complete, regularly updated, accurate information are simply easier to match with the right searches. Make sure you’ve filled in the key details, your profile photo, hours, location, phone number, website URL, category, and attributes (free wifi or wheelchair accessible, for example).

On Google, anyone can suggest an edit to your listing, so it’s worth double-checking that everything’s correct on your end.

Add photos

According to Google, businesses with photos see 35% more clicks to their website and 42% more requests for directions in Google Maps.

As a general guideline, photos should be at least 720 by 720 pixels, saved as JPG or PNG, with a file size between 10KB and 5MB.

There are a few photo types worth knowing: your cover photo (the first image on your listing) and your profile photo (what shows up when you upload new photos, videos, or review replies, usually your logo).

You can also upload additional photos showing different angles of your store or product offerings. Customers get to see what makes your business unique, which shapes their purchasing decisions and makes your listing feel more informative, professional, and engaging.

Add videos

For an extra edge over competitors, you can also upload videos to your profile. Videos need to be 30 seconds or shorter, up to 75MB, and 720p resolution or higher. They’re not essential, but they can genuinely elevate your listing.

Replying to customer reviews

Encouraging positive reviews under your Google listing is a valuable, cost-effective form of word-of-mouth marketing. Just as important, always reply to reviews, showing both existing and potential customers that you genuinely appreciate their support.

For negative reviews, take them seriously and try to address the concern by offering to do better. Stay courteous, professional, and empathetic throughout, getting defensive will only damage your reputation, especially since your replies are public.

Download the Google My Business App

Google My Business is also available as an app for both iOS and Android. Use it to update your hours, location, contact info, and description, post statuses and photos, and check search Insights, covering views, searches, and user actions from both organic search and Google Ads.

You can’t delete your listing, change its settings, or transfer ownership to another user through the app though.

Need Help to Boost Your Business’s Google Ranking?

Did you know 67% of all clicks go to the top five listings in search results? With so many businesses competing for that top spot on Google, standing out can be genuinely difficult.

At OMDIGI Group, we can help put your business in the spotlight with our range of specialised digital marketing services. To improve your Google ranking and boost brand exposure, we offer SEO strategies like keyword research, link building, and website development. We can also drive more traffic to your site through our Paid Search (PPC) services.

Don’t wait, contact us and boost your search ranking now!