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What Is a Google My Business Listing?

We are checking Google My Business listings this month for our SEO retainer clients, so we thought it might be helpful to explain what they are and why they are helpful.

Google My Business (GMB)

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A free tool for businesses to manage their online presence across Google. If you verify and edit your business information, you can help customers find your business and tell them your story.

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Do I Have a Google My Business Listing?

You may already have one, you may not. The easy way to tell is to Google your company name (if it’s a common company name like Sonder, make sure you use a search term that will identify ONLY your business e.g. Sonder Somerset). You should see your business details to the right of the search results like this:

If you see a listing, then either Google has recognised your business and created a listing or someone has listed it for you.

Do I Own My Google My Business Listing?

If you’re logged into your Google account but you still see this ‘Own this business?’ question, then you don’t own your listing. You can make suggested edits but you can’t log in and update the full profile. Either no one owns your listing, or someone you employ to do your marketing has claimed the listing so they can update it for you. 

What is a Google My Business Listing For?

As well as populating the information for your business listing, shown above, having a Google My Business listing means that the information you see when you rank for the local pack and maps is complete, correct and under your control. 

Google 'Local Pack' listing shown above search results
Google 'Map' listing in map results

What Information is in a Google My Business Listing?

Your GMB listing is basically a snapshot of your business with information that customers might be searching for like:

  • Location
  • Opening Times
  • Review Stars
  • Phone Number
  • Photos
  • Offers

Why Do I Need a Google My Business Listing?

We check over the Google My Business listings for our retainer clients as part of our SEO services because it's a good sign to Google if you have a listing with them, it shows them that you're a legitimate business and has been suggested as a ranking factor. 

As well as your organic SERP (Search Engine Results Page) rank, the massive business listing on the right side of the search results is a huge bit of first page real estate for an organic result, even if the customer has to be quite specific with their results to see it. 

Your website is a great tool for people to find out more about you, but what if they already know everything they need to and want to have a chat about using your services or finding your store? If they search for you and you have completed your listing then they'll be able to call you right from the Google page if they search on their mobile, with the click of a button. It's a convenience for your customers and one that they are learning to expect. 

Need a hand? If you're not sure how to access, claim or manage your Google My Business listing get in touch and we can help. 

Posted on May 11th 2020

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