{"id":2501,"date":"2017-07-21T15:43:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T19:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/?p=2501"},"modified":"2019-11-12T13:56:36","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T18:56:36","slug":"benefits-claiming-google-business-listing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>A Vital Part of Managing Your Web Presence<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Short and sweet, a Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you. The benefits of claiming your Google My Business listing are many, and it would be more than a missed opportunity not to claim it and actively manage it.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re searching for a local business, you appreciate listings that provide you with all your local options. This allows you to quickly scan through locations and hours and find a business that has the products and services you\u2019re looking for. That\u2019s exactly what <em>your<\/em> small business needs to provide to users conducting an online search. That\u2019s exactly what Google My Business provides you.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefit #1: Increased Visibility from a Single Dashboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You have a brick and mortar store. Perhaps you have more than one. You have a website. How do potential customers actually find you online?<\/p>\n<p>Google My Business is your entr\u00e9e into increased visibility on the web. Your online options have grown with Google Search, Google +, and Google Maps. In addition, you need to coordinate your online presence for desktop, laptop, and mobile. Claiming a My Business listing allows you to seamlessly manage your business listing with a single dashboard. It\u2019s Google\u2019s \u201cone and done\u201d gift to small business owners.<\/p>\n<p>Why <em>wouldn\u2019t<\/em> you take advantage of this benefit?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefit #2: Expanded Content and Reach<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The more information you are able to share with Google regarding your business, the better you will be able to reach your target audience. Your potential customers will have a clearer picture of your business and your unique niche in a crowded marketplace. Expanded content and reach will allow you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Update your business hours and location, as well as provide more detailed information about your business, including photos or video.<\/li>\n<li>Interact more fully with your customers or potential customers by offering coupons or responding to business reviews. You can even create a \u201changout\u201d where you can chat live with your customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You wouldn\u2019t ignore someone who walks in the door of your business, so it\u2019s smart to take advantage of opportunities to interact with potential customers online.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefit #3: Free and Easy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The fact that Google My Business is free shouldn\u2019t lessen its worth in your eyes. It\u2019s a great asset to your business when you claim it and make it your own. Especially when Google makes it so easy to do.<\/p>\n<p>True, when you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll still have a listing. As Chris Kelley notes in <em>Things You Need to Know About Google My Business, <\/em>Google\u2019s business listings are compiled from \u201cuser edits, third party providers, verified business owner information, and several other sources.\u201d However, your business listing is better when you can enhance it with information only you can provide. Don\u2019t leave your business profile in someone else\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Claiming a My Business Listing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Now that you know <em>why<\/em> you should claim your Google My Business listing, you need to know <em>how<\/em> to claim it. Google makes claiming a My Business listing simple. Do a simple search for \u201cGoogle My Business\u201d and then click on the link to \u201cAdd or claim your business.\u201d Follow the online instructions to verify your business and you\u2019re up and running.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>It\u2019s All About the Dashboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ve claimed your listing. Now it\u2019s time to update your listing profile and manage it. If you have had to update Search, Google +, and Maps separately, you will truly appreciate having a dashboard that combines it all in one place. Here\u2019s what you get:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Business Info Editor<\/strong>: This is the nuts and bolts section where you update your business profile. It also allows you to view your listings on different platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Insights: <\/strong>Get all the information and analytics you need to track your audience. The better you know who your customers are in terms of gender, age, and location among other demographics, the better insight you have in making business decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reviews<\/strong>: Just like you monitor your credit report, you need to monitor what others are saying about your business. You can check and respond to your business reviews here as well as check your analytics.<\/li>\n<li><strong>YouTube<\/strong>: Analytics and direct access to your channel is also included on your dashboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your Google My Business dashboard also integrates with AdWords Express so you can track the analytics of your SEM ad campaigns.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Google My Business Can and Can\u2019t Do For You<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As simple as Google is trying to make it for small business owners, you still have to put time into updating and maintaining your web presence. Maintaining a single profile through the dashboard rather than having to update Google Search, Google + and Google Maps separately is a great advantage. However, it doesn\u2019t eliminate all your work.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There are still only 24 hours in a day. You have a brick-and-mortar business to run. You have a life outside of business \u2013 if you\u2019re lucky. Google can help you with a less time-consuming, integrated dashboard, but they can\u2019t help you with the rest of your life.<\/li>\n<li>Content doesn\u2019t write itself. While in <em>Everything You Need to Know About Google My Business,<\/em> Navneet Kaushal recommends blending curated content with your original content, you still need time to find appropriate curated content and even more time to develop your own content.<\/li>\n<li>You still need to provide the photos and videos to promote your business. If your photography skills are lacking, you\u2019ll need to hire a photographer or videographer. The effort will pay off, but good quality visuals take time to produce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your business operates in more than one location, it will demand a bit more time to manage them online, depending upon the differences between locations. Likewise, if you own more than one small business, you need time for maintaining each listing.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Where to Go from Here<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If free and easy is beginning to sound a bit more complicated given the complexity of your business, Solutio can help. Complexity doesn\u2019t give us a headache. We thrive on the challenge of finding a simple, elegant solution to a complicated Google My Business listing.<\/p>\n<p>If limitations on the time you can devote to maintaining your listing frustrate you, Solutio can help. Our team can make time to maintain your Google My Business listing the way you would do it yourself if you had more hours in a day to do it. Delegate the task to us.<\/p>\n<p>If words like <em>technology<\/em>, <em>cyber<\/em>, and <em>digital<\/em> don\u2019t excite you, Solutio can help. We\u2019ll admit it. We\u2019re geeks! <em>Technology<\/em>, <em>cyber<\/em> and <em>digital<\/em> are our middle names. We follow all the trends and upgrades, so you won\u2019t feel like you\u2019re always playing catch-up. You can devote as much or as little time as you want on the digital side of your business.<\/p>\n<p>Contact us by phone or email. Or stop in for an old-fashioned, low-tech, face-to-face meeting. We\u2019ll have a cup of coffee waiting for you. Isn\u2019t it about time you claim your Google My Business listing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.marketingv2.com\/bid\/349249\/5-Things-You-Need-to-Know-About-Google-My-%20Business\">http:\/\/blog.marketingv2.com\/bid\/349249\/5-Things-You-Need-to-Know-About-Google-My- Business<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pagetraffic.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-my-business%20\">http:\/\/www.pagetraffic.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-my-business<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adviceinteractivegroup.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-my-%20business\/%20\">http:\/\/www.adviceinteractivegroup.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-my- business\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Short and sweet, a Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you. The benefits of claiming your Google My Business listing are many, and it would be more than a missed opportunity not to claim it and actively manage it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,88,87],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Solutio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-21T19:43:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-12T18:56:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1704\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1115\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Solutio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Solutio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/\",\"name\":\"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-21T19:43:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-12T18:56:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/298e885fe879e7829df6fecfda807464\"},\"description\":\"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg\",\"width\":1704,\"height\":1115,\"caption\":\"Young woman presenting 3d earth globe in modern tablet\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/\",\"name\":\"Solutio\",\"description\":\"Web Marketing &amp; Design\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/298e885fe879e7829df6fecfda807464\",\"name\":\"Solutio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio","description":"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio","og_description":"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.","og_url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/","og_site_name":"Solutio","article_published_time":"2017-07-21T19:43:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-11-12T18:56:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1704,"height":1115,"url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Solutio","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Solutio","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/","url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/","name":"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing - Solutio","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg","datePublished":"2017-07-21T19:43:11+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-12T18:56:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/298e885fe879e7829df6fecfda807464"},"description":"A Google My Business listing can be a significant part of your presence on the web. When customers are searching for a product or service, Google My Business provides the directional arrow to you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Fotolia_64238793_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg","width":1704,"height":1115,"caption":"Young woman presenting 3d earth globe in modern tablet"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/benefits-claiming-google-business-listing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Benefits of Claiming Your Google My Business Listing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/","name":"Solutio","description":"Web Marketing &amp; Design","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/298e885fe879e7829df6fecfda807464","name":"Solutio","url":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutio-inc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}