How to get your business on Google
Key take-aways
Whether you're an established company or just starting up, the more visible you are on the internet, the easier it will be to improve your digital marketing and achieve your business goals. Find out how to become more visible across Google services in three simple steps.
1. Register your site with the Google Search Console
2. Verify your listing with Business Profile on Google
3. Use social media to boost your visibility
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer and jot down the words or phrases, known as keywords, that you would use to search on Google for products or services like yours.
1. Register your site with the Google Search Console
Google is the world's most popular search engine, and when creating a new website a little nudge can help you get noticed by it. The Google Search Console is a free tool that allows businesses to list their websites on Google and tells the search engine that they're ready to be searched. Google will still discover websites that aren't registered on the Search Console eventually, but it's much quicker if you take the time to add yours directly.
A sweet shop in York that has just launched a new website, for example, would go to the Google Search Console, select “add property" and enter the display URL of their website. Once the business owner has verified that they own the domain, they can access lots of useful information such as how many people have clicked through to the website from Google Search and the different keywords they've used to get there.
Keywords
Words or phrases describing your product or service that you choose to help determine when and where your website can appear.
2. Verify your listing with Business Profile on Google
Business Profile on Google is a free business listing tool from Google My Business that combines useful information about your business in a profile so it can be understood at a glance. It combines details such as your opening hours, store location, business logo, and website address into a neat digital card. Because the listings are integrated across other Google services like Google Maps, your profile will appear in various places across the internet when users make a relevant search. Users can also "follow" your business to receive your updates through Google. Business owners just need to claim or create their listing and then follow some simple steps to verify the profile to get started.
A speciality coffee shop in Maidenhead might use a Business Profile on Google to help with its goal of attracting more footfall. Setting their location on their profile means they will automatically appear on Google Maps and people can start getting directions to the cafe with the tap of a button, as well as following their business on Google Maps. They can also upload photos to showcase their latte art and respond to reviews left by customers. Simple touches like these give potential customers a better understanding of your business and may persuade them to drop by.
3. Use social media to boost your visibility
By default, Google usually shows only one or two results from the same URL on its search results pages. Users who click a result other than your official site might be directed to other websites that talk about your business but which you do not control. This can be problematic if the third-party information is inaccurate or out-of-date. Registering social media profiles with your brand name can make it more likely that digital real estate you "own" appears prominently in search results and help users find genuine, error-free details about your business.
For example, a games shop in Kettering called "Super Retro Arcade" could create social media profiles using their brand name. When users enter branded search terms like “Super Retro Arcade" or "Super Retro Arcade information" into Google Search, the search results page will include both the shop's own website and its social media profiles. As a result, the user searching is more likely to find information or connect with the games shop via a website or profile it "owns", because the shop is in control of more than one of the search results.