Boost your visibility – Google business for local search

It can be a daunting task to get your business noticed. Years ago the only way people found your business was through the Yellow pages, but those days are long gone. I would like to share with you just one very important thing you can do that can help a lot when it comes to being found locally. Actually, I would go so far as to say it’s critical.

More than half of all search worldwide is done on a mobile device.

That is why Google maps and having your business found on them is so important. This has nothing to do with having a website or Facebook page.  More and more search is being done right on our smart phones, so google knows where you are, and if you suddenly decide to buy flowers for your mum, wife, or girlfriend, you want to know the closest florist. There is no way you want to drive 20 minutes away, you want one close by and you want the best one around, right!

Right now, if I go to google maps and type in ‘florist’, it tells me there are none in my local area of Te Atatu Peninsula, but I know there are two, Flossy is one and Bloom the other. Even if I am on my desktop computer and type in “Florists in Te Atatu Peninsula” I get this:

Google gives me what it considers as the closest three florists because I put ‘Te Atatu Peninsula’ into my search. Ok, I hope I have convinced you that if you are a local business that sells something or provides a service to the local community, it is vitally important that google knows about it.

Let’s get you found on Google!

It’s really not that hard to do, I have found a video on Youtube which will take you through step by step.

Here is what you will need:

1. You will need a gmail email address. If you don’t have one, click here. Then, click on Gmail at the top right corner of the page. Next, you’ll now be in the ‘Sign in’ section. As you don’t have a Google account yet, you need to create one.
2. Google for Business. Visit this link and complete the 3 step process.

Here is a Youtube video that explains the process.

Do you have a website already? Want to know what else you can do?

How to make sure you show up locally before your other local competition. I found this Youtube video very helpful and gives some additional things you can do to strengthen you local presence.

If you are having any problems with the process, I am here to help! Just message me through facebook or the contact form on the website. I am more than happy to pop over to see where you might be going wrong. Let’s get you onto google maps so that your products and services show up for the local and broader community. If this has been helpful, please leave a comment at the bottom.