The reason we have to have a Google My Business account is that Google is actually the number one player, I would say Facebook’s the number two player, Google is most certainly number one.

If we want to appear in Google searches and be ranked in by Google and come up in Maps then you have to tick Google’s boxes just as we have to tick Facebook’s boxes.

You also want to have your Google My Business account so that you can come up in Google My Business as well. In Facebook, if you have worked with me, and if you’ve watched, I think it’s module two module three video, it shows you how to tick a little box that says  ‘Let outsides providers search for you’, meaning that if somebody searches for you in Google, they will also find your Facebook content – if you tick that little box. That’s in your Facebook personal profile settings because remember, they are different.

The next thing is that Google is like Facebook in that you have one email address which gives you access to one account. So you use one Gmail address, which will give you access to all the Gmail things ie Google Drive your, Gmail account, your YouTube channel, and your Google My Business accounts.

Your Business categories are super important, although they are sucky, it’s kind of like Facebook’s categories as well. They’re not all the categories that we want.  It basically tells Google which type of business you are and which type of customers should see your listing. And you do have to verify your Google listing, you don’t have to have a physical address, you can verify it by using email, phone or PO box.

More than one Gmail account?

It is very important that you make sure you are collecting data off the correct Gmail account.  If you have five Gmail accounts, like my children do because every time they forget their password they go and create a new Gmail account, then you need to work out which one is the one that is linked to your other profiles. The way to do it is exactly how you would do it on Facebook.  You’d go in and put the Gmail email address in, recover the password, and then go in and check out the Google My Business account because.  Make sure it is the same one for all your Gmail features, ie, YouTube, Google Drive etc.

When you go into Chrome you will see on the top right which account you are working in.   If you have multiple accounts on your computer then remember to make sure you are logged into the correct one.

When you have logged in you will open up to the dashboard page.  You will see that they prompt you to create an ad – they are trying to make money after all.  However, by just inputting the right things into Google, and by just ticking Google’s boxes, you can come up higher in the search engines without paying for Google listing.

Check and check again!

You must ensure your information is correct.  There is a place to select your areas of business, times of business, contact info etc.  Make sure this info is accurate and up to date and check the links regularly to make sure they are not broken.   Pay special attention to the working hours.  If your hours change on public holidays etc this must be recorded accurately so that you don’t piss people off.

You can use the dashboard to create posts, add photos and edit info. Remember to come in and edit the info when need be, for example, if your hours have changed due to Covid-19 then you need to edit the info here.  This info should reflect what you have on your Facebook page and should always be kept up to date.

Google also has a call to action button, you can literally say ‘call now’,  ‘sign up’ or ‘learn more’ and you can put the URL in there. Just make sure it works. You must always test your links. This should be part of your once a week strategy.  The posts on Google expire after 7 days so you must keep up to date with them.   If Google can see that you are active and relevant you will come up higher on the searches.

You can also post your special offers and events on Google.  These will stay up until the end date of that event or offer.  

It is imperative that you study the analytics.  You can use this information to see what is working and what is not working and you can tweak it to get the most out of Google.