Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should, too; unless it’s using your favorite search engine to find “how to“ tips like: “how to tie a tie” or “how to make money” –  number one and number six, respectively, on the list of most popular “how to” searches.

See the connection? Sometimes you need to wear a tie when you’re in business to make money.

Since you’re a savvy business owner, always searching for new ways to attract new customers, and, because more than 77% of all the people in the world use Google to search for stuff online (like your business), you should probably maximize your chances of getting found.

That brings us to Google My Business. What is it and why should your business be using it? (See above.) But, wait . . . there’s more. Google My Business is a “free and easy-to-use” business tool that helps your business get noticed and found online.

How does Google My Business work?

When potential customers perform a search for products or services that you offer, companies with a Google My Business listing appear across all of Google, including Search and Maps. You are in control of how potential clients see your business, read your story, or find your physical address and hours of operation. Basically, it’s a way to manage your business’s online presence.

Google My Business also lets you interact with customers through reviews. When happy clients write wonderful things about you on your listing page, you can reply and thank them for their stellar support. Let them know you appreciate their patronage and allow them to see that there is a real person, or many people, behind all the products and services you provide.

Is a picture worth a thousand clicks?

Go ahead, post photos of your company’s latest product or award, members of the team, or even your location.

Why? According to Google, adding photos to your Google My Business listing results in 42% more requests for driving directions to your location and 35% more clicks through to your company’s website. Just for posting a photo. Who knew?

What does it mean to verify your Google My Business listing?

Google wants to know that you are real to prevent not-real people from posting fake business listings. If you want to take advantage of interacting with customers and getting found through multiple search channels like Maps, you have to prove that you actually exist at the location listed on your Google My Business page.

Unless you have more than 10 locations, the verification process for most small businesses involves a postcard. Yup. An old-fashioned, mailed-to-your-mailbox physical postcard with a verification code. Once you retrieve that postcard from your mailbox, you enter the verification code online. This confirms that your address is correct, you’re real, and that other people can find you as well.

Even if you don’t want customers to find you at your physical location, Google says verified business listings are twice as likely to be considered reputable by potential customers.

Show your location(s) in your ads on AdWords

Another huge benefit to using Google My Business is showing your physical location(s) in your ads on Google AdWords.

The only way you can do this is by linking your Google My Business account to your AdWords account, and then you can show ads like this one:

Why should your business be using Google My Business?

Two words: get found.

In today’s world where 77% of people everywhere begin their search on Google for everything from how to fix a refrigerator to where to find the nearest Krispy Kreme donut shop, you want to get in on the action.

Want to learn more? Let’s talk.