Many businesses create a Google business listing (known officially as a Business Profile) in order to be more visible on Google. However, something these business owners might not realize is that creating a Business Profile does not give them management over it and that they need those management and editing capabilities if they want their Business Profile to work as an effective SEO and lead generation tool.
So, as a business owner, how do you gain management over your Google Business Profile? The answer is, in addition to creating a free Business Profile, you must also create a free Google My Business account for that profile separately.
A Google My Business account is the only way that you can claim ownership of your Business Profile, attain management rights to it, and unlock additional free features to increase your visibility on Google. In this post, I’m going to cover everything you need to know about Google My Business, including:
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a tool that enables business owners to manage and optimize their Business Profile on Google. So to explain what Google My Business is and how it works, let’s first make sure we’re clear on what a Business Profile is.
Your Business Profile is Google’s term for your Google business listing. Business Profiles appear in Google Maps and in the local results of Google Search.
Creating a Business Profile is the same thing as adding a place to Google Maps — which is something that anyone, including a random stranger or an automated listing generator, can do. All that Google requires is the business name, location, and category. Once Google confirms it is not a duplicate, they will create the Business Profile for that location.
The Business Profile is then open to consumers to leave reviews, add photos, ask questions, and even answer questions. The Business Profile may also get populated with information that Google pulls in from across the web.
This also means that a Business Profile can exist on its own, apart from a Google My Business account. Whether you created your own Business Profile or not, you don’t have the ability to manage the information it displays or the reviews it collects.
That is where Google My Business comes in. By creating a Google My Business account, you can access, customize, manage, and enhance your Business Profile on Google, all still for free, which we’ll get into next.
