If your company is listed in Google Maps, it will allow you to be the first in an organic search when someone searches the term associated with what you are doing and what you earn from. For this reason, it’s important to be in Google Maps listing of companies and optimize this part of online marketing. In this text, we will explain how to sign up for Google Maps, optimize business listing, set up Google Maps Citations and Google Plus.

Google My Business settings

Login on Google My Business. You can sign in with your existing Gmail account or open a new one.

Here you need to enter company data: company name, country, street and postal code, city, company phone, a category to which your company belongs and the address of your website.

You will need to confirm that you have the right to list the company with these data in Google Maps. If you own or work in a company, you have the right to do that:

In the end, it will be necessary to choose how to verify the request for Google Maps / Google My Business. Here you can choose whether to do this by phone or by receiving a letter with a verification code at the address of the company:

Keep in mind that nothing will appear in the listing until you perform the verification. Make sure to do it as soon as possible to continue editing. When you receive a letter, find a five-digit PIN, sign in to Google My Business, and go to Not Published Locations> Manage Location, click Verify Now and enter a five-digit PIN.

Optimization for Maps Listing

Keep in mind that you will not be able to find in the first three places in Google Search right away, but with the help of these instructions you can reach the top within a few months, so follow the instructions carefully.

Fill in all information boxes that Google requires:

This is important. Google will set up a number of questions that are essential for optimization. If you answer 5 out of 10 questions, and your competition answers 9 out of 10, that means they will be in front of you.

First, fill out the following:

• Pictures: Profile, Interior, Exterior, At Work, Team, Identity
• Working time
• Website

When it comes to pictures, it’s best to name it by what’s on them. For example, if you run a flower shop and you have a bouquet with roses in the profile picture, call the image file roses.png (or .jpeg, .gif depending on the file format). If you place a picture where everyone who works in the flower shop is visible, name the picture file as team-from-flower-shop.png.

Business Listings for Google Maps 

Business listings are sites that confirm what you said on your Google My Business account. Look at it in this way: The more sites confirm your information, the more likely that your data is correct.

You need to sign up and fill in all the forms on the following lists:

• Google My Business ( Google Maps )
• Bing Places ( Bing Maps )
• Yelp
• Angie’s List
• Four Square
• Hot Frog
• EZLocal
• Sacramentobusinesslist.com
• Sacramentocountybizlist.com
• Yellow-pages

Google Maps Citations

Many people are not sure what the Google Maps quotations are. However, there is confirmation that this is definitely a factor that influences the ranking. This is the literal link/pin/bookmark for your profile on the map and you can create it on google.com/maps

See an example here

Every created folder has the Title, Description, Address. These are saved pins – bookmarks that you can share with friends, colleagues, or anyone else. To create a new map, click on the three lines in the corner of the screen and select the Create new map option.

Create Google+ Business account

Sign in to the Gmail account with which you created and verified your Google My Business profile. Click on the circle with your avatar and in the menu that opens find the name of your company.

Click on the name of the company, and then on the Enable Google+ option. If your business name does not appear immediately, click on “All your Brand Accounts” to find the correct profile.

Fill all in Business Google+ profile

As is done for Google My Business, all fields must be filled in here. Do not leave blank fields, so first, fill out the following:

• Profile Picture
• Background Picture
• Tagline – use all 140 characters, use the keywords and your services

Add contents and links in the About Me section

Profile> Edit Profile> Manage Page – Describe your job here in 200-500 words. Here you can also set up links that lead to pages on your site where visitors can find the services you provide.

Write Post and make a collection (Add a Collection)

• Make a collection (Create Collection)
• Write a Post
• Follow as many people as possible. Attract as many people as you can.

This is enough for a good start

If you follow and implement everything that we have written in this text, it will be enough to start a good shift in online marketing when it comes to Google Maps, Google My Business, and Google + Business. You must base your further work on maintaining profiles, publishing new posts, attract new followers and interacting with other profiles. All this does not take much time, it’s useful because you’ll be among the first on Google and it’s free.