Are you wondering how you can give your business an online presence or claim a business on Google?
If taking your business to the next height is what you are after, then you must leverage the opportunities provided by a tool called Google My Business. By exploring that, makes it easier for people and prospects to locate you for business or service deals.
The majority of people are now online looking for ways to get their needs sorted. This brings an opportunity to make more sales and also use the chance to give your products more visibility. The more people that connect through your Business profile on Google, the better for your business or whatever services you offer.
However, getting started is usually the first but the question is how do you go about it?
This is exactly the reason why we are here. Of course, we have already provided content on how to set up Google my business listing, notwithstanding, you can still claim an existing business on Google if you have not yet done so. This is not steep, but we will help go through the process.
WHO IS ENTITLED TO CLAIM A BUSINESS ON GOOGLE?
To claim or verify business on Google, you must be the owner or have the right to do so. However, a decision can come between parties to share the business management, therefore, the owner will need to add a manager or site manager to give certain roles to representatives.
To add a rep or manager, you will need to click the menu icon > Manage users > enter the email address of the persons you want to share responsibility with > select roles > verify it is the correct email address and tap ‘Send’
As a representative, you can claim a business if you were given authorization. The consent can only come from the owner of the GMB listing.
You will also request to take a center role even if the GMG listing has been verified. Still, this will depend on whether the business profile is still valuable to the real owner or not.
HOW TO REQUEST OWNERSHIP OF A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PROFILE
1. To become the owner of a business that has already been owned by another, simply go to business.google.com/add on your browser.
2. Enter the name of the business you want to become the sole owner of. You should see some suggestions while entering it, select the applicable one.
3. Tap Continue and a message will display, stating someone else has verified the GMB business profile.
4. Request ownership by tapping Request access and then complete the form.
5. Submit the form.
Once submitted, the current owner will be sent a mail of your interest to claim the Google my business profile. You should get a reply whether positive or negative as to your interest.
In some cases, you might get the nod to claim the business yourself, but you should not count on this as it rarely happens.
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR BUSINESS ON GOOGLE
If you have already set up a Google business account, you can claim your business account. If you have not yet owned or create a Google business profile, simply visit google.com/business and follow prompts.
Meanwhile, below is the step to claim your business on Google search results:
- Visit www.google.com on your browser. Enter the name of the business and town in the field and tap search.
- Switch to ‘Map’. Alternatively, visit www.google.com/maps and enter the name of the business in the field next to the Hamburger menu.
- Go through the results and select the business you want to claim.
- Tap ‘Claim this business’
- Click Manage now. If you going for a different business that is not yours, simply click ‘I own or manage another business’
- Choose your preferred verification method. Meanwhile, you may be limited in your options depending on your business type.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to fully claim ownership of the Google My Business Listing Profile.
HOW TO VERIFY AFTER CLAIMING A BUSINESS ON GOOGLE
If you had created or set up the GMB listing using your details, you could automatically claim the business on Google. If someone owns the listing, you will need to go through a verification
The verification methods could vary depending on what type of business or service you offer. Most local businesses will need to verify the listing through postcards while some businesses may be open to verification by email, phone number, or even instant validation.
The instant verification is dependable on the region and also available to only those that have a business site set using Google search console. Login to your dashboard on Google My Business, if the option is available for you, then there is nothing much to do.
Another most likely method that may be available for your business is phone verification. This also does not take time, you can select whether to receive an automated call or SMS from Google.
There are over 5 ways to verify, but not every option will be available. The most common ones have already been pinpointed in this section.
