There’s a lot to see and do in Thunder Bay, which means there are ample opportunities for businesses to thrive. With a population of 127,201, this city sees steady growth each year. It is home to educational facilities like Lakehead University and Confederation College. Nothing beats the waterfront view at Marina Park, which sits on the shores of Lake Superior. The neighbourhood of Port Arthur used to be its own city; in 1970, it was amalgamated with Fort William to form the city. Thunder Bay is bustling in Downtown Fort William, which is centered on the shopping mall, Victoriaville Civic Centre. Canadians know this city for its Terry Fox Memorial, which marks the place where this national hero ended his historic run. Companies in Thunder Bay have one thing in common: they can benefit from a verified GMB listing.
Local SEO in Thunder Bay is affected by several factors, but one cannot be overlooked: your Google My Business (GMB) listing. You want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find out more about your company; the more accessible your information is, the more likely they are to use it. But what are the steps to claiming and optimizing your listing? In this post, we’ll take you through the process of setting up your GMB in Thunder Bay, so that your business can take advantage of it:
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Create a Google account
Before you can start filling out the details, you’ll need an account. This will be different from a personal account: on the Sign In page, you’ll see an option to create an account to manage a business.
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Make a Business Profile
Your business might already have a GMB or Business profile, but it hasn’t been claimed or verified officially. If one does not already exist, you can create a new one. To check if a customer or the algorithm has already created a listing for your business, look up the name of your company in Maps or the search bar and see what comes up. Visit google.com/business to claim your profile.
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Verify your listing
Google won’t let just anyone claim a listing, for obvious reasons; if anyone could make changes to the profile of a business, search results would be full of misinformation. There are several ways you can verify your business, and not all businesses are eligible for every option. The first is via phone or email where you receive a verification code that you enter into your GMB listing. But the most common method is a postcard verification, where Google mails a code to the physical location of your business.
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Start adding information about your business
The more you tell consumers (and Google) about your business, the better. Customers can find out if you’re what they’re looking for, and Google can rank your website based on its relevance. Adding correct information is essential since misleading customers will harm your rankings. Make sure to respond to customer reviews, positive or negative; it shows that you are considerate of their concerns.
At the end of the day, a listing on Google is free advertising that can only serve to help your business—it’d be silly not to take advantage of that. Considering that Google handles over 90% of all search queries worldwide, a verified listing will expose your business to a wider range of customers. To improve your ranking in local search results, you need a detailed GMB listing. When people in Thunder Bay search for “local plumbers”, you have a chance of appearing in Map results or the Local 3-Pack. A GMB listing establishes that your business is legitimate and authorized. It includes all the details that customers need most: your hours of operation, address, contact information, and reviews from clients. It’s a one-stop-shop for all things related to your business.
A GMB listing is a crucial component of a successful SEO strategy; it enables you to reach more customers, update your information, and respond to reviews. By verifying your listing, you’ll prevent others from adding incorrect details to your profile. If you want assistance setting up your GMB in Thunder Bay, our SEO experts at First Rank can help; call us today to learn more about what SEO can do for your business.
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