So you’re starting a new business. Everything is set and you’ve chosen an opening date, but now you’re wondering how to get people in the door. By creating your Google My Business listing before opening, you can let your community know that you’ll be “Coming Soon.”
Setting up a Google My Business page for your new business before your grand opening will allow you to build up hype, boost engagement, and ensure your business appears in local search and Google Maps results.
Key terms to know
As a new business owner, some digital marketing phrases may be foreign. In the digital age we live in however, it is critical to understand these basic terms so that you can take advantage of the internet’s endless opportunities.
Google My Business (GMB): This is a Google profile and business listing that allows you to advertise different key business factors such as hours of operation, photos, reviews, menus and more. When you search “cheesecake,” and The Cheesecake Factory appears in a separate box on the right hand side of the search engine result page (or centered on mobile), you can see that this business has a GMB page. Having an account places your business as its own listing as opposed to simply providing a link to a website that browsers must click on and explore independently.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This broad term refers to strategies utilized by tech professionals as well as individuals to increase both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as brand awareness, through organic search results (non-paid) in search engines such as Google. With practice, SEO can be used to direct consumers in specific ways and guide them towards the most applicable results. There are plenty of tools online to help you use this strategy.
Search Results: This broad term refers to everything that appears when a user searches for something specific in a search engine. Google provides a variety of search results including GMB listings, paid search results (ads) and organic search results.
How to set a future opening date in Google My Business
Google My Business setup is quite simple. If you haven’t already, head to GMB to build your business page.
Before you can add the opening date, create your new business listing. The key in this step is to hold off on verifying your business. By choosing to verify your business later, you are able to prevent Google from listing your business as falsely open. Then, set your future opening date. Be sure to note that if you are creating a Google My Business page for bulk locations or businesses, set your future opening date before doing the verification step as your listings may be verified in bulk.
To set your future opening date:
- Sign into GMB.
- Open the location you’d like to manage.
- Select “info” from the menu.
- Click “Add opening date,” then enter your chosen date.
- Don’t forget to click “apply.”
When adding your opening date into Google My Business, only the opening year and month are required. You can create a listing up to a year in advance so plan ahead to let the community know that your new business is coming soon.
Once you’ve entered the date and verified your new business, the listing will appear in Google searches 90 days before the opening date. When you’ve hit this 90-day milestone, you can begin to engage with customers with posts.
Why do I need a GMB account?
You may be wondering, “Isn’t a Facebook page enough?” When starting a new business, sitting in front of a computer may be the last thing on your priority list. Everything else — planning, marketing, acquiring inventory, hiring employees, etc. — may seem paramount to carefully crafting yet another internet profile.
To answer that first question; Unfortunately, no.
In order to appear in Google’s search results, especially local search results, it is important to build a GMB profile as well as other online profiles. And if you want potential employees and customers to find you, it’s important that your business is identified in Google.
Luckily, as you’ve discovered, doing so only requires a few simple steps. Once you’ve created a Google My Business page for your new business and selected an opening date, the community will know you’re “Coming Soon” and your energy can be directed toward making sure everything is ready for your grand opening.