Google Business 101: Products & Services
2022 Update: Google My Business is now known as the Google Business Profile. With the name change comes some value-added upgrades. Be sure to subscribe to Bigger Better Biz on YouTube to learn how you can improve your chances of showing up on Google Search and Maps.
Building an effective Google Business Profile isn’t very hard but it can take a little bit of your time. One of the areas that is very beneficial but can seem daunting to business owners is the products and services section.
In any Google My Business Profile you have the opportunity to add a list of whatever products or services your business offers. You can include a description, details and price as well. If you have a wide array of items or services this may seem excessive and time consuming and it may be, but it will also make your business so much more accessible to prospective customers who find you on Google search.
These additions will also show up in a carousel directly under your Google Business Profile on Google search and on the app giving you free real estate to advertise what you are selling! It is worth it to take a little time and add in your products and services or at least your most popular or most requested products and services.
How To Start
When you login to your Google Business Profile you will see on the left hand side of the screen on the options menu a choice for “Products” as well as “Services.” They are two different things but have the same function - showing customers what your business offers.
If you are a store that sells physical products you will choose “Products,” if you are a salon or automotive shop you will select “Services.” If your business offers both you can add items to both! This is based on the general categories of businesses on GB. Just be sure to differentiate between what a product is and what a service is. Both have different settings and fields that will show customers what you have and what they need to know about it.
Products
The “Products” option may not be available for every business right now but sit tight - it should be released to a wider user-base soon. Here is the Google Help page for Products for more information on how it works.
When adding new products you have the opportunity to fill in the fields: name, description, photo and price. The price setting can be a fixed price or a price range if it varies. Once you fill in the fields you can link out to a listing on your website or other shop to purchase or find more information.
This is a great way to show potential customers what you have to offer. When customers are searching for a business they are usually looking for something specific. The more specific you can be in your Google Business Profile the more often your business will show up in more specific local Google searches.
Here you can see the top part of the Bryan Caplan Marketing service page from inside GMB. You can easily list services by type and add as much detail as you want!
Services
If you have a business that offers different services here is the place to list them all! Say you are a nail salon - add all the different kinds of manicures and pedicures you offer. Click on the “Services” link in the main navigation bar and it will prompt you to select a business type and then a service type related to that business - select as many as are relevant. You can then add pricing information as well as a description.
People are often looking for a specific service when they search. If you are a nail salon you want to let your customers know that you do indeed offer gel manicures. If you can let them know that just from the search they are more likely to stop by or make an appointment!
Why Bother?
You may be thinking: “All of this is on my website already, do I really need to add it all here?” Well of course you don’t have to, but you should. Adding products and services adds relevance to your business in Google Search and will help your Local SEO when people are searching for specific products and services locally. Also having a fully fleshed out profile has a big impact on whether or not the consumer will choose to do business with you. The more complete and informative the profile the more likely someone will choose your business. In this case the more the merrier!
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