Google Places – How Do I Get My Business Listed?

Every business should claim their Google Places listing. It's free, and it's how you appear on Google maps, with all your important business information – location, hours of business, etc.

So how does it work? Go the Google Places Support page to get started. Here's what to expect:

• You should become familiar with the basic listing policies. 
• Create a Google email account (it's free if you don't already have one) – read the guidelines on creating the account.
• Find out if your business is already on file with Google Places. If not, you will create a new listing.
• Add your basic business information (name, address, phone number, website); you will be contacted to verify this information.
• Add supplementary information: business description, business category, hours of operation, payment options, photos, videos, and additional information.
• Verify your listing: Google will contact you by phone, SMS, or mail (your choice).
• That's it! The next step is to optimize your listing for search engines (more to follow …).
• But don't forget your Bing Buisiness and Yahoo Places listings – they matter too [more to follow].

By the way, if you don't own a storefront, you can still claim a service area for your business (and hide your physical address).

A checklist is here.