As a small business, Google provides many tools to make your life easier. While some of these can be confusing at first, all of them will provide a high level of value over the long run.

Google My Business, for instance, is a tool that every local small business should use to their advantage.

Here’s what Google has to say about your free listing:

Show up when customers search for your business or businesses like yours on Google Search and Maps. Google My Business lets you post updates to showcase what’s new, respond to reviews to build loyalty and add photos to highlight what makes your business special.

While there are many aspects of Google My Business, for the sake of this article we’re going to focus on Google Maps.

The more heavily you rely on Google My Business and Google Maps the more you’ll realize it’s one of the most comprehensive online tools at your disposal.

As you get started, here are three things you can do to give your small business a boost:

1. Add a Google Map and Marker to Your Website

Are you concerned that people are unable to find the physical location of your business?

Well, Google has you covered. You can quickly add a Google map with a marker to any webpage.

Once you do this, any visitor to your website can get a better idea of where your business is located and how to reach it from their current location.

2. Add Photos

It’s one thing to create a Google My Business listing that allows people to see where your business is located on a local map, but another thing entirely to drive foot traffic.

This is why you want to add high quality photos of both the interior and exterior of your establishment. Taking this one step further, you can even upload a 360-degree virtual tour.

This is one of the best ways to take the “Google map experience” to the next level.

3. Listing Data is Critical

The first step in using Google My Business and Google Maps is creating a listing, which allows people to see where you’re located when searching for related keywords.

However, it’s the listing data that will make or break the experience. Here are some pointers:

• You must be sure that your listing is 100 percent accurate
• Include hours of operation
• Implement a system for collecting positive Google reviews

When you do these things, your listing associated with the Google map will be much more powerful.

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!