“Claiming” your business on Google and Bing is an important step to ensure that people find you when they search on Google and Bing/Yahoo. It only takes minutes and it’s important.

How to claim on Google

Go to Google My Business: https://www.google.com/business/

• Click on Claim Now. Or Manage Now.
• It will ask you to sign in to google. If you don’t already have a google account for the program, you’ll need to create one. (Be sure to take note of the user name and password you use. Someday if you’re no longer working there, you’ll need to hand this info on to successor.)
• It will ask you to “find your business”
• It will then do your search, and show you what it found. If your business is not there, then click on “None of these match, add your business.”
• Enter your information, then on the next page, agree to terms
• Note: to verify your account, it will want to send a postcard to the PHYSICAL address you list for your program, so if it’s a space you rent and you don’t have direct access to the mail there, you may want to check in with whoever does (e.g. church secretary) – let them know the postcard is coming and ask them to forward it on to you. Google does this so random people don’t hack in and mess with other businesses’ information!
• Then it will take you to another page where you can enter more data. Do so.
• It asks for an intro. This is a good place to enter a brief description of your program. Include all the big keywords that someone might search for. Example: “Joe Bob’s offers cooperative preschool in Bellevue, WA for ages 3 – 5. Kids learn best in a nurturing play-based environment with involved parents. Your child attends 2 – 3 mornings each week.”
• Upload photos if you have them. This adds to the appeal of the listing!
• When the postcard arrives to verify your listing, be sure to do so. It takes 15 seconds.

How to Claim on Bing

Bing Places for Business: https://www.bingplaces.com/  Click on “get started”. It will give you the option to import information from Google. Do that.

Is there anything else I should do?

I don’t think it’s worth your time to go claim your business on all the big auto-populated national directories. (SuperPages, CitySearch, ZoomInfo, Manta, etc.)

BUT…. You may have some great local parenting publications or directories that list local services. Places where you know local parents look for information. If so, go and check whether you have a listing, and see if it’s correct, or see if you can add one.

Note: all methods on this page were current when the article was written. Google and Bing may change the system at any time.