The easiest way to reach local customers is to create a Google Business profile. It costs nothing, and it only takes a few minutes to set up.

Best of all, once your Google Profile is finished, your business will show up in Google Maps and in local search results. This means that customers in your area who are searching for your product or services will have a much better chance of finding your business.

1. Go here and type your business name in the first text field, and your business category in the second field (just type any word that describes your business and you'll see some specific options appear in a dropdown menu that you can select).

The page looks like this:

2. Next, choose your business location. If you don't have an office or storefront that you want people to visit, select "No" as your answer. (Don't worry, you can still show up in Maps and Search—the next step gives you more flexibility.)
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If you chose "No" then you'll see the following:

This is technically "Optional" but it's not something you want to skip. Google needs some kind of general location to help local customers find your business. So make sure to type in the city or region where you provide your services.

If you already chose "Yes" to the previous question because you DO have an office or storefront that's open to the public, then just fill out your business address like normal.

3. For the next few steps, continue filling out your business details as requested. If you've already created a website with Zarla, feel free to copy any of the text from your website and use it to answer Google's questions.

Some of these will be optional (like phone number, website address, or business hours) and you can just select "Next" or "Skip" to save time—you can always add it later.

​4. When you reach the verification screen, you'll be given a unique verification step.
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You might need to verify your address, or paste a code they send to your phone by text, or even record a quick video of your business workplace (here's how to successfully get verified by video). None of these methods will be published for anyone to see, but it's necessary for Google to create your account.

One of the most common verification requests looks like this:

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5. After verifying, continue the setup process. Remember, many of the other questions Google asks are optional! You can choose what's important to you, and ignore the rest.
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When you've finished, you'll see a typical Google page with a message saying that Google is processing your verification. Perfect!
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If you're a Zarla member and you want our help optimizing your profile so that you get more customers, then the final step is to click the three dots shown by the arrow below:

6. Click on "Business Profile Settings" from the dropdown that appears:
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7. Then click "People and Access"
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8. And then "Add"
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9. Lastly, enter our Google Business ID number, 5374336270, and click "Invite"—once you do that, we'll send you info to help optimize your profile for your business.

Don't forget: once your profile is live, start asking customers for reviews right away. Once you start getting reviews, your business will appear in Google's local search results.

Here's a free template you can follow to get 5-star reviews if you need ideas.