Connecting to Google

Registering your website to Google is a crucial step that we highly recommend you do once your website is live if you’d like to use Google in your marketing strategy.

This process includes registering your website with Google to ensure you appear in Google’s search results. You can trigger this directly from within the system itself via a simple step by step guided process and your Google account which this article will outline, including some recommended next steps.

Being connected to Google also allows you to take advantage of invaluable information that can feed into your marketing strategy. Some of the benefits include:

• Automatic resubmissions of your SiteMap so you appear in Google’s search results

• Report of your daily website visitors

• Retrieval of your Top Search Queries, Top Keywords & Top Search Pages

• Tracking your Citation growth each month

• At a glance, see which Citations contain missing or incorrect information that are hurting your search engine rank

Connecting to Google

This guided process will step you through how to register with Google, which includes connecting or setting up Google Analytics, Google Search Console and your Google Business Profile.

In addition this will allow you to:

• Register your Google tracking tags

• View your Google Analytics data

• Retrieve Search Console recommendations 

• Get your Business Profile recommendations

• Register your website's sitemap with Google

• Receive and reply to Google Reviews

Note: If you don’t yet have any Google Analytics and Search Console properties, or a Google Business Profile set up, this process will take you onto the Google website itself for the creation of those. We do NOT have screenshots for this process within this article. Once they’re created within Google, you will need to resume the guided process below which will then allow you to connect to them.

Steps

1. Navigate to the Dashboard or Marketing menu

2. Click on Register Website with Google

   

3. Click Connect to begin the process  

4. Choose your Google account

5. Click Allow to allow your BookingTimes website access to your Google Account

6. If you don't have any existing Google Analytics properties, click Create analytics account button. This will take you onto a Google website to create a Google Analytics account for you.

Note: a property is simply a generic term for a website that you have added to your Google Analytics account so just name it as your business name.

7. Once you’ve created your property, Click Refresh Properties button under the table for the updated properties to show and then click Connect

8. If you don't have any existing Search Console properties, click Create new property button, or click Connect if existing properties are already set up. This will create a Google Search Console account for you.

Note: a property is simply a generic term for a website that you have added to your Search Console account so just name it as your business name

9. If you don't have an existing Business Profile, click Create business profile button. This will only create a skeleton profile and it’s recommended you go back and edit it directly in Google after this process to ensure it has all the correct details and you have your business “Verified” with Google (i.e. proving that you are a legitimate business). If you have an existing profile set up then click Connect.

Note: You can also create a Business Profile first directly via Google here: https://business.google.com/create

Note: You can manage your Business Profile directly via Google here: https://www.google.com/business

10. If you’re creating a Business Profile then enter your business profile details, and click Check for profile. This is important to ensure you do NOT create a duplicate Google Business Profile.

11. If no other profile is found, click Create profile link

Note

Once this process has been completed it can take several days for Google to be connected to your website. If the Register Website with Google button re-appears a few minutes after this process, please see the Google Business Profile article to ensure your Google Account has sufficient permissions.

Once it's connected you'll see a Connected to Google in the left hand menu when you navigate to the Marketing menu. Then on the main panel of that marketing screen you'll see: Top Search Queries, Top Performing Keywords, Top Pages, Directory Listings and other information across the available tabs.

Next steps

The BookingTimes software has been designed with SEO as a priority. It has all the right page structure, the right tags, great performance - all the things that Google loves. This can be thought of as passive SEO.

The next step is looking at active SEO, once you’ve kicked off registration with Google, there are a number of additional steps you can take to maximise your rankings on Google:

• Set up your Google Business Profile - the registration process created an account for you if you didn’t already have one, but make sure you update all your business details and get it Verified with Google.

  • You can manage your Business Profile directly via Google here: https://www.google.com/business

• Local listings and citations

• SEO basics course

Set up Google Analytics manually (obsolete)