An online presence is crucial for businesses of all sizes and targeted visibility on Google is one of the easiest ways to increase traffic and brand awareness. Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly Google My Business, is a platform designed for business owners to increase visibility and attract more customers.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile gives you leverage and allows you to manage how your business appears on online platforms like Google Search and Google Maps, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
In this blog, we will guide you on how to optimize your Google Business Profile effectively and highlight three benefits of using the platform.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a free and easy-to-use tool that features your business on Google Search, Google Shopping, and Google Maps. You can personalize your profile to add hours and events to keep customers up-to-date. Stay connected with customers with offers, share updates and photos, list your products or services, and respond to reviews.
Different factors contribute to how Google determines local ranking, like relevance, distance, and prominence, to decide if your business is the best match for a user’s search inquiry.
Benefits of Google Business Profile
Increased Visibility
Having a well-optimized Google Business Profile increases your chances of appearing in Google’s Local Pack, Maps, and organic search results, significantly boosting your online presence. When searching for location-based services, Google uses Google Business Profile information to determine which businesses best meet the searcher’s inquiry. The best matches will show up higher on the search results page.
Manage Your Business Information
Once you verify your business listing on Google, you are in control of the information that’s displayed when people search for a product or service that matches your business offerings. You’ll also be able to ensure all details are accurate and updated on time if any changes occur. It is easy to maintain an online presence and allows you to edit your information at any time.
Valuable Insights
Google provides insight into how users find your profile and what they do when they find it. You will get information on their actions, like website visits or direction requests, and be able to see how well your posts perform with users. You’ll also be able to see phone call data, like how often people call your business through your business listing, and see trends for times or days of the week when it’s most active. These insights can guide your marketing and operational strategies and overall help you make local SEO decisions.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
While search engines may automatically generate listings based on information available through your website and user submissions, it’s likely to be inaccurate or incomplete and puts you at risk of missing out on local search traffic and potential sales leads.
Setting up and optimizing your Google Business Profile ensures users have access to your most recent business information and the ability to contact you directly.
Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile
The first step is to set up a Business Profile account if you haven’t already and claim your business listing. You must confirm business ownership through a verification method that Google offers, which can vary from postcard, phone, or video. This step is essential to ensure you control the information displayed on your profile.
Complete Your Business Information
Once you have verified your profile, it’s time to optimize your profile by providing accurate and comprehensive information about your business so you’re more likely to show up in local searches.
- Use your actual business name. Don’t add additional keywords, taglines, or phrases.
- Add your business address if you have a physical location as it’s important for local SEO.
- Use a local phone number whenever possible to prove you are a legitimate local business.
- Link your business website so potential customers can access more information.
- Accurate operating hours. Keep hours up-to-date and promptly update if any changes occur to avoid frustrating users. Google allows you to customize hours specifically for holidays and other events when operating hours differ.
- Upload high-resolution photos. This includes interior, exterior, and product shots that are in focus and well-lit.
- Summarize your business with relevant information. The description is the best place to add useful details about your business that set you apart from others, like mission, history, products or services, and anything else that you want searchers to know.
Manage Your Customer Reviews
Potential customers are going to check out your reviews to see what it’s like to buy your product or service. Not only can they help with visibility in local searches but customer reviews can significantly influence how your business is perceived online. There are effective ways to encourage customer reviews, but you also want to make sure you are engaging by responding through your Google Business Profile. This is a great way to build loyalty with your customers and also gives you insight into how your business is performing with customer satisfaction.
Add Keywords
You will need to add relevant keywords to your profile to help with increasing reach and local search traffic. You don’t want to bombard your profile with keywords, but make sure you are using them to accurately describe your business. Consider adding keywords to your business category and description and on any product or service listings under the description.
Unify Your Brand’s Information Across the Web
As a critical part of your digital presence, it’s important to have control over your Google Business Profile and optimize it to reach a wider target audience and improve your image. It can be overwhelming trying to navigate setting up and managing a Business Profile or searching online directories to ensure information is consistent.
With our Local Visibility service, your business information is accurately presented and unified across websites with complimentary reporting so you can see where your business is being featured. If you aren’t sure where to start or need help managing your Google Business Profile, reach out to our marketing team to schedule a free consultation at (804) 788-004 or book a discovery call online.
