21-03-2023
How to Optimize your Google Business Profile
Google has led the search engine market with a share of 83% in July 2022. In addition, it’s the world’s most visited website. Therefore, maintaining your company’s relevance on Google My Business is crucial for attracting new clients.
We live in a time where a variety of knowledge about different products and local companies is at our fingertips. As a result, any company that hasn’t created a presence online will inevitably lag behind its rivals.
Staying ahead of your competitors includes setting up a Facebook or Instagram account for your company and actively monitoring your internet presence through a Google Business profile.
What is a Google Business Profile?
An accessible business listing from Google is called a Google Business profile (previously known as Google My Business profile) which allows you to control your internet visibility throughout Google.
This is possible because you can access and change any information in your listing, including the work hours, the address, and images, once you set up and declare ownership of your Google profile for business.
In this way, when potential clients do an internet search for your company, you have control over the information that appears in Google Maps or Google Search. So, essentially you’re controlling what they see. Therefore, a google profile for business can be a powerful social media marketing tool.
Why do you need to optimize your Google Business Profile?
If you want to attract new customers to your business, a Google Business Profile is necessary. Especially after the pandemic, people search the internet for information about things they want to know; this includes companies.
Research shows more than five billion digital users worldwide as of September 2022, which is 63.1% of the world’s population. Consequently, this indicates that the internet is vital to reach more prospective consumers and convert them into quality leads and buyers. To stay above the competition, companies need to:
- Get past geographical constraints
- Strengthen connections with both current and prospective clients.
- Deliver superior client service
- Lower operating expenses
- Analyze Competitors and enhance business tactics
Hence, it is essential to leverage your Google profile for business and get the best out of it; otherwise, your business would lack a solid online presence, making you fall behind competitors and lose customers.
Moreover, optimizing your Google Business Profile is also essential because it helps you better engage with customers, be visible to your audience, and convert more customers to sales.
Ways to optimize your Google Business Profile
Now that you understand the significance of optimizing your Google Business Profile and making it appear in local search results to attract clients digitally let’s see how we can do that.
Here are a few ways Google Business profile managers can optimize their profiles:
Set up a Google account for business
Before you can access your google business profile login, you need to set up a google account for business. Then, click “Manage Now.” You will be directed towards another page where you’ll have to specify your business’s name, category, location, contact information, whether you provide delivery, and a verification method.
An important thing to ensure is to make sure you’re completing every section and answering all the questions. The fact that 88% of prospective clients check internet reviews before selecting local services is a significant factor in ensuring that you fill out every element of your Google Business Profile.
Moreover, 76% of individuals who use their phones to search for a location end up visiting it, and 28% of those searches lead to a sale.
Once your account has been created, you can access the google business profile manager login and start optimizing your profile.
Fill in all the basic information carefully
It’s essential to ensure the contact information you’re putting up for your business is exactly how it appears in real life. For example, your business name should be the same as your store sign.
If you add any keywords or the location name (that’s not a part of your business’s name), Google will think of it as spam. Information such as name, address, phone number, and business hours are the basic information to be filled in.
Moreover, the name you’re putting up must be identical to all of your other postings. If there are inconsistencies, Google will pick that up, affecting your credibility.
Finally, specify your work and holiday hours to avoid disappointing customers who reach you at the wrong time and have to return because you’re unavailable. Important information to be filled in includes business hours, contact information, and services offered.
It’s also essential to write a compelling description of your business and explain why customers should choose it in the “From The Business” section. To make the most out of the platform, you should list all your products and services, choose the correct category, and showcase your most stand-out attributes.
All these factors are crucial in giving your potential clients the information they require to choose your product or service.
Ask for reviews and engage with them
Reviews are essential. 98% of customers will read reviews before buying something, and 89% of consumers are highly likely to buy from a business that responds to all of their reviews.
Before buying anything, people want to know other people’s experiences to learn the pros and cons of a particular product or service. That’s why you need to ask for reviews and bring more exposure to your brand.
Replying with gratitude to a positive review and gracefully dealing with a negative review (apologizing and taking action to satisfy complaints) can greatly reflect your business.
In addition, when people see you engaging and responding to their queries, they are more likely to develop trust in your brand.
Build Citations to Optimize Google Business Profile
To get your business profile to show up in Google searches, you need to optimize your citations. A citation is an online reference to your business name, address, and phone number (NAP). By ensuring your NAP is consistent across the web, you can improve your chances of showing up in search results. You can build citations by listing your business on online directories and review sites. Make sure to include all the important information, such as your business hours, website, and category.
Add Profile Attributes
Adding profile attributes to your Google Business Profile can help optimize it for better visibility and searchability.
Google Business Profile attributes are additional characteristics that your company offers to better describe your services to customers. These could include particular features that clients are seeking before visiting your main website, such as additional services or offerings.
They show up just above your address on your Knowledge Panel/Graph in organic search results and beneath your main information in Google Maps results. The qualities are also visible above the address when you click on a Profile on Maps to explore additional details. You can view more types by clicking the arrow next to the viewable properties.
By including these key pieces of information, you can make it easier for potential customers to find and contact your business. Here’s how a software company has added profile attributes on their GBP.
Improve the Website’s Local SEO
There are a number of things you can do to improve your website’s local SEO. Make sure your site is well-optimized for your target keywords. Include local keywords in your titles, tags, and metadata. Create pages for each of your locations, and include relevant information such as your address, phone number, and hours of operation. Add maps and directions to your location pages. Claim and verify your business listings on major directories such as Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business. Encourage customers to leave reviews on these and other review sites. Below is an example of the famous Royal Academy of Arts.
Publish Regular Posts
If you want to make sure your Google Business Profile is optimized, one of the best things you can do is to publish regular posts. This will help ensure that your profile appears higher in search results, and it will also give potential customers a better sense of what your business is all about. Plus, if you make your posts interesting and engaging, you may even be able to attract new customers and followers!
Add pictures to Attract Customers
Adding images to your google business profile helps attract more customers to your location. Since anyone can upload pictures to your profile, you’ll have a variety of quality at your disposal.
In this case, adding your high-quality images can help your profile look more polished. You can also post videos to google business profile. As a result, Google claims, customers are more likely to visit your profile if you upload pictures.
Make sure to ask questions and answer them
The Questions and Answers area of a Google Business Profile is one of its most underutilized features.
Write your Q&As filled with queries you frequently get asked or responses your consumers will be interested in knowing to increase the number of potential leads you get.