Your Google Business Profile is a free tool to help you improve your local SEO efforts and attract more customers. These six steps will help you optimize your Google Business Profile.
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6 steps to optimize your Google Business Profile
1. Claim and verify your business listing
To claim your business profile, log into the Google account you want to be associated with your business. Then, go to google.com/business and click “Start now.”
From there, you’ll enter the name of your business and the address. If you work from home and don’t want your address to show up publicly, you can hide it and show the region instead. Next, choose how you’d like to verify your business: by phone, email, or instant verification.
2. Make sure your information is up to date
Any information in your business listing will be indexed by Google and serve as the foundation for your local SEO, so you want to make sure everything is up to date.
It’s also important to double-check that the information in your business listing matches what’s currently on your website. If the information you share on your website differs from your Google Business Profile, it can hurt your search ranking.
Finally, your description is a great way to explain to customers what your business does. A thorough description can help improve your search rankings.
3. Upload images to your profile
According to Google, businesses that add photos to their profile are more likely to have people click over to their website. They’re also more likely to receive requests for driving directions to their location.
At the very least, you should add your company’s logo and a cover photo to your business listing. But it can also be helpful to add some additional photos to highlight different aspects of your business.
Your photos should be at least 720 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall and either a JPG or PNG file. Google gives detailed instructions for how to add photos from either your mobile device or a desktop computer.
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4. Share updates about your business
All businesses can access the Google Posts feature, so you should take advantage of it. Google Posts allows you to share relevant updates about your business.
You can share things like blog posts, upcoming events, promotions, and videos. Anything you want your customers to know about your business, you can share in Google Posts.
You can even add call-to-action buttons to your posts. Google Posts is one of the best ways to engage your audience and capture your customers’ attention from the start.
5. Ask your customers for reviews
Reviews are the most important aspect of your Google Business Profile because 74% of consumers will read at least two reviews before making a purchase. Fortunately, it’s easy to start asking your current customers for reviews. Google even encourages you to request reviews and makes it easy to quickly send a link to your customers.
However, the real work begins after your business begins receiving reviews. That’s because you need to respond to all of them—especially the negative reviews. When customers take the time to leave a review, 89% expect a response. And if a review is negative, you have an opportunity to make things right.
Of course, even if you respond to a negative review, you may not be able to change that customer’s mind. But the way you respond to negative reviews could influence someone else’s decision about whether or not to do business with you.
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Reviews are the most important aspect of your Google Business Profile because 74% of consumers will read at least two reviews before making a purchase.
6. Track your insights
You can see how well your profile is performing with Google Performance, which gives you a complete breakdown of the following information:
- How customers find your business profile.
- The action they take after finding it.
- Common search terms that lead to your business.
- How many people find you via Google Search and Google Maps.
- How many customers ask for directions.
The information you receive from Performance will help you understand the customer journey better while also identifying possible areas of improvement.
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Local SEO strategies to improve your Google Business Profile ranking
If you run a brick-and-mortar store that focuses heavily on local business, you’ll want to improve your local SEO. Local SEO is the process of improving your online presence to rank higher in local search results.
For example, if you run a house painting business, you’ll want to show up in local search results when customers are looking for companies like yours. You can improve your local SEO by focusing on keywords, categories, and citations.
Keywords
You’ll start by adding relevant keywords to your website. For example, you may want to focus on ranking for the phrase “best home painting companies in [your city].” You can also use free tools like UberSuggest or Keyword Planner to find keywords that are less common and easier to rank for.
One of the best ways to target relevant keywords is by coming up with a content marketing plan. By regularly publishing SEO-optimized blog posts, white papers, and case studies, you’ll give your business additional opportunities to rank in local search results.
Categories
Google allows you to select up to 10 business categories from a preset list, and it’s important to get these right. Choosing relevant business categories helps Google understand the type of business you run and match it to appropriate local search.
When you choose your categories, you’ll select one primary category and up to nine secondary categories. Your primary category is the most important and determines how your business is listed in local search results. Secondary categories give you an opportunity to highlight other services your business offers.
For example, let’s say you run a house painting business but also put up Christmas lights for customers during the holidays. Your primary category might be “Painter,” and you could choose “Lighting Contractor” as a secondary category.
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Citations
Local SEO citations are another way to improve your company’s online visibility. Citations refer to any online mentions of your NAP data—business name, address, and phone number. These citations help Google verify the accuracy and trustworthiness of your company, so your NAP data must be consistent across all online directories, social media platforms, and review sites.
If there’s conflicting information about your business, Google may not highlight it in local search results. Plus, inaccurate NAP data will be confusing to customers and may make them less likely to do business with you.
Audit all your existing citations and update any incorrect information. If you need help with this, there are tools available that can help you monitor your NAP data to ensure accuracy.
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