How to Get Quick Wins with Google Business Profile

It’s the perfect time to learn how to get some quick search engine wins by leveraging Google Business Profile. For one, Google Business Profile is what is about to replace Google My Business, which will be phased out later this year. More importantly, Google is planning some changes that are going to make it harder for all of us to rank organically. So, we need to maximize our efforts by using all the tools available to us. 

 What Is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is the tool you use to optimize your business listing on Google, and it’s managed directly from Google Search or from the Google Maps app. It’s what allows you to show up in local search results and on maps, and something you use as an SEO on lead generation tool.

Why Do I Need to Optimize My Listing? 

It helps your business! Our websites are often our first introduction to potential customers, so it’s important to make a good first impression. And to do that, you have to get found online. Google Business Profile helps with both. 

In fact, Ipsos Research has found that with a current, optimized Google listing

• People are seven times as likely to click.
• You’ll get more page views while people are on your website.
• Visitors are 2.7x as likely to see you as more reputable.
• You’re 70% more likely to attract location visits.
• Your business is 50% more likely to make a sale..

Don’t miss out on this easy way to grow your business. 

How Do I Manage and Optimize Google Business Profile? 

Managing your listing is easy – and we’re going to give you our top tips for getting the most out of it in a moment. Let’s first make sure we know how to get to it. 

Sign into Your Edit Panel 

To get to your listing, simply sign in to Google using the Gmail account you associated with your listing and type your business name into the search. Typing “my business” into the search will also bring up your edit panel. You’ll see the profile on the right-hand side of your screen, and you’ll see all of your options for editing your listing and promoting your business on the left.

Our Top Tips for Optimizing Your Google Business Profile

When you get to your edit panel, you’ll be able to see all the major areas to keep up to date, such as “About,” contact information, location, and business hours. You not only want to make sure your information is accurate, but you must also check your listing routinely. 

Why? Because, strictly speaking, your Google Business Profile doesn’t belong to you alone. Which is a good thing! It’s a community profile, one that lets you engage with your customers in a variety of ways. For example, clients can add images, videos, and reviews, and they can ask questions. Because others can add to your profile, regular checks are needed to ensure what’s on your profile is legit.

Verify that Your Basic Business Information Is Up to Date

Access your edit panel and make sure your contact information is correct, including your address and phone number. In the “About” area, there’s a place to include a short description of your business. Review it and make sure it reflects what you most want to emphasize about what you offer to your customers. 

Update Your Business Hours 

According to Google’s own insights, 40% of people searching for a local business want to find the hours the business is open. So, it’s important to update your hours of operation any time there’s a change to your schedule. 

Every time your hours change or you will be closed, update your hours to reflect the change. Be sure to revise your hours any time there’s a holiday, even if most people would naturally assume you’d be closed on that specific occasion. Google Business Profile allows you to customize hours for holidays or other special events. 

Include a List of Products or Services in Your Profile

Your Google listing allows you to add products and services, so why not showcase them! When you include details like prices, descriptions, and photos, customers get a better understanding of your business and have more opportunities to interact with your listing. Plus, product and service details help Google understand your business better, too, helping Google connect you with the right people. 

Add a List of Service Areas

People often search for businesses they’re looking for by adding “near me.” Your address is only part of what brings you up in their search results. In the Location part of your profile, you can add the names of towns, townships, and other communities close to you. 

Turn on Messaging 

Messaging is one of the features that’s getting an upgrade in the shift from Google My Business to Google Business Profile. It’s a free messaging tool that allows customers to get in touch with you, directly from your Google Business Profile listing. 

This simplifies customers’ ability to contact you because they don’t have to dig for an email address or phone number. Visitors to your listing will see a Message button directly on your listing when your profile comes up, both on search and on Google Maps. 

Using Messaging allows customers to directly engage with your business and send you a message at any time of the day. What’s new to messaging is the call logging which allows you to track phone calls and respond to missed calls! Plus, there’s new Google Search and Google Maps data and insights you’ll be able to access. 

Start Asking for Reviews for Your Google Listing!

Business reviews are tremendously important to local businesses. Everyone would rather see what positive things others have to say about a business before trying something new. Plus, getting reviews offers you another chance to engage with your customers. It gives you the opportunity to address and correct problems, to answer questions, and to thank customers for letting them know about their experience with you. 

Google Business Profile makes it easy to request reviews. From your edit panel, you simply select:
Customers > Reviews > Get more reviews.

You’ll get access to a link to share with customers who want to submit reviews. Throw this link around like marketing confetti! Include is in your email signature, your email newsletters, end Messenger chats with the link, share it to social media from time to time, add it to your physical and digital receipts. Make it as easy as possible for people to review your business. 

Give Your Local SEO a Boost with Your Google Business Profile

If you take these six steps, we promise it will improve your local search results. And they’re all pretty simple to implement. The only real challenge is making sure to regularly check and update your information, as well as getting in the habit of checking for messages and reviews to respond to. 

However, turning on Messaging and asking for reviews will be well worth the effort. Messaging allows you to interact with potential customers as quickly and even in real-time. Responsiveness matters!

Furthermore, having reviews helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace, and people searching for what you offer will appreciate the social proof when it comes time for them to make a purchasing decision. Don’t worry too much that you won’t get all 5-star, glowing reviews. It turns out that a mix of positive and negative reviews is perceived as more trustworthy than a collection of only positive feedback. Plus, every review gives you the chance to respond, which will show both your existing and potential customers that you care.   

At the End of the Day

Failing to optimize your Google Business Profile is simply leaving leads on the table, which is silly when it’s so easy to manage your listing. We hope you’ll implement these tips and start generating more leads from the lift to your local SEO. We’d love to hear about how it goes! (Psst! But if you’d like some help, we offer this as a service.)

If you really want to get ahead of the changes coming from Google, optimize your listing, and maximize your SEO, we offer a free website audit. (HINT: It’s super easy. You just need to fill out an online form!) We’ll deliver a detailed report to you which will not only tell you what actions to take to boost your SEO, it will prioritize them for you! 

(Seriously, you make enough decisions. Let us help you with this.)