Think a Google Business Profile is just for brick-and-mortar businesses? Think again! Businesses across industries are expanding their reach and increasing organic traffic by optimizing their Google Business Profile (GBP).
In this blog, Sr. SEO Digital Strategist. Eric Solomon will explain how to set up your profile and optimize it to generate more organic traffic for your business.
What You’ll Learn:
- Benefits of Having a Google Business Profile
- Set Up Your Google Business Profile
- Claim or Create a Business Listing
- Optimize Your Google Business Profile
- Growing and Managing Your Google Business Profile Audience
- Real-World Examples and Case Studies
- FAQs About Google Business Profile
My Expert Opinion on Google Business Profiles
Google Business Profile is an exceptional tool every business and brand should use. Not only is it crucial for enhancing search visibility, but it also helps form a connection between the business and its audience.
I’ve seen firsthand how it can significantly improve a brand’s online presence, increase its awareness, and drive organic traffic their way.
Action Item: Review your Google Business Profile and note where you can optimize it to improve your brand awareness and drive organic traffic in your direction.
Benefits of Having a Google Business Profile
There are several great advantages of creating a Google Business Profile, including:
- Increased Local Visibility: Businesses can ensure local audiences in their service areas can find them with locally targeted GBPs.
- Access to Valuable Audience Insights: You can also gain more insight into your target audiences with reviews, questions, and direct messages.
- Manage Customer Interactions and Grow Your Audience: Respond to customer reviews and messages to build your business’s reputation and showcase your responsiveness while you also grow your Google Business Profile audience.
Keep in mind that any type of business will benefit from a Google Business Profile, not just brick-and-mortar stores. Having a GBP will put your business on the digital map and help you connect with all audiences, regardless of your industry or business model.
Set Up Your Google Business Profile
The first step to discovering how to increase Google Business Profile traffic is correctly setting it up. Here are four easy-to-follow steps on how to set up a Google Business page.
1. Create a Google Business Account
Creating or claiming your profile starts with setting up a Google Business account.
2. Claim or Create a Business Listing
You can create or claim your business listing through Google Maps once you set up your Google Business account.
3. Verify Your Business
To protect businesses on Google Business Profile, you must verify your business.
You can verify your Google Business Profile using one of the following methods:
- Video Recording: Google allows you to record a video detailing your business, including your location, evidence that the business exists, and proof of management.
- Phone Call or Text Authentication: You can also get verification through your business phone, whether via a call or text providing a code.
- Email: Google can email you with steps to verify your account.
- Live Video Call: Another option is getting on a live video call or text chat with a Google support rep to verify your account, which will follow much of the same steps as recording a video.
- Mail: Get a code delivered to your physical business location to verify the listed address.
To learn how to contact Google about your Business profile, click here.
4. Enter Your Business Information
Once you have claimed your profile, it’s time to get to work! Add all your important business information, such as:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number
- Website URL
- Business category
- Operating hours
- An in-depth description
- High-quality photos
- Products or services offered
- Special attributes
- A call-to-action (if applicable)
Entering the right category and description here is key to helping maximize visibility and grow your Google Business Profile audience.
Pro Tip: Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) is consistent across all of your digital marketing platforms, including your website, social media, and local business listings. This will help improve your SEO and make it easier for consumers to find you.
Troubleshooting: Common Setup Issues & More
With a better idea of how to create a Google Business listing, here are some common issues and potential fixes to get and keep your profile up and running:
- Lost Ownership: Whether you forget your GBP login or someone else claims ownership of your business, you can go through Google’s Business page and click on Manage Now. From there, you can follow the steps and prompts to add a location to your business and request access to your account.
- Negative Reviews: If you get a negative review from a customer, it’s best to respond with an honest, thoughtful, and respectful comment addressing any issues, which could help your reputation. However, if the review comes from a former employee or represents another conflict of interest as defined by Google, you may report the review.
- Suspended Account: There are many potential reasons why Google might suspend a Google Business Profile, but accidents can happen. For example, you might get suspended if you make too many alterations to your profile at once. In the event of a suspension, you can submit a reinstatement request, and Google will review your profile to determine whether it qualifies for reinstatement.
- Rejected Google Posts: In some cases, Google might reject a Google Post, usually if it contains language or images that qualify as “sensitive” topics. You might inadvertently use an “offensive” word, for instance. In these cases, it’s best to continue changing the language or images in your post and review Google’s sensitive categories to ensure your posts aren’t in violation of Google’s terms.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Once you’ve claimed your profile, it’s time to build it out so that more people can find and engage with your listing. Let’s look into what you can do to improve your Google Business Profile optimization.
So, what is Google Business Profile optimization, and what does it entail? Optimizing your profile involves adding clear photos and other elements to your profile to boost rankings and engagement.
The following is a checklist to help you in creating a Google Business Profile that truly connects with audiences:
Add Photos
A great thing about Google Business Profile is that it allows you to add photos to your listing. This is the perfect way to showcase your work so that your audience knows what to expect when reaching out to secure your services.
If you are a restaurant, post pictures of your delicious menu items and relaxing atmosphere. If you are an electrician, post pictures of your work, equipment, or team members. At the very least, you should include your logo and location so people can publicly identify your business.
Another example is an electrical company showcasing the company’s team, with the secondary photo highlighting a deal to draw even more attention.
Some locations will also want to post images of their storefront, in which case the picture should be clear, with nothing blocking the building.
Be sure to adhere to Google’s guidelines for GBP photos, which include:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: 10 KB to 5 MB
- Recommended Resolution: 720 px H by 720 px W
- Minimum Resolution: 250 px H by 250 px W
- Quality: Well-lit and in-focus image quality without excessive filters or other alterations.
Manage Reviews
Another way to grow a Google Business Profile audience is to solicit and manage your business’s reviews.
This will give you excellent insight into how to improve your business and provide potential customers with the social proof they need to decide to move forward.
Use Google Posts
Similarly to a social media platform, Google Posts allows you to share news, updates, and other information with your audience.
Use this space to post upcoming deals, events, and highlights. It will help improve your SEO and provide the perfect opportunity to invite your audience to interact with your business!
Optimize Q&A Section
Enabling the Q&A section of your Google Business Profile will help potential customers find answers to their most common questions. It also allows you to engage with your audience and shows that your business is committed to transparency and responsiveness.
Track Performance with Insights
Just like any other type of content marketing, it’s important to track your Google Business Profile’s performance. This will help you see where you are succeeding and what areas to improve to grow your Google Business Profile audience.
The dashboard allows you to keep track of calls, bookings, website clicks, directions, and more. It will also show you how many searches your profile appeared in and how many people viewed it.
Local SEO Integration
Google Business Profile is one of the best ways to improve your local SEO. As mentioned above, make sure that your NAP is consistent across your entire online presence.
You can also work on securing high-value backlinks and citations with other businesses and Google Business Profiles. You can also work those citations and backlinks throughout your own content.
Don’t forget to optimize your business descriptions and posts with “near me” keywords to improve the chances of securing a top spot in the SERP. For example, if you are a San Diego coffee spot, be sure to include keywords like “San Diego coffee shop,” “coffee shop near San Diego,” and “local coffee shop in San Diego” in your Google Business Profile content.
Multi-Location
The platform can be a huge support to multi-location businesses as long as you set it up correctly.
Get and Manage Extensions to Help With Appointment Booking
You can also get extensions to help you manage appointment bookings.
For instance, you can use Google Calendar to manage your appointments, along with Appointlet, a Chrome extension that allows you to grab booking links, generate bookings to copy to your clipboard, and paste a link to a booking in a live chat or email message.
Growing and Managing Your Google Business Profile Audience
There are several ways to grow and manage a Google Business Profile audience and manage it.
How to Grow Your Business Profile Audience
First, it’s important to use reviews and ratings to build your business’s credibility. You can generate reviews by taking the following basic steps:
- Actively encouraging reviews in your messaging (e.g., “If you liked your experience, give us a Google review!”).
- Use multiple platforms to request reviews, including email, SMS texts, and in-person.
- Link to your GBP on your website.
You can also use social media links to drive more traffic to your GBP and other channels, including them when appropriate.
Additionally, regularly engage with customer questions and answers. The more responsive and helpful you are, the more reputable you’ll appear to existing and new audiences.
How to Increase Google Business Profile Traffic
Here are a few strategies to help you increase your Google Business Profile’s visibility:
- Encourage user-generated content, including images and videos that you can then repurpose for your own marketing efforts.
- Post on your profile regularly to signal to Google that your business is both relevant and active.
- Use service or product oriented keywords to help you reach the right audiences.
- Your Google Posts should also include calls-to-action that are clear and drive more traffic.
Google Business Profile Management of Multiple Accounts
Here are some tips for managing multiple locations effectively:
- Keep all information consistent across all of your listings for uniform data.
- Create separate corresponding location pages on your website to link to within each profile.
- Optimize each listing with high-quality visuals, brand-specific hashtags, content, graphics, and logos as needed, to keep each location’s page unique.
- Monitor and respond to reviews for all locations, potentially assigning the management at each property to do so.
- Use features and tools like GBP’s location groups, Semrush’s Listing Management tool, and the RecurPost scheduling tool to optimize management and maintain consistency.
- Be sure to update any profiles as soon as business information changes.
Real-World Examples and Case Studies
Let’s look at some real-world Google Business Profile examples to give you some ideas of the direction you can go with these:
Dunkin’
One of the best brands to make full use of Google Business Profiles for multiple locations is Dunkin’. One item that stands out in these profiles in particular is the use of regular Google Posts.
These posts are frequent, with about two posts every week, with colorful and high-quality images that highlight the company’s tasty offerings.
Posts also include a CTA to begin an online order.
Ankin Law
Ankin Law is one of the largest personal injury law firms in the Chicagoland area, and it’s eager to showcase its reputation with reviews.
The profile includes a 5/5 FindLaw Lawyer Directory rating alongside Google reviews. The firm also regularly responds to all reviews on its profile, maintaining engagement with its audience.
Home Depot
Another Google Business Profile example worth mentioning is Home Depot’s, which takes advantage of the profile’s “See what’s in store section” to help customers find what they need at a designated location, without any need to visit the website first.
People can easily search for specific products in various categories. When clicking on one of the categories or entering a manual search, Google then takes the user to the corresponding Google Shopping page.
So, if you offer many products and want to supplement your ecommerce store, this strategy is a great way to boost sales.
FAQs About Google Business Profile
1. How do I generate organic visits for my Google Business Profile?
The best way to generate organic traffic is to optimize your profile through posting consistent, quality, and relevant content. The more attention you give your profile, the better.
2. How can I grow my Google Business Profile audience?
Stay engaged! Post timely content like photos, events, and promotions. Soliciting and responding to FAQs and reviews will also help show your audience that you are engaged and committed to building a relationship with them which is key for customer retention.
3. How can I attract more visitors to my Google Business Profile?
Optimizing your profile with the correct keywords, as well as updated information and photos, will help attract more visitors.
For instance, you can use relevant local keywords in your profile to boost search rankings. You should also regularly update your NAP details, hours, and other information to keep it relevant and accurate.
Additionally, post regular updates via Google Posts to keep audiences coming to you, and clearly list and describe all of your offerings.
4. Are Google Workspace and Google Business Profile Manager the same?
No, these tools are not the same. While Google Business Profile can help you manage your business’s online presence on Google, Google Workspace consists of various tools that businesses can use to get work done online and manage their profiles, such as Gmail, Calendar, and Drive.
5. How can I fix issues with verification?
If you’re having trouble verifying your Google Business Profile, there are some steps you can take to troubleshoot, such as:
- Trying a different verification method
- Checking for specific issues in formatting or information, such as inaccurate address or unclear videos
- Review your business details again to ensure they’re correct
- Use Google’s Help Center
- Reach out to Google Support if needed
Google Business Profile Optimization With Ignite Visibility
Whether you need to increase Google Business Profile traffic for an existing profile or are starting from scratch, Ignite Visibility is here to help. We have worked with businesses across industries expand their reach, improve their online presence, and generate more organic traffic.
We specialize in:
- Creating and optimizing Google Business Profile accounts
- Crafting local SEO strategies to reach customers in your target service area
- Developing high-quality content to share on your profile
- And more
Ready to improve your local SEO with an optimized Google Business Profile? Reach out to us today!
