Easy and Strategic Ways to Improve Your Google Business Profile

In December 2021, Google announced that Google My Business, the company’s free business listing tool, would be known as Google Business Profile going forward. What didn’t change is the importance of having a complete Google Business Profile.

An accurate, detailed, and updated listing makes it easier for people to discover your business in local search. According to Google, customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they have a complete GBP and are 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with complete profiles.

Whether you already have a Google Business Profile or need to set one up, you can benefit from knowing the best ways to strengthen your listing.

Google Business Profile: Getting Started

First, an important distinction: Google Business Profile is the local listing that appears in Google Search and Maps. Google Business Profile Manager is the tool used to manage a Google Business Profile.

You need to create and claim your listing before completing a GBP. Only businesses with face-to-face customer interactions can claim GBPs, so although online-only businesses don’t qualify, businesses with both a storefront and an e-commerce platform do.

Once the listing is claimed, you can make changes directly from Search and Maps by following these steps from Google:

“Sign in with the Google account used to verify your business. On Google Maps, tap your profile picture on the top right corner of the mobile app and select ‘Your Business Profile’ to access these tools. On Google Search, look up your business by name or search ‘my business’ to update your profile.”

Your GBP name should be exactly the same as your business. Adding keywords might seem like a good strategy in theory, but doing this will get your listing suspended by Google.

Category is where you specify what your business is, not the product or service offerings. Be as specific as possible when choosing a category.

Business type is where to indicate if your business is storefront, service-area, or hybrid. Businesses without a physical address also qualify for a GBP provided that the business involves in-person customer contact. If you’re unclear on how to list your business, consult Google’s list of eligible businesses.

Surprisingly, store hours are often ignored when completing business listings, but they’re essential to a good customer experience. Set store regular hours and add holiday hours where applicable.

How to Improve Your Local Search Ranking

Filling out the basic information on your GBP is essential for business owners; however, many people will stop there. This is a massive missed opportunity, considering that 92% of searchers choose businesses found on page one of local search results.

Having a presence for your business is a good start but it’s certainly not enough. Capitalize on the power of local search by improving areas affecting these factors: relevance, distance, and prominence. Here’s how Google views these in local search rankings:

• Relevance: How well a GBP listing matches a search

• Distance: How far a local result is from the location term used in the search

• Prominence: How well-known a business is. For local businesses, this is based on factors such as links, articles across the web, ratings, and reviews, and SEO

One of the best ways to capitalize on having an optimized GBP is to update your website with target keywords. SEO is one component used to determine local search rankings, so an optimized website can help to boost your GBP’s Prominence factor.

Do’s and Don’ts for Google Business Profiles

There are seemingly countless ways to make the most of GBP. Start with these quick but effective optimizations.

Do: upload photos — but do so with purpose. Photos on your GBP should showcase your business’s and team’s personality while also highlighting products and services. 

Build a compilation that includes:

• Your company logo.

• A cover image featuring important aspects of your business.

• At least one exterior and interior image, though more is better. Exterior images taken at a variety of angles will make your location easier for customers to identify.

• Product images of your best-selling items.

• Images of staff-customer interactions, if applicable. (Get any customer’s approval before posting their image.)

Don’t: leave image file names as-is. Make sure each photo you upload is appropriately labeled, even if it’s as simple as “Blue_Sneakers”.

Do: include products for sale, if applicable. This can help with keyword search and shows searchers what they can expect. Add items via the Products tab on Google Business Profile Manager. Retail businesses can learn more about adding products using the Product Editor and Product Catalog.

Don’t: ignore reviews — good, bad, or otherwise. Show that you pay attention to customers and value feedback. Reviews and ratings are used in determining a GBP’s prominence, so it benefits you to not only respond but to also invite customers to write reviews.

With regular maintenance and the right improvements, your Google Business Profile can elevate your strategy for local search success.