Google has become a chief source of info for consumers, making it a MUST for your business to be found online. While most businesses understand that to be found on Google it is essential to create a Google Business Profile, many don’t know where to start. A Google Business Profile lets business owners reach customers via Google Search and Google Maps. Maintaining a Business Profile helps amplify your prominence on Google, gain credibility with reviews, and control your business information.
What you may not realize is that simply building a Business Profile does not give you management over it. But, if you want your Google Business Profile to work as a valuable SEO and lead generation instrument, you need those management and editing capabilities.
So how do you get management over your Google Business Profile? The answer is – aside from creating a free Business Profile, you must also separately create a free Google My Business account for that profile.
In this blog we’ll go over how to set up your Business Profile, how to optimize it, the importance of responding to Google Reviews, the Google 3-pack and its impact on search results, and what its impact is on SEO.
Setting Up Your Google Business Profile
Let’s start with the essentials. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up your Business Profile.
- Go to Google Maps and Add Your Business – Navigate to Google Maps and open the menu by hitting the button on the top left corner of the page. On the menu, look for the “Add your business” button.
- Create Your Business Account – Click on the “Create account” button and choose “To manage my business” from the drop-down menu. Then, fill out your information (e.g., your name, preferred username, etc.), and click the “Next” button.
- Verify Your Identity – After that, you’ll need to verify your identity, typically with a phone number. Google will ask for a few more details, then send you to their terms and conditions page. Hit the “Agree” button on the terms and conditions page to start setting up your profile.
- Fill Out Your Business Name and Category – Now it’s time to set up your Business Profile. Write your business name exactly as is. Then, choose your business category from the list. Your business category tells Google what kind of business you have, making it more searchable.
- Add Your Location – Searchers will see your address on Google Maps, so make sure you enter an accurate location. If you don’t have a physical location, you can choose “no” and skip this step.
- Choose Your Service Area – This step will look different based on whether you added a business address. If you added a business address, this step is optional. Google will ask you if you provide deliveries or home and office visits.
- Add Your Contact Information – Add your phone number and website URL. Searchers will find and contact you through your provided contact information, so make sure that it’s correct.
- Opt-In To Updates and Recommendations – Google will ask if you’d want to opt-in to updates and recommendations for your Google Business Profile. We recommend selecting “yes” so you can hear about best practices directly from Google.
- Verify Your Listing – Your Business Profile won’t become searchable until you verify it. There are five ways to verify your listing: By phone, email, postcard, video recording, or by a live video call. If you have a physical location, then you must verify your business by postcard.
- Add More Information & Opt-in to Google Services – After the verification step, Google will prompt you to add more information about your business and opt-in to relevant services, based on the business category you chose. You can add specific services you offer, set your hours, enable messaging, and more. We recommend filling in as much as you can because information like operating hours and business photos will help your potential customers reach you better.
When you’re done you’ll have a Google Business Profile that looks like this:
Optimizing Your Google Business Profile
Now that you’ve set up your listing, it’s time to optimize it. Here are ongoing steps you can follow to maintain a well-optimized Google Business Profile:
- Write a Business Description – Google recommends that you use your Business Description to provide helpful information about your products and services, as well as the missions and history of your business. Focus on providing a relevant description rather than trying to cram in as many keywords as possible (which can get your account suspended) within the 750-character limit.
- Add Images to Your Listing – Choose a profile photo (usually your logo) and a cover photo that best represents your business. Images can help you stand out, so be sure to upload additional business photos to your listing such as exterior photos, interior photos, product photos, and photos of your team at work.
- Google My Business Videos – You can also add videos to your Business Profile. Videos can add some variety to your profile and make you stand out among other businesses.
- Google My Business Reviews – Today, many of your potential customers will look at your reviews when trying to decide if they will do business with you. So, once your Business Profile is complete you should reach out to your existing customers and ask them to leave you reviews.
A Note About Responding to Customer Reviews
Today’s social media driven world has led to a business climate that is much more intimate and interactive. Your potential customers want to see that you are paying attention and engaged. The best way to accomplish this is to respond to all the reviews you receive, both positive and negative.
When you respond to positive reviews it shows that you are grateful for your customers’ support. Responding also makes that positive review stand out on your business listing and encourages existing and future customers to leave their own positive reviews and may even deter someone from leaving a false or negative review.
If you get a negative review, you should always respond. This demonstrates that you take them seriously and care about their customer experience. Responding also gives you the opportunity to tell your side of the story as well as to propose a solution. Choose your words carefully when responding to a negative review. Attacking them back makes you look unprofessional and gives added credibility to their review.
The Google 3-Pack
When you search for a local business on Google, the first three results that typically display are what’s known as Google 3-Pack. The 3-Pack, sometimes referred to as “The Holy Grail” of Google, is a format for displaying top results for local business searches. The 3-Pack (also known as the local pack) sits alongside a map that shows where each business is located, along with basic information about each business.
The 3-Pack’s position above organic search results makes this valuable real estate for any local business trying to reach potential customers.
When you search Google for something, Google’s main function is to give you the best possible result. That makes sense, right? Google gives highly preferential treatment to three businesses that best satisfy what they think you want based on a whole range of criteria.
When you click on a 3-Pack link you’re taken to a list of 20 businesses, with the business you’ve chosen positioned at the top of that list. You then have the option to click on a business’ link to visit its website, call the business, or click for directions – making it even more important to have your Business Profile filled out completely and correctly.
To determine which businesses will rank in the 3-Pack, Google considers your query and location. Business relevancy, prominence, and proximity to the user are all factors. Only businesses with a Google Business Profile listing are eligible. Businesses with optimized GBP listings seem to have increased chances of appearing in Google 3-Pack.
Based on the 3-Pack’s prominent position on top of Google search results, it appears that featured businesses are recommended by Google. Clearly, ranking in the Google 3-Pack is a powerful driver of traffic for businesses. Appearing in the 3-Pack is one of three potential ways for a business to show up on the first page of Google results for relevant local searches, followed by local PPC and local SEO.
Getting your business into that Google 3 Pack requires a well-thought-out and executed strategy that includes intensive Google Business Profile optimization, content creation specifically for Google, Google-specific SEO optimization, and some paid Google Ads.
Honestly, it’s a lot of work, but well worth it. Look for a future blog that will go in detail about how you can get your business featured in the 3-pack.
In the meantime, we can help you with designing and executing a 3-pack strategy, just schedule your free strategy session with us!
Does My Google Business Profile Actually Contribute to SEO?
Yes it does, at least locally. It can help in a few ways. Not only does a verified and optimized Google Business profile stand a better chance of being in the local 3-pack putting your presence at the top of search results, but it can also indirectly help your website rank.
Your Google Business Profile impacts SEO by providing social signals to Google, driving traffic to your website, and by providing social proof in the form of reviews. This also increases your website’s click-through rates by showing direct links to your individual products and services and displaying the last ten posts you’ve made.
Tracking Your Progress
Your Google Business Profile has a dashboard that you can use to gain key insights on your audience and local search performance. In the analytics tab of the platform, you can see such things as the queries customers are using to find your Business Profile, whether they found you on Google Maps or Google Search, a breakdown of actions taken on your listing, and how your photos are performing compared to other profiles in your category.
To Summarize
Your Google Business Profile is an essential tool for your local marketing in a number of ways. It helps you engage with current clients, find new clients, highlight your business, gain insights, and perform local SEO. Understanding the intricacies of creating and utilizing your Google Business Profile should be a key to your local marketing efforts.
At Obsessed With Success this is something we do for our clients every day and would be pleased to help you with! Let’s connect and schedule a free, no-obligation, strategy session if you want to learn more!
