Your Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) is an effective (and free) tool that allows business owners to manage one aspect of their digital presence without any of the extra leg work. Google developed Google Business Profiles to make it easier for online users to get the information they need in one single, fast search query. In the wise words of Alexsandr the Meerkat - keeping your profile up to date is simples.
Why Should I Optimise My Business Profile?
Google Business Profiles provide a way for businesses to display and update their details with ease, including location, phone number, website and any promotional assets. You can also pin posts to your listing, like blogs, projects, or services, making these more visible to your target audience. Most importantly, they ensure the accuracy of your business data, and assists in keeping a consistent brand image online.
Keeping your listing optimised is important for many reasons, but overall, we think there are 2 which win the show:
- Improved rankings. Google shows businesses in the results for local searches, meaning that well-optimised profiles are more likely to show higher up on the list.
- Improved visibility. Providing useful, accurate information helps Google show your Business Profile in the search results, and provides users with more relevant local searches.
I’m Ready To Optimise My Google Business Profile - Now What?
There are a few important steps we’ve identified for GMB optimisation. As an agency, we think these work best as they're what deliver great results and make our clients happy (and that makes us happy too)!
- Add and claim your business's Google Business Profile on Google Maps.
- Create a unique, detailed description of your business that encourages people to learn more. Using relevant keywords for products and services will increase your rank opportunity for those queries. If you’re unsure where to start, one of our friendly SEO specialists would be happy to get the job done for you!
- Choose a specific business category to better connect you to your audience. When you choose a category, think about what describes your business as a whole.
- Use high-quality, relevant imagery and video content that best represents your business and its services as accurately as possible. This will also assist with brand recognition - if you own a hairdressing salon, it’s probably best to upload imagery of your staff at work, rather than pictures from your Sunday brunch (however delicious your avo toast may have been).
- Ensure that your business name, address and phone number are completely accurate for potential local consumers.
- Encourage positive reviews from your customers! You can encourage this through calls to action (CTAs) - things like email marketing automation and social media reminders are all effective ways to ensure this. You might also like to incentivise reviews by offering your customers small discounts on their next purchase or booking.
Keeping your Google Business Profile up to date is an easy way to increase visibility and your chances of outranking competitors. If you’re running out of time to manage this yourself, or just think it’s better left to the experts (hello) then get in touch to find out how we can help.