How to Optimise Google Business Profile and Leverage It for More Sales?
(Google has recently changed the name of Google My Business to Google Business Profile. The major difference other than the new name is once you have claimed your Google listing you will be able to amend your listing whilst in the search facility of Google.
A bit about Google Business Profile (Formely Google My Business)
The Google Business Profile is the Google equivalent to a Facebook page, and you must optimise this for your business. It will help hugely with your local search ranking and Google search.
With Google Business Profile, you can provide Google with information about your organisation, including opening hours, contact details, review sites, delivery partners and special offers. In exchange, you will learn business insights through their free business dashboard or "business insights".
In this blog post, we will look at how you can optimise your Google Business Profile so that you appear higher in local search results within Google.
The golden rule to remember at all times is.
Make sure everything you add to your Google Business Profile (Google My Business) matches the information you have on your website.
How do you claim your business on Google Business listings?
Click "Start Now" and follow the steps provided on how to verify your ownership of the listing. This can be done by postcard, phone call or through a Google Partners account.
What to do once you have claimed your Google Business Profile?
The following are seven ways to fully optimise your Google business profile so that your business appears higher within customer search results.
Ten ways to optimise your Google Business Profile listing
Make sure you claim your listing with your actual business name.
Google doesn't like you to add anything after the name of your business. So, for example, if your business is registered as "Solar Energy Works" and you are located in London, don't be tempted to add the word "London" after the business name. Google will not like this as it isn't your registered name, and you are trying to "game the system" by having an accurate business listing.
As always, match how you appear on your website. An inaccurate listing will harm your rankings and negatively affect your listings:
2. Select a business Category as accurately as possible
To give you an idea of the scale of how many Google Business Profile Categories there are for the UK market alone there 4043 and they are added to often daily.
As Google relies on statistics to determine how relevant your listings are, you must select the Category that reflects your business. It is paramount that you appear in the right business category. We would strongly recommend that you add at least 3 different Google Business categories to your profile and no more than 6.
Google has a whole list of categories available here. If you have multiple branches, then Google will pick one for display in search results, so make sure this is an accurate description.
A quick note, you are not allowed to add your own you just have to go with which is the closest to your business.
3. Add your full business address to your Google Business Profile as it appears on your website.
Google wants these to match as it helps when your business starts to appear online business (Citations) directories. These citations sites look to see how your address appears on Google, and then often self populate their sites based on this information.
If you don't want or don't have a physical location for your business, you can hide your address. You can do this in the following way :
Click on 'Settings'
Select the 'Google Maps' tab
Under the 'My business address' section, tick the box that says 'I don't want my address to be shown publicly'.
If you have a Google Business Profile and your website is verified, your website's information will automatically be added to your Google My Business profile.
If you do not have a Google Business Profile or want to add more information, click on 'add' and enter the website URL where Google can find out information about your business.
If this field is left empty, Google cannot use any of the details from your website for Google Maps listings.
4. Add your website address and an appointment link (or Contact Us) with your Google Business Profile.
You can find your business's website address within the Google Business Profile dashboard. This is an excellent thing to do for local search rankings as it makes it easier for people to find your business online. It is also worth including an appointment link (or get in contact) on your Google Business Profile. This will allow people to easily book appointments with you without searching for a separate page or calling you directly.
5. Add your phone number to your business page
You can add several numbers to your business account, including your business phone number, mobile and home phone numbers. This will help Google verify your business listing and ensure that potential customers can reach you easily. You decide which numbers you place within the business listing, but again make sure it matches what you have on your website.
6. Add your business hours to your Google Business Profile
How often have you checked local businesses opening hours via a Google search? (especially around a bank holiday or perhaps a Sunday) This is the reason why you need to keep your Google Business Profile opening times up to date.
This includes special occasions like
Christmas
New Year
Easter Holidays
Bank Holidays
If Google sees that your establishment is close to the search location, has enough reviews and opening hours are available, then Google will likely show you within organic search results for this term.
It is a five-minute job to set up the basic hours of your business but make a note to update special occasions and holidays as this shows Google that you are actively using their platform.
7. Add photos to your business listing.
The internet has a vast amount of information and a lot of this image-based. You have the opportunity to showcase your business using images inside the biggest search engine in the world you want to make a good impression. Here are three reasons why you need to add fully optimised images to your Google Business Profile :
Images help to improve your click-through rate (CTR). Google has found that listings with images receive 42% more clicks than those without. This is because photos are a great way to engage users and draw their attention.
Photos also increase the time spent on-page. When people see attractive and relevant images, they are more likely to spend time reading your business listing.
Businesses with photos receive up to 94% more views. When people see good looking images of a business, it urges them to click on that company and view their Google My Business profile page. Over 70 million small businesses have claimed their free GMB profiles, but only a fraction of them use photos.
Make sure your images are high quality and relevant to what you do as a business. You can also use Google's free Business Photos program, which will take professional-quality photos of your business for free.
To sum it up, adding images to your Google Business Profile is essential
Here are some stats via Brightlocal
“We also looked into the links between the number of photos a business has on Google My Business, and their Google My Business Insights. The research found that businesses with more than 100 images on GMB get 520% more calls, 2717% more direction requests, and 1,065% more website clicks than the average business”
8. The importance of Google Reviews
Google reviews are an essential part of your Google Business Profile. They appear in search but also on Google maps. Some statistics around the importance of reviews are that:
88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
72% of people say that they're less likely to use a business with negative reviews.
Companies with positive reviews see an 18% increase in revenue.
Where do Google reviews appear on the web?
They appear on a business listing within relevant searches and Google maps and business listings. See the image below.
What is the difference between Google Business Profile and Google Map listings?
The difference between the two is that Google Business Profile is a Business account, whereas the Map Listing allows you to be found by geographical location.
The most crucial difference between the two is that your listing will be in the top three Google search results when someone searches for your business by name with Google Business Profile. Whereas with a Map Listing, it will appear as one of the several map listings that appear on the left-hand menu.
Google Business Profile listings are generally the first three search results on Google for your name or brand of choice. The main reason you want to optimise this page is that it allows you to have business information that is more relevant to the searcher than a place on Google Maps.
How to encourage Google reviews from your customers
Make it easy for customers to leave a review by providing a direct link to your Google Business Profile profile page - An excellent way of doing this is by creating a QR code that you can place on your marketing literature.
Try incentivising customers with a discount or special offer for leaving a review. The cycle company Evans Cycles does this with a monthly price draw for all customers who leave a review after a purchase.
Always thank customers who have left reviews and show appreciation for their feedback. Do this ASAP, ideally within 24hours of the review being written by the customer.
Respond to negative reviews promptly and politely, addressing the customer's concerns and try and take the conversation offline if possible (Giving a phone number or a private email address)
By following the above, you can encourage more customers to leave Google reviews about your business, which will help improve your ranking in search results and thus improve your business's exposure to potential new customers.
9. Answer questions left on your Google Business Profile page
A section on the Google Business Profile lets you answer questions customers have left on your business listing. Check this section regularly as it can be a valuable way of communicating with potential new customers.
If the question is related to opening hours or delivery information, consider adding these details directly onto your Google Business Profile so that they are visible from all searches and not just the Google Business Profile searches. (I.e. if someone has asked what time do you open on a Saturday, make sure you have your Saturday opening hours listed on your profile)
This will help customers look for information about your business before they have even visited you; it also helps differentiate yourself from competitors that might not provide this level of detail on their profiles.
You can also do with the Question and Answer section within your google my business profile to write your own questions and then answer them. This can be a great way to show off what your business does best, and it also allows you to control the narrative around your brand.
Google doesn't mind you doing this as it helps them sort out the most relevant search results. Just remember to answer all questions with as much information as possible.
10. Getting the most from Google Posts
Google posts are brilliant at making sure you keep your customers and Google up to date with what your business is doing. There are several different categories that you can post a google update within, and they are :
Offers
What's new
Events
COVID-19 Update
The great thing about Google posts is that they will show as an update within the Knowledge Panel on the right-hand side of a users screen when they search for your business. You can also add a post to your website, which will help with SEO.
To create a Google update, you need to first go into your Business Profile and click on the 'Posts' tab.
On the post screen, you can enter a title for your Google Post, a description of what it's about or, more importantly, which Category this particular google update falls under. Then upload an image if required (Google allows up to 20MB per image ) and hit publish.
A special note about COVID-19 updates posts on Google Business Profile
By posting a COVID-19 update within Google Business Profile, statistics suggest that it can increase your page rank on Google.
The COVID-19 post on Google Business Profiles appear just underneath your business name within a search, and it is; for this reason, we strongly suggest that you update these regularly.
Things to know about COVID-19 posts on Google Business Profile are :
Keep your posts brief - ideally under 100 words
Use keyword phrases relevant to COVID-19 in your post
Add a link to your website for further information
You can also create a Google post from your Business account on the go by using the Google My Business App.
The app is available to download for free on Android and iOS devices. Once you have downloaded and opened the app, click on 'Create Post' at the bottom of the screen and follow the instructions.
Conclusion
Google Business Profile is one of the best tools for businesses to rank and is found within Google, but it's not something you can just set and forget. If your company has claimed their GMP profile yet, or if they haven't done anything with this free resource at all - now may be a good time to start using it! To help get started, here are some simple actions that will drive traffic back to your business website every day. Don't wait any longer; claim your GMP page today before someone else takes over the top spot in search results!
If you would like help with getting the most out of your Google Business profile (Google My Business) please feel free to contact us at hello@sumwot.com