Ocean Drive | Super Bowl LIV Weekend | 2020 – A Google Business Page allows your customers to make reservations at restaurants, book appointments, find directions, and leave reviews.
Google isn’t just a popular search engine anymore. It’s evolved into a platform for maximizing website success and innovating the online presence for businesses of every size. This includes startups, small businesses, and fast-growing organizations that need to compete locally, and sometimes even internationally.
One of the best tools for getting your business recognized and helping it rank high on organic search results is to make the most out of your Google Business Profile. Also known as GBP it has become the best way to improve your local ranking over your competitors.
What Is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a platform that allows you to create a listing for your business on Google. Anytime a user researches your business on Google specifically or uses search terms related to your business, Google’s algorithm taps into the information in your GBP to determine how relevant you should rank in their search results.
Google Business Profile is the next online evolutionary step up from Google My Business. It is specifically designed to help you create a detailed, informative listing for your business on Google. It also helps you to manage your company’s appearance on a lot of other popular search engines, and other potential perks.
GBP Has Multiple Uses
Google Business Profile’s suite of sophisticated software also maximizes your site functionality. It makes it easier for you to do things like:
- Interact with reviewers
- Promote awareness of your company
- Create awareness of your products and services
- Provide crucial information about your business for local searches
- Post your hours of operation, address, and contact information
- Promote company events
- Disseminate industry news items
- Add photos of your business
How Much Does a Google Business Profile Cost?
The good news is that you can claim, manage, and update your Google Business Profile for free. It’s even compatible with mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. The interface was designed to be intuitive and easy to use as Google strives to foster partnerships with businesses of all sizes for long-term success.
Do I Have to Have a Google Business Profile?
Nothing is requiring you to have a Google Business Profile. Though companies that don’t take a minimal amount of time to optimize their GBP often find out later that they were missing out on a lot of opportunities to boost potential sales, exposure, and revenue.
Does Google Business Profile Have Limitations or Tiers?
Google Business Profile doesn’t use any sort of “Freemium” business strategies that give you the option of paying more to get a leg up on the competition. Nor can your competition buy into a special GBP service that gives them a leg up on you. It’s specifically designed to be a level playing field with equal success opportunities for everyone.
This makes GBP a great digital marketing opportunity for businesses in highly competitive industries. Especially when you optimize your Google Business Profile for searching, which further maximizes your rankings in search results. If your competitors aren’t doing this, you get a leg up on them by simply taking advantage of a free opportunity that they are not
How Does Google Business Profile Help Generate Leads?
The search term “Near Me” has become the best way to find local businesses. GBP utilizes this fact to help users find a business of all kinds such as restaurants, movie theaters, furniture stores, appliance centers, and more. If you are trying to market yourself locally and you hope to tap into the popularity of the “Near Me” search trend, keeping an up-to-date GBP listing with an address and details about your products and/or services is critical.
If you don’t have a profile, or your current profile information is out of date, then you are inevitably going to have a lower ranking and/or might not even show up when local users enter the phrase “Near Me” when searching for your type of business.
This means that seeing an increase in your leads and revenue, you need to optimize and nurture your Google Business Profile. This includes a bevy of detailed information such as your latest hours, your recent reviews, and up-to-date contact information.
Key Information To Include in Your Google Business Profile
There is some basic information that needs to be input into your Google Business Profile to rank highly in local search results. This includes nuts and bolts information such as:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Hours
- Industry
It’s also a good idea to include recent pictures of your store. Especially if you have product photos that might be able to entice users to visit your physical location.
You should also take the time to input critical information about the products and/or services you offer. This will also factor in how you rank locally in “Near Me” search results.
The Importance of Active Reviews
Google takes into account activity as one of the many factors it uses to determine how a site ranks in a local, national or international listing. One of the best ways to demonstrate activity, without having to actively manage content, post blogs, or upload industry articles is simply to monitor and respond to all your reviews.
Not only does this demonstrate the activity to Google and its algorithm, but it also helps you to better interact and stay connected with your potential customers. Even if it’s a negative review, posting a positive response shows your dedication to customer service. It can also provide you with an opportunity to continue to refine your products, services, or business operations for further success.
How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile
Setting up your Google Business Profile is easy.
- Step One: Sign in to your Google Account, or create one (Free).
- Step Two: Go to create a profile.
- Step Three: Enter the name of your business with all your pertinent contact information
- Step Four: Search for your business category.
- Step Five: Choose whether you have a location customers can visit or if you are an online presence only.
- Step Six: Enter the service area of your business.
Google will likely want you to verify your account. This is a crucial step that lets you review all your information to ensure that everything is correct. It also lets you verify yourself as the owner of your business for security purposes.
Verification can be done via email, mail, phone, or Google Search Console. Though the fastest verification option is to use the Google Search Console. It’s important that you have a unique address, phone number and name that is is not keyword stuffed.
Use your real company name else the listing will likely get flagged and taken down until you can prove it via various documents. This can often take a few weeks.
Google changes the verification method often, and there does not seem to be a consistent method. Sometimes phone verification works right away, otherwise a simple domain verification works, however often even after you have verified, google will opt to send a physical postcard with a special code that you need to input.
There are even reports of requiring physical photos and videos of the location with signage to prove authenticity.
More and more, GBP is being verified via 3-D office tours which we specialize in.
No one knows until you try and set up your page. This is why most businesses will use our services because we’ve seen all the issues that could arise, and how to quickly work past them.
