Google is the most popular search engine in the world, handling over 3.5 billion searches per day. That’s a lot of potential customers that your business could be reaching! So why is having a Google Business Profile so important to your business and to Google?
Having a Google Business Profile is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make sure your business is visible on Google Search and Maps. When customers search for businesses like yours, your Google Business Profile makes it easier for them to find all the essential information about your business, such as your website, contact details, and reviews from past customers.
Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile is also crucial for local SEO (search engine optimization). Local SEO is all about making sure your business appears as high as possible in search results when people search for businesses in your local area. Google Business Profiles are one of the key factors that Google takes into account when determining which businesses to show in search results, so it’s important to make sure yours is up-to-date and accurate.
Building a Solid Foundation for Your Business
There are three elements to building a solid foundation for your business online:
- A website
- A Google Business Profile
- Capturing and Responding to Customer Reviews
Every other task you perform to drive visitors to your website depends on these foundation elements. Why?
Because these elements build and nurture trust in your business.
Your Google Business Profile will be the key element here. It provides an easy way for your visitors to leave reviews about your business. It also links directly to your website so visitors can get more detailed information about you and your business.
Why is having a Google Business Profile so important to your website?
Your Google Business Profile is like your business’s “mini website” on Google. It includes all the essential information about your business, such as your website, contact details, and reviews from past customers.
You can also post articles, events, and offers on your Google Business Profile just like you would on your website. Except, these will be visible directly within Google as a search result.
Photos and videos can also be posted on your profile. You can add images and videos to showcase your location, work environment, and team.
If you run a restaurant, post pictures of your meals, menus, and dining room. Make sure they look appetizing, professional, and are a good resolution. According to Google, businesses with photos receive more requests for directions and more clicks through to their websites.
When customers search for businesses like yours on Google, your Google Business Profile makes it easier for them to find all the information they need about your business. But that’s not all! Your Google Business Profile also helps improve your local SEO, making it more likely that your business will appear in search results when people search for businesses in your area.
Why is having a Google Business Profile so important to my website’s Local SEO?
A Google Business Profile is one of the most important elements for improving your website’s local SEO rankings. Having a Google Business Profile helps your business’s visibility on Google Search and Maps, which in turn can help improve your website’s local SEO rankings.
But how exactly does a Google Business Profile help with local SEO?
Your Google Business Profile is the tool that Google provides to help businesses manage their online presence. It includes a variety of features, such as the ability to create and manage posts, events, and offers, track your visitors, and respond to customer reviews.
When you create or claim your Google Business Profile listing, Google takes into account a number of factors to determine how high to rank it in search results. This includes things like how often it’s updated, how many customer reviews it has, and how many citations (a mention of your business on another website) it has. By keeping your Google Business Profile listing up-to-date, and ensuring that you have plenty of customer reviews, you can help improve your website’s local SEO ranking.
Your Google Business Profile helps customers find your business online. As we mentioned earlier, one of the main benefits of having a Google Business Profile is that it links directly to your website. This makes it easy for customers to find more detailed information about your business, such as prices, menus, photos, and videos.
It also allows customers to leave reviews about your business directly on Google. This can be extremely valuable for businesses, as positive reviews can encourage other customers to do business with you. And since Google takes into account customer reviews when determining which businesses to show in search results, having lots of positive reviews can help improve your website’s local SEO ranking. Even one or two bad reviews will give visitors insight into how you deal with issues when your customers encounter problems. So, don’t try to avoid bad reviews. Sometimes these are just as beneficial as a lot of good reviews.
Your Google Business Profile increases the chances that your website will appear in Google Maps results. When someone searches for a business on Google Maps, they often see a list of businesses that appear in the area around them. As we’ve seen, having a Google Business Profile can help increase the chances that your website will appear in these results.
This is because Google takes into account a number of factors when determining which businesses to show in Maps results, including the number of customer reviews you have and how often you update your information. So by keeping your profile up-to-date and encouraging customers to leave reviews, you can help improve your website’s chances of appearing in Google Maps results.
Building on Your Foundation to Grow Your Business
A Google Business Profile, along with a website is a powerful tool that builds a strong foundation for your online business. In addition to developing a good level of trust with visitors, these items can help improve your local SEO rankings when managed properly.
By ensuring that your profile is up-to-date and complete, and encouraging customers to leave reviews, you can increase the chances that your website will appear in Google Search and Maps results. This, in turn, can help attract more customers to your business and improve your bottom line.
If you need help optimizing your Google Business Profile, or getting any of your online foundational elements working, speak with one of our experts to understand what steps you can take to build your foundation.