With a 94% share of the market, Google is by some margin the most popular UK search engine. For businesses needing to be visible online, it’s one of the most valuable places you want to be seen. One way to help boost that visibility is to set up a Google Business Profile (GBP) and in this post, we’ll explain what a GBP is and how to set it up and manage it.
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What is a Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a free tool, sometimes referred to as ‘Google My Business,’ that enables you to create a business listing on Google. Essentially, the GBP tool is an interface you use to manage the various features of your profile, enabling you to display a wide range of information about your company. This can include a business description, address and contact information, opening hours, images, a list of services (or menu if an eatery) and more. GPB also accepts and displays customer reviews and ratings and lets you respond to them.
The good thing about having a GBP is that it can appear in search results (especially if someone searches for your business by name) including those that display a map showing local businesses. It also means that your business can have a placeholder on Google Maps.
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How to set up a Google Business Profile
Before setting up your GBP, we would advise that you first read the GBP Guidelines and Policies. You should only set up a profile if you are happy with these and are sure that your website or business is eligible.
If you are happy, then setting up a GBP is a fairly easy process. The first thing you will need is a Google Account. Once you have this, go to the Google Business Profile page and log in using your Google Account details. In the form provided, enter your business name and the business category you want it to be listed under. After this, you’ll need to enter your business address, contact details and website URL. You also have the option to have your business listed on Google Maps.
It’s important to mention here that the business name you provide should be what Google calls your real-world name. In other words, give the publicly known trading name of your business. If your registered name is J Smith Ltd but you trade as Smith’s Plumbers, then put Smith’s Plumbers on the profile. You should also make sure that your NAP, i.e., your business name, address and phone number, are identical to those used on your website.
Once you have completed inputting this information, click finish. Following this, you will need to verify your website to prove that it’s actually yours. There are various options for doing this, though the quickest is often to verify the site on your Google Search Console account.
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Creating your GBP
Once you have entered your basic business information, there are a number of other steps to go through. For instance, you can enable messaging, a feature that allows your customers to contact you directly through your GBP and through which you can respond to messages. You can also upload images and videos of your business. Many use this to promote their logo, help users identify the building from the outside and show the interior (great for restaurants and venues). Others upload images of menus, vehicles, pictures of their products or work they’ve done or video portfolios. It is a good idea to upload new photos regularly to keep these images fresh and up to date.
An important part of the GBP is the Products and Services feature. This enables you to showcase your services and products in more detail. You can even break these down into categories to make it easier for users to find the information they are looking for.
Use your GBP to boost local SEO
While a GBP is great out of the box for SEO simply because it is featured on Google, you can make it more effective by including important keywords in your content, especially in the concise business description. For local SEO, make sure this includes your location and the type of business you are, besides using keywords that searchers will use.
The business category you choose for your GBP listing will also play a key role in your SEO as Google will use this to make sure you appear in searches relating to that category. For this reason, choose the categories carefully.
Positive customer reviews and ratings are also useful for SEO because Google will want to provide search results that help customers find the best businesses. As people mostly choose to use businesses with higher reviews, Google is inclined to rank those higher. If you don’t have many reviews, there’s an ‘Ask for Reviews’ tool in the GBP dashboard that enables you to share a link with your customers asking for their feedback. You can also respond to any reviews, but make sure this is done professionally as any Google user will be able to read what you say.
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Make use of Google Posts
Google Posts is a feature that lets you put social media-style posts on your GBP. There are different categories of posts you can add, including updates, offers, events and products. As the names suggest, update posts are for sharing business news, while the others allow you to promote your latest offers, events and products. You can do this using both images and text. The product posts are particularly helpful as you can create a sliding gallery of different products, similar to the products gallery that appears at the top of many Google search results.
The attributes section
Many businesses don’t take full advantage of the attributes section; however, it can be helpful both to users and for SEO. Essentially, it enables you to highlight the attributes that make your business different. If you are a taxi company with female-only drivers, a restaurant that lets children eat for free or a craft ale pub, adding these to your attributes will help you appear in related searches and grab the attention of those who read your profile and who are looking for a business like yours.
FAQs Section
Though not essential, adding questions and answers to the FAQ section of your GBP can be highly beneficial to potential customers. Importantly, it immediately answers the most common questions that your customers ask, helping them solve queries or make decisions quickly, without them having to contact you.
Keeping information up to date
As your GBP is live, people who see it will presume that the information provided is accurate. For this reason, you should make sure it is kept up to date. One area where this is especially important is with your opening hours. While these may be consistent most of the year, there may be times when they change, for instance, if you are self-employed and going on holiday or have different opening times over
Christmas or bank holidays. Similarly, if you have posted about events or offers that have expired, take them down so they don’t confuse users.
Conclusion
A Google Business Profile can be highly advantageous for businesses, both in terms of improving online visibility and in providing searchers with valuable information about your company. As you can see from this article, it is relatively easy to set up, however, it is something that you will need to manage and update from time to time.
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