Get Found Easily: How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile In 8 Simple Steps

Get Found Easily: How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile In 8 Simple Steps

Introduction

As a busy business owner or marketing manager you are always looking for better ways to get found online. And it can be an ongoing battle costing small businesses thousands if you get it wrong.

Google continually updates their algorithm to make the user experience better and you can help by simply making sure your google business profile is optimised. Because let's be honest Google is giving you all the prompts to fill in but so many businesses are ignoring the cues.

Over the past 6 months, we have seen more growth and increased rankings for our clients by optimising and using our Google business profile optimisation formula. So, if you are a local business owner, have multiple locations or are a franchisor, getting people to buy locally is the goal. 

The benefits of buying locally are massive, one that comes straight to mind is community and building strong links for ongoing referrals. Not to mention if your company has a vehicle fleet or even just one company car, the cost saving on fuel alone, can return an increased ROI on works carried out.

You want potential customers to be able to find you easily and quickly with just a few clicks, right?

Well, this is exactly why you must optimise your business profile so that it can be found more easily by search engine crawlers. Optimising your business profile can help improve your rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Or in other words the ‘Top 3’ in google search.

This will make it easier for people looking for your products and services to find you.

In this article, we’ll provide 8 simple steps that will help you optimise your business profile and get found more easily on Google.

What is Google Business Profile (Previously known as Google My Business)?

Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search and Maps. With a business profile on Google, you can control what information your potential customers see when they search for your business online.

Or just as importantly when they put in a product or service keyword in maps or search.

Google has also recently implemented photo search. Allowing you to take a picture of a product and then searching where to find one.

With this platform evolving rapidly and having a high percentage of SEO attached to it, every successful business MUST be listed or will be left behind.

But it’s not that simple. It’s easy to start a google business profile listing but it takes time to get it right.

Especially with the speedy growth of AI and the need to have all your correct NAP and business information listed for the AI to find you.

You can use your Google Business profile to:

- Share your business’s story

- Highlight what makes your business unique

- Build Trust and Expertise

- Post updates and offer coupons or promotions

-Show the heartbeat and human side with staff and delighted customers photos

- Respond to customer reviews.

-And communicate directly

A well-optimised Google Business profile can help you attract new customers and grow your business. Help you understand how your customers discover and use your business better.

Not to mention, attract employees and most of all, add goodwill and value to your company price overall, that's if you ever wanted to see it.

For franchisors, the benefits included happy franchisees and higher prices for new locations. So, a win-win, for all involved.

What's The Fuss Around Google Business Profile?

When companies create a Google Business Profile, they are creating an optimised, up-to-date picture of their business. Which will ultimately provide potential and new customers with key information.

We consider the information on a client's google business profile as the source data for that company. And recommend that all other business listing and profiles match the information on your GBP.

Having a business profile allows businesses to be found and stand out on the internet. And with 92% of all searches done on Google, it's a no- brainer. A business profile enhances a company's online presence and maximises its visibility.

If you look at the changes in the last 6 months on this platform, it's easy to see that Google is wanting business profiles to be like a 'one-stop shop' for your business, with some customers now even bypassing your website. 

It works by location settings. So imagine a customer using their phone ( mobile location settings on) or computer ( IP address). Google will share the business with the close’s proximity or relevance. That's why the 'Near+Me' search term has boomed. 

Additionally, Google Business Profiles allow businesses to easily manage their information on Google Maps, Google+Local, Products and Google search results. This WILL lead to improved SEO and more website traffic, as well as provide customers with current hours, directions, reviews, images, products, prices and more.

Why You'd Be Silly Not to Optimise Your Business Profile.

Here's the thing, the time it takes to spend optimising your Business Profile can repay your business in visibility and new clientele by 10 fold. Depending on how much love you have previously shown your page.

Even our Reviewly business profile has a maintenance check once over, monthly. We make sure that someone hasn't requested an edit which we have missed, or google didn't change a category or product on our page. And yes, that can happen. 

Some business owners think that their google business profile is theirs, but let's just be clear, it's Google’s.

They own it, not you!

Credibility and trust is what every business needs to gain more clients and get more sales and not to forget to stay one step ahead of your major competition.  According to Google, businesses, those who invest the effort to optimise their Google Business Profile are twice as likely to be seen as trustworthy by customers.

Moreover, your profile provides potential customers with the location they need to research more about your business, check out your reviews and even get directions to your physical location. 

In addition, the better your optimised Google Business Profiles is the increased visibility in relevant search engine queries compared to businesses without a profile or which are unmaintained.  That’s why, statistics show that businesses with optimised Google Business Profiles rank higher in local search engine results, which means more money in the bank.

The benefits are clear, so let's get started!

Step 1: Google business listing verification

As a business owner or marketing manager, you first need to make sure you have a verified listing. If you don't, anyone can take control and make changes to your profile by simply hitting 'own this business' link and filling in their email address on an unclaimed profile.

This can cause a lot of problems given how important your profile is to local search and your overall SEO ranking. I don't want to scare you, but this could be catastrophic in the hands of your competition. 

And for multi-location businesses having listings incomplete and unclaimed can affect your websites ranking. Making all the money you are spending on advertising counterproductive.

So to get started, go to Google Business Profile and sign up for an account with a Gmail account if you don't have a profile. Follow the prompts and fill in your details.

Google will want to send you a postcard to your address. This confirms the information you have listed and on the postcard will be a code which you enter. This is how you become verified.

If you have a profile but are unsure if it's claimed correctly, you are looking for a blue shield. This confirms that your account and address are correct and more importantly you are in control.

Step 2: Identify your local competition

Let me ask you this, do you think professional sports players and teams turn up to a game not knowing who they are up against? The answer is a big fat "NO'. The coach would be sacked. Of course they know everything about their opposition, their strengths and weaknesses. By having an understanding they have the upper hand and that's what you need in business also. 

Benchmarking your local competition is important because it allows you to ascertain how successful similar businesses are in your local vicinity. Helping to better understand the potential of yours and what 'good looks like' or what can be done better or differently.

From this information you can formulate strategies to help you stand out from the rest and differentiate your products and services. Not to mention to help identify your ideal clients and even potential opportunities or threats posed by industry or others. I'm sure you would agree, the small local hardware shop 15 years ago had no idea Bunnings would take over like they have.

It is so important today to know your competition as it allows you to create strategies, adjust your offerings, monitor pricing, analyse if your promotions are working and observe market trends. By doing that, you are guaranteed to remain ahead of the pack.

Furthermore, it can provide valuable insight into keywords, business categories, business listings, consumer behaviours, and to learn from what others are doing that is working and what's not. This allows successful businesses to establish goals and KPIs for their business. 

Using this information can provide a crystal ball into why you may be ranking lower than you should be on local search or google maps.

I would be a multimillionaire for every time a business owner has said ' They are just not that good, why are they ranking higher than us?' The simple answer is, they have worked out how to optimise their google business profile.

Step 3: Performing a proximity audit on your Google Business Profile

Now, let's talk about proximity and how it affects local search.  Depending on the location of the person or business searching for the product or service your sell or supply will influence the results. Think of your own behaviours and google knows that people tend to search for services and products that are close to them in order to save time and money.

Therefore proximity is a major factor in the local search process. It affects how easy it is for customers to gain access to the products and services they are looking for.  

As an example, a customer may search for a plumber to repair a leak and would prefer them to be close by rather than one located in another suburb, town or state. That's why search engines factor in proximity when providing results, giving local businesses a boost in comparison to those that are located farther away.

That's why your IP address and location settings can affect the results you receive in Google searches. Many times top searches are based on what is most relevant to that particular area.

Additionally, location also may influence which search ads appear at the top or bottom of the results page. Google may also favour local results, meaning if you search for a product or service, the results that appear first may be those closest to your location rather than the one best in your state.

What I am trying to also highlight here is the need to understand where you are located compared to your competition and also making sure you have your geolocation set correctly on your page for this very reason.

So by carrying out a proximity report, you can understand if your competition has listed the suburb nearest to your ideal clients and you have a suburb further away. This can easily be rectified by adding surrounds. On our google business profile optimisation page we explain how to do this in detail.

To say this is a major factor is an understatement, recently a real estate agent told me how commercial premises in certain locations were receiving more rent because of the address. Think about this, no different to families wanting to move to homes in the best school catchment areas.

To be easily found on Google, it's important to make sure your Google Business Profile is optimised and one way is to do this and perform a proximity audit.

A straightforward way to carry out a proximity audit, is to simply search for your business on Google Maps. Then, zoom in and out of the map to see all the business categories that show up in your location.

Step 4: Optimise Your Google Business Profile Categories

This is a big one! Did you know that google has over four thousand business categories. And to optimise your business profile, it's important to make sure you have the correct one's listed or you simply will not show up in search.

The best way to choose the best business category for your Google Business profile is to research what categories the majority of your competitors are using and evaluate the category keywords. This will ensure that potential customers are able to find and easily via their identify search category.

Additionally, think of your customer base and what they would be searching to find you online. Make sure to select a category that aligns with their needs. For some companies this is simple as there may only be one category, such as plumber or electrician.  But what if they sell or install air conditioning. It makes sense to include that category also.

Google gives you the chance to include up to 6 categories. One primary and five secondaries. This helps to increase your visibility

That's why optimising your business profile must include this area. One way to check the best category is to add the 'category' to google to see if you show up.

You should keep a few considerations in mind when completing your optimisation.

1. Make sure you select relevant categories.

2. Choose categories that are specific enough.

3. Don’t choose too many categories.

When selecting relevant categories, think about what keywords people might use to find your business. If you run a bakery, some possible categories could be “bakery,” “cake shop,” or “cupcake shop.”

It’s also important to choose categories that are specific enough.

If you have a niche business, such as a law firm that specialises in environmental law, you don’t want to just choose “lawyer” as one of your categories – this is too general and broad and people won’t help people find your business easily on Google. Instead, try something like “environmental lawyer” or “environmental law firm.”

Step 5: Website links

When you audit your business profile, have a look for all the links google is requesting and don't forget to add them. If you want your potential customers to review your website, then it's important to include your link.

Also make sure to include an appointment link to a calendar. If you don't have a calendar then we tell our clients to just put their contact us page URL there.

If you run a restaurant, then it makes sense to add your menu. If Google is asking, as a business owner or marketing manager then you should take this as a cue that you will rank higher if you complete all the information requested.

If you don't have a website, you can still add links to other online platforms where potential customers can learn more about your business, such as social media pages or online directories.

By including links to your business online, you're making it easier for customers to find you and learn more about what you have to offer.

Step 6: Google Reviews

Google reviews are considered to make up 15% of SEO for local businesses. That's a large majority and therefore an important part of your business profile.

Google reviews help build your reputation and prove to your potential customers that you are what you say you are.

When you are optimising your page, the best thing to do is to have a look at your competition. If you are ranking way down the page, it could be as simple as starting to generate 5 star google reviews. If your competition has 50 reviews, that tells you that you probably will need 50 to rank above them.

By taking a few minutes to optimise your business profile and encourage customers to leave reviews, you can make it easier for people to find your business on Google and improve your chances of being found online.

Here are a few tips for optimising your Google reviews:

1.Within your reviews are what we call Review Keywords, These help for those terms your customers may search. Here’s an example of one of our locksmiths. You can see service, recommendations, security... all really good keywords and if a possible customer searches, highly recommended security locksmith, these guys will show up in related search criteria.

2. Encourage customers to leave reviews by providing an easy way for them to do so, such as a link on your website or in your email signature. And consider having a software that sends out reminders.

3. Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, within 48 hours. It helps with the algorithm. 

4. Keep an eye on what people are saying about your business on other review sites in addition to Google Reviews as they all help with your ranking and local SEO.

Step 7: Google Business Listing Title

After you've claimed and verified your business listing on Google, the next step is to check on your business listing title and that of your competition.

Your business listing title is what appears in the search results when someone searches for your business.

Google business listings guidelines state that you must use your Legal name and not include keywords. Why? Well, Moz conducted one of the largest ever local SEO rankings studies and demonstrated that the title of a listing is an influential factor in its ranking.

So can you imagine if your business name then includes a keyword. Either one that describes what your business does or your location. For example, if you're a plumbing company, and include the keyword "plumbing" in your title. Or include your location in the title so that people searching for businesses like yours in your area can easily find you.

There is a benefit to this and it goes against Google’s guidelines and we recommend you report the breach to google. 

If you'd like to know more about the benefits to a business check out our Google Business Listings Optimisation page where we go into more detail.

Step 8: Local Schema Markup

Firstly, what is local schema markup? It is a type of structured data that gives search engines, such as Google, all the information they need  about your business' local presence. It's a computer language that helps the crawler confirm information such as search criteria. This can be as you've discovered keywords, location or even opening hours.

Schema is also known as structured data and it can help inform and improve search engine rankings for your business and help local businesses appear prominently in local search results.

So, assuming you have already completed steps 1-7, Local schema markup is the next step in optimising your business profile. Increasing your visibility to prospective customers and that's what every business wants, more eyes. You should add your local schema markup to your website, to improve your chances of appearing in relevant local search results.

When adding local schema markup to your website, be sure to include:

-Your business name

-Your business address

-Your business phone number

-Your business website URL

-A list of your business’s categories

-A brief description of your business, etc.

Here's an example of ours:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "LocalBusiness", "name" : "Reviewly", "address" : { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress" : "47 Nordsvan Drive", "addressLocality" : "Wodonga", "addressRegion" : "VIC", "postalCode" : "3690", "addressCountry" : "Australia" }, "geo" : { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude" : "-36.140262527619655", "longitude" : "146.87664527670384" }, "logo" : "https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mp-user-media/gRKj5nFBJO4R%2F212ba399-f584-4817-bb6f-0fb80208d9e7.jpg", "telephone" : "0429 021 376", "email" : "[email protected]", "paymentAccepted" : "gocardless,credit card,direct debit", "url" : "https://www.reviewly.com.au", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.youtube.com/@reviewlyelectronics", "https://twitter.com/ReviewlyAU", "https://www.facebook.com/reviewlyau/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/reviewly-au/", "https://www.instagram.com/reviewly_au/", "https://www.vimeo.com/reviewly", "https://www.yellowpages.com.au/vic/wodonga/reviewly-1000002801567-listing.html", "https://maps.apple.com/place?auid=547122092476752940", "https://www.yelp.com/biz/reviewly-wodonga", "https://wego.here.com/australia/wodonga/advertising/marketing, pr & market research/reviewly--036r386q-e05cdec17f7be76a5d9237c7b0276fcf", "https://www.wordofmouth.com.au/reviews/reviewly", "https://maps.google.com/maps?cid=7171624969239979945" ], "openingHours" : "Mo 08:00-17:30 Tu 08:00-17:30 We 08:00-17:30 Th 08:00-17:30 Fr 09:00-17:00 ", "map" : "https://goo.gl/maps/g7AcSjQ5PWMsVaBV9" }script>

By providing this data, it will assist Google to become more familiar with your business and increase the probability that it will show in corresponding nearby searches.

Conclusion 

Google has also continued to roll out unique GMB features to specific industry types.

This applies more to restaurants as convenience plays a major role. Now, it’s even possible for listings to feature “Reserve a Table” button.

So in conclusion, a well-optimised Google Business Profile listing is essential for any business or multi-location company that wants to be found online. By following the simple steps outlined in this article and on our webpage, where will have supplied additional resources including all the checklist and optimisation templates you can make sure that your business is easily discoverable by potential customers and that your website's SEO is not negatively impacted.

The goal with your Google Business Profile optimisations is to make it easier for customers to find the products and services and BUY from you.

Happy SEO-ing 🙂