Optimizing Your Google Business Profile and How To Attract More Local Customers

Before Google, it wasn’t long ago the phone book was the most practical way to find restaurants, service providers, retailers, and more.

It was a slow-moving world, huh?

Sure, you could find the business after a lot of flipping through pages. But even then, you had no easy way to tell if the business was positively rated, reliable, experienced, or safe to use.

Today, we now have the power of a phone book and much more in our pockets at all times.

Google revolutionized the way we consume and the way we do business — the way customers search for and find products and services, especially locally, has forever changed.

That’s where Google Business Profiles comes in.

Google Business Profiles function as much more than a digital phone book.

The platform is a complex series of algorithms that work hard to match your business with the customers that are searching for products or services like yours.

The algorithm is constantly matching criteria, which we’ll discuss later, to help send your most qualified potential customers to your door.

Ready to learn how Google Business Profiles work?

What are Google Business Profiles?

Google Business Profiles are an online platform you can build within Google’s own ecosystem. In some ways, it’s similar to creating a Facebook page. Except it lives within Google search.

Once you’ve registered business and optimized your Google Business Profile, it allows Google to recommend your business to people who are searching for products and services your business offers.

A great example of this is within the restaurant industry.

The last time you traveled to a new city and you were looking for suggestions for a great restaurant, you probably did a quick Google to see options near you, right?

The restaurant recommendations shown first on the map are called the Google 3-pack. They’re the results of a number of criteria like proximity, proper category listings, how authoritative your website is, and more.

Factors determining results in the 3-pack are positively affected when you have a completed, active Google Business Profile.

Every business wants to be in the 3-pack, because it’s among the first results potential customers see. And it’s a powerful placement that helps drive foot traffic (or website visitors) to your door.

In a small 2017 study by IgniteVisibility, clickthrough rates for the top ten positions in search results showed an obvious trend — there’s value in being in any of the top 10 positions. Notably, those at the top receive the vast majority of clicks.

We don’t believe this study took into account Google’s 3-pack, but it’s reasonable to assume being in the 3-pack is going to lead to more customers finding your business, more phone calls, and more people visiting your website.

From a customer’s perspective, a Google Business Profile provides a summary of the address, telephone number, and website for the business. It is also linked to a map, that customers can use to GPS (via Google Maps) the business.

It’s easy to see how these elements could increase the number of local customers visiting you.

Lastly, the photographs and reviews on the business profile allow customers to get a glimpse of your business. They can read about the experiences other customers have had with your company.

Your profile is like a personalized handshake from your business to prospective customers. Today it is more essential than ever to optimize your appearance in search to stand out from the rest of the results.

That starts with ensuring Google has the correct information about your business.

What’s Required To Create A Google Business Profile?

Before you can set up a profile, you need to meet certain criteria.

Do I need a physical address to be listed on my Google Business Profile?

Businesses with a physical location can add their address, which helps Google serve specific suggestions if someone is in close proximity to your store, restaurant, office, and so on.

Businesses that operate exclusively online will also need to enter a physical address. This address can then be hidden.

This can include e-commerce retailers, virtual service providers, or consultants that do not have a brick and mortar location.

Beyond those requirements, to use Google Business Profile:

• Your business must be currently open or plan to open within 90 days.
• The Google/G-Suite registrant setting up the account must be the owner or an authorized representative of the business.

Once you’ve set up your Google or G-Suite account, you’ll want to complete your business page.

There are many tools available in your profile dashboard that allow you to customize your search presence.

These include adding location(s), unique information about your products or services, photographs, and other details to help you attract new customers through local search marketing.

You’ll also have the option to build a “website” within Google. While there are different website themes, customization to match your brand’s fonts, colors, and so on is limited.

Nonetheless, the option is there to feed Google correct information about your business. That’s the key takeaway.

What Can You Publish On Your Google Business Profile Website?

1) Contact Information

Rule number one of digital marketing: keep it simple.

Once Google serves your business as a local option in the Google 3-pack or on Google Maps, prospective customers will often want more information.

Adding your contact information makes it simple and quick for your prospects to reach you or find the information they need.

2) Business Hours of Operation

There’s nothing like getting excited about heading to a restaurant, then you get there and find out they’re already closed.

That’s not the first experience you want to give your potential customers, is it? In the future, they’re certainly less likely to come back, because they can’t trust the hours of operation listed online.

Be sure you update what days of the week your business is open and your hours of operation on GMB, including holiday hours or closures.

3) Photos Of Your Business

A picture is worth a thousand words and they stand out in search results. So if the ambiance is part of your business’ appeal, show off that atmosphere through quality pictures.

As time goes on, Google will provide statistics on how many people are viewing your photos monthly — similar to how Facebook or Instagram provides analytics for your posts.

4) Google Posts

Creating posts on your Google profile allows you to create special offers or publicize events or new products directly within search results.

There are four types of posts that business owners can create:

• Offer Posts: for incentives, contests, or special incentive campaigns to draw new customers.
• “What’s New” Posts: for general information and photography of an event or your location.
• Event Posts: to announce or invite customers to attend an upcoming event.
• Product Posts: to showcase your merchandise or the services that you offer.

Each type of post has a dedicated CTA (call-to-action) to allow customers to click through for more information, whether that’s claiming a discount, learning more about a service, ordering a product, or signing up for an event.

When someone searches for your website, posts made on your profile may show directly within search results.

Google Business Profile posts can be used for a variety of reasons.

• Use Google Posts to keep fresh content flowing
• Engage customers in search with targeted messages by adding new pictures, discounts, and incentives.
• Restaurants can spotlight new menu ideas or offer specials to customers.
• Bars can publicize drink specials, daily/weekly beer menus, or happy hours.
• E-commerce stores can run a promotion for first-time or return customers with a discount code.
• B2B businesses can highlight their top partners or advocate for their services.

Google Reviews

Google says, “High-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location.”

That’s not to say a business without reviews will never rank in the 3-pack. But those businesses that do rank and have been reviewed are more likely to receive interest.

Why online reviews matter and the value of Google reviews.

We discussed earlier that it is a veritable digital arms race for local businesses to appear in the Google 3-Pack.

It’s been officially stated Google Business Profile does not have an impact on SEO.

Nonetheless, a completed profile with accurate business information and positive reviews is surely a prerequisite to competing with other businesses in search, especially in the 3-Pack.

Don’t offer financial incentives or free products for positive reviews. Instead, provide an exceptional experience and ask clients or customers who you have a good relationship with to leave a review.

On the topic of negative reviews, avoiding them is unlikely if you have a large customer base.

However, your business can respond with integrity to negative reviews directly on the Google Reviews platform, showing other customers you are listening and you care when they have a less than positive experience.

Make time to respond to all your Google Reviews if possible or sign with a digital marketing team to monitor the reviews and respond on your behalf.

Key Takeaways

Having a completed and active Google Business Profile isn’t the end-all, be-all of search engine marketing. There are many aspects of optimizing your search presence that are of more importance.

However, it doesn’t take much effort to create or maintain a profile and it can certainly improve the appearance of your brand in search results.

Most importantly, it serves as a platform for engaging prospective customers researching your business.