Does your business have a Google Business Profile (Google Maps) listing? Is the information up to date? Are you encouraging customers to leave reviews?
Google Business Profiles (GBPs), formerly Google My Business, can provide high Google visibility for shoppers’ searches related to your products and services. Listings are free to claim for businesses with physical locations or businesses operating within service areas.
Accessing Your Listing
To claim your profile or update an existing listing, visit google.com/business. If you’re seeking a new or unclaimed listing, you’ll need to complete a simple verification process. For existing listings, multiple users can be invited to co-manage a profile if desired. If your business already has a claimed listing in search results, check with your team to see if someone has access and can add you to the authorized admins.
Completing Your Profile
Completed GBP profiles with accurate information and quality reviews indicate your business’s popularity and trustworthiness to both Google and potential customers.
While simple details are easy to skim past, take the time to ensure fields such as your business name, address, and phone (“NAP”) are free of typos and consistent with your existing online presence. Slight variations in the formatting of your name or differing phone numbers can harm your search visibility. For brick-and-mortar businesses with multiple locations, claim a listing for each storefront to maximize visibility and ensure customers easily find the location closest to them.
When setting up a new listing or reviewing an existing one, ensure you’ve claimed your primary business category and any related ones. For example, our agency selected “marketing agency” as our listing’s primary category though it’s relevant and helpful to also claim “advertising agency” for prospects’ searches.
Lastly, complete as many fields that apply to your business. Including a well-written business description and professional photos can improve your listing’s ranking among competitors and increase the likelihood of a shopper contacting you.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are vital to your listing, indicating the expected quality of your products and services to Google and potential customers.
Encourage customers to leave reviews by including your profile’s link (located in the Info section of the GBP dashboard) in follow-up communication or via QR codes on countertop displays. You can then respond to reviews, thanking customers for positive feedback or addressing any negative reviews. While only the customer can remove a negative review, businesses that respond to these with an objective explanation of the situation and an offer to remedy the poor experience fare much better in consumer opinion.
Posts
Similar to social media, Google allows businesses to post important updates to their GBP listing such as an upcoming sale or an announcement. Regularly publishing important content keeps customers informed and indicates your listing is being actively managed. As often as possible, incorporate a call to action with each post to inspire a customer’s next step with your business.
Summary
A Google Business Profile listing is free to claim and offers significant Google presence to potential customers, especially when combined with additional SEO efforts. Review your GBP listing(s) today to ensure information is accurate, and develop a schedule to periodically check for any needed updates. As you post important announcements on social media, don’t forget to include relevant updates in the form of GBP posts as well.
