When searching for a business on Google, one of the first things you’ll notice is an information box located on the right-hand side of the results page. This is referred to as a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). Your profile includes all the essential information a customer may need, from your location and operating hours to website links and customer reviews. If your goal is to enhance your visibility on Google or Maps and reach new customers, a Google Business Profile is absolutely essential. We share our top tips for optimising your profile in 2024!

Why Should You Care About Your Google Business Profile Listing?

Here’s why you should invest time in your profile listing:

Helps your website rank better

Your profile plays a vital role in local SEO, significantly increasing the likelihood of your business listing appearing in local search results for queries related to your products or services.

Allows you to appear in maps and local pack listings

A ‘local pack’ listing is a prominent SERP feature that appears at the top of Google results when a user makes a location-specific query. It contains a map and three local listings with their business name, contact information, business category and star rating. So, how do you rank for a local pack feature? Make sure your business profile is completely optimised with all available information, including a company description using local keywords, and gather plenty of positive star ratings and reviews.

A Google Pack Listing for the search query, “Vegan restaurant West End”

It allows customers to leave reviews

Reviews have the power to influence your customers’ perceptions and feelings towards your business, impacting the likelihood of a potential customer reaching out to you or visiting your store. Additionally, they play a crucial role in improving your business’s visibility on Google. We highly recommend prompting customers to share their experiences by leaving reviews. One way to do this is to share a link directly to the page where they can leave a review.

Steps to Follow for Google Business Profile Optimisation

Ensure all information is accurate and up-to-date

If you’re creating a profile for the first time, it’s crucial to ensure that the following information is current: business name, address, phone number, opening hours & business category.

Choose the correct categories

When setting up your Google Business Profile, you’ll be prompted to assign a category for your business. Google offers a wide range of categories (over 3000!), allowing you to select up to 10, with one nominated as your primary category.

Try to select a primary category that is specific and accurately describes your business. As an example, if your business is a vegan restaurant, it is best to choose Vegan Restaurant’ over ‘Restaurant’. This will help improve your visibility for any terms related to your category.

Adding secondary categories to support your primary category also help improve your relevance on Google. Using the vegan restaurant example again, secondary categories could include “Restaurant’ and ‘Vegetarian Restaurant’.

Write an optimised description

Your Google Business Profile description allows you to share valuable details about the products and services you offer. It is capped at 750 characters, with only the initial 250 visible before prompting users to click for more. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritise any key details within that window. To optimise effectively, choose one or two keywords with high traffic potential, ensuring they appear early in your description. For a boost in local SEO, consider including a location keyword like ‘best vegan restaurant Brisbane.’

Upload your own photos, videos and logo

Uploading photos to your listing can boost your profile’s performance. For brick-and-mortar businesses, consider adding interior and exterior shots as well as compelling product or service imagery. Small businesses can add a personal touch to their listing by considering uploading team photos.

Monitor and respond to reviews

High-quality, positive reviews play a vital role in enhancing your business’s visibility on Google and influencing potential customers to try your products or visit your store. Actively monitoring and responding to reviews demonstrates your appreciation for customer opinions and commitment to ensuring a positive experience. While it’s tempting to ignore the negative reviews, it’s often best to respond. This allows you to address any concerns, clear up any misunderstandings, and potentially turn a negative experience into a positive one.

Post updates, blog posts, events and offers

Sharing updates through your business profile is a great way to engage and connect with both your current customer base and potential customers. Utilising this feature, your business can promote upcoming sales and special events, and share blog posts and even timely company news. Each update includes an action button or link to direct people to your website, driving organic traffic. The key is to keep the content fresh and updated on a regular basis!

Answer questions

Every business profile comes with a Q&A feature, allowing users to ask questions related to your business and you to respond directly. What’s great about the Q&A feature is that, as the business owner, you can also ask the questions. This provides you the control to both ask and answer the questions you believe your customers would find valuable even before they explore your website.

Need Help Optimising Your Google Business Profile?

Is optimising your Google Business Profile on your priority list for your business? Well, it should be! While some of the tasks listed above are one-time efforts, it’s highly recommended to regularly update your listing with links to articles, offers and images. As part of our search engine optimisation service, we provide regular listing updates for our clients. Get in touch to learn more about our SEO services and what we can do for your Google My Business profile.