Google Business Profile is the single most important free tool available to local businesses. It controls your appearance in Google Search and Google Maps — the two places your potential customers are looking right now. Yet fewer than half of eligible local businesses have a fully optimized profile.
What Is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a free listing that appears when someone searches for your business by name, or searches for your category in your area. It shows your hours, photos, reviews, phone number, website, and directions — all before the user even visits your website.
How to Claim Your Listing
Go to business.google.com, search for your business, and click Manage now. If your business is already listed, you will need to verify ownership via a postcard, phone call, or email. Verification typically takes 3 to 7 days.
Optimizing Your Profile
A claimed but incomplete profile is almost as bad as no profile. To fully optimize: add all business categories, upload at least 10 high-quality photos, set accurate hours including holiday hours, write a keyword-rich business description, enable messaging so customers can text you directly, add your products or services, and post updates at least once per week.
Getting More Reviews
Reviews are the most important ranking factor for local search. Ask for reviews at every touchpoint — after a service, via email follow-up, on receipts, or with a QR code at your counter. Respond to every review, positive or negative.
For Marketing Agencies
Google Business Profile optimization is one of the easiest services to sell to local businesses because the impact is immediate and measurable. A business that goes from 0 reviews to 25 reviews typically sees a 30 to 50 percent increase in calls from their Google listing within 90 days. Use a tool like OnlineMarketinger to quickly identify which businesses in your target area have unclaimed or under-optimized listings.
