Beginners Guide to Google My Business

Are you utilising Google Business Profile (formally Google My Business) as well as you could be? Google Business Profiles are a great tool for showcasing your business. It’s one of the go-to spots where potential customers/clients will go to check out and see if you’re a good fit for what they want.

Effectively using Google Business Profiles (GBP) is one of the easiest ways to highlight important information, all in one spot. You can share everything from phone numbers & locations to showcasing attributes (such as being women-led). 

There’s a few different aspects to Google Business Profiles which we’ve outlined below for you.

Where this information is displayed

Once you’ve created your Google Business Profile (which you can do here), your information will start showing up in a few different places.

Google Business Profiles

The place we’re probably all most familiar with is in search. When you search for a brand name, typically you will see a Google Business Profile appear in that search (see image below).

Google Local Packs

Local packs will show when you are searching for non-branded terms, and when Google believes the search has local intent (e.g. mechanic near me). Generally, this will be made up of 3 businesses or less, with the option to view more or click on a map to see more listings. 

Local packs look like this in the search results:

Google Local Finders

If you click onto the map from the local pack results, you’ll be brought to a page that looks something like this:

On this page, many listings can be displayed, and as a viewer zooms in and out of the map, the listings will refresh.

Google Maps

Alongside the Google Local Finders, viewers can also search directly within Maps. So instead of clicking on the Local Finders section, viewers can click directly on Google Maps to start their search.

This will look pretty similar to Google Local Finders, however there are some differences. The main difference being that the search is now done within Google Maps, instead of Google Search. Essentially all this means is that you have a bit more functionality in terms of searching and navigating the map.

Analysing analytics

So now that you know where your information is showing, let’s discuss metrics.

In your Google Business Profile dashboard you’ll see something called GBP insights. A few of the different metrics you’ll be able to see within here includes: 

• Impressions on your business name or location, general searches that don’t specify your company name but relate to your offer, and searches that relate to brands your business carries;
• Customer actions such as website visits, phone calls, messaging, and getting directions;
• And search terms people used that created an impression of your business.

This will give you an idea of how well your Google Business Profile is performing over time. You’ll be able to see what keywords people are searching to find you, and give you an understanding of how your business connects with customers.

So how do I use Google Business Profile as a Digital Marketing Tool?

The Basic Steps to Google Business Profiles

1. Determine your business model (e.g. brick & mortar, home-based business, hybrid, etc. Online only businesses are not eligible for Business Profiles).

2. Set up your Google Business Profile by following the guidelines to ensure your business is eligible for a Business Profile. 

3. Create and claim a profile for your business. Make sure all the information you are including is accurate and complete (e.g., phone numbers, locations, etc are correct).

4. Once your listing is live, you’ll need to monitor and maintain it to ensure all information is up to date. Some of these tasks will include:

a. Uploading imagery to showcase your business over time

b. Collect and respond to all reviews 

c. Create a posting schedule for your profile (yes you can post to your Google Business Profile as well!). This is a great way to showcase your offering and increase awareness. Pro tip → you can repurpose existing content (e.g. blogs) to your Google Business Profile.

d. Keep your information up to date. If any of your basic information changes, be sure to make those updates to your Google Business Profile as well as all other areas where this information is shared.

Optimising your Google Business Profile

Now, this is where things can get a little cloudy. There’s many different viewpoints when it comes to optimising Google Business Profiles. Some believe that there’s few fields in the profile that actually have an impact on your ranking, whereas others argue that it’s pretty evident that fields such as your business name may be ranking factors. 

But ultimately, having a complete Google Business Profile is going to help to drive conversions and growth over an incomplete profile. For example, if you receive a bad review and respond to it with empathy, it may just win back that unhappy customer. Or, maybe a post you made helped move a potential customer further through the customer journey. Having a complete and accurate profile is definitely going to contribute to your businesses overall growth.

Why you should consider Google Business Profiles as a part of your local search marketing strategy

Of all the searches that occur on Google, 46% of those queries have local intent (as stated by Google in 2018). Everyday people are searching for nearby goods, services and resources – you don’t want to be missing out on these potential clicks! We’ve seen a significant increase over the last few years as well with people actively searching for local businesses, with Google stating that searches with the intent of supporting local businesses increased by 20,000% in 2020!

Based on these couple of statistics, optimising your Google Business Profile is a must to capture some share of the local searches. 

Long story short…

Having and optimising your Google Business Profile could help you to stand out from your competitors and provide key information to potential customers quickly & easily. It’s definitely worth going through the process of setting up a profile and continuously monitoring your profile. 

If you’re keen to get into the Google Business Profile game some more, but feeling a bit lost, don’t hesitate to reach out the team here at Daisy Digital Marketing, we’re more than happy to answer any questions x