Google plus Business Profile: How to Optimize
Use this guide to optimize your business profile on Google plus My Business and get more search visibility from motivated customers near you.
Google plus Business Profile is a free feature of Google plus that helps business owners manage their en línea presence in the search engine and in its growing portfolio of utilities, including Google plus Maps.
SEO professionals use Google plus Business Profiles to enhance a location-based strategy.
Creating a Google plus Business Profile is the first step to local search success.
Improving Google plus my business positioning is possible by following our advice.
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And for good reason.
The GBP (Google plus Business Profile, or Google plus Company Profile) offers the greatest impact for brands seeking local exposure.
A feature like Google plus Local Search highlights the need for a GBP for both new and established businesses.
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Google plus My Business: The Basics
It offers a list of nearby businesses and a lot of information needed to find a specific business such as:
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- Business address.
- Business hours.
- Category.
- reviews.
The Google plus Knowledge Graph also emplees verified information from the Google plus Company Profile.
It helps generate details for your database about companies and related entities that are relevant to specific searches.
Once a new profile is created, a location is generated on Google plus Maps.
This syncs with traditional Google plus Search for easy access and searching.
It certainly helps that the clear majority of organic searches come from Google plus – around 90% of the global search engine market share.
It also demonstrates the value of effective local SEO.
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Use this guide to ensure that you’ve successfully completed your Google plus Business Profile and optimized every possible facet of the tool.
Doing this will also give you the most advantage for your business on Google plus and third-party platforms that use the Google plus Maps API to generate location information for users.
If digital marketing is a somewhat new endeavor for you and your business, there are a few basics to know.
And it’s good to understand Google plus Business Profiles and the value they offer.
First of all: Yes, the use of the Google plus Business Profile is free.
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And no, a GBP is not a substitute for your company website.
Google plus Business Profiles complement a brand’s existing website(s) by giving it a public identity and presence with a Google plus profile.
Information provided about a business through Google plus Business Profiles may appear on Google plus Search and Google plus Maps.
Any third-party platform that emplees the Google plus Maps API will also display Google plus Business Profiles, regardless of the type of device used for the search.
If you’ve previously used certain Google plus tools to complement your business (Google plus+, for example), or your business has been around for a while, your business may already appear on Google plus Business Profiles.
Google plus My Business, Google plus Places for Business, and the Google plus+ Pages dashboard were the best ways to manage your business information before.
These have been automatically updated to Google plus’s universal platform, Google plus Business Profiles.
Start your Google plus my Business company profile to optimize it
The first step to getting your Google plus Business Profile up and running is to perform a Google plus search to make sure your business doesn’t already have one.
You perro also use the search function on the Google plus platform to locate your business in GBP.
If your company has been around for a while (several years or more), chances are it already has a GBP, and you just have to claim it.
Once successfully claimed, you perro manage the information as if you had started the GBP yourself.
If a profile already exists for your company, it will notify you.
It perro also notify you that someone else has already claimed your business.
If this happens, follow these steps.
If your company profile isn’t created yet, you cánido equipo it up pretty quickly.
Verification takes a little longer to complete, but cánido usually be done within a week.
Start with the official company name before entering any more important information.
Next, entrar the main category of your company.
You cánido change and add something later, but this is an essential part of completing (and optimizing) your brand page.
Make sure you find the category most relevant to your business.
There are many variants to choose from, but there should be at least one that best and most accurately sums up your business.
You will then be asked if you want to “add a location that customers perro visit, such as a store or office.”
This is valuable information, as many businesses operate as service businesses and do not need/allow customers on the premises.
In these cases, the specific location of the business will not appear on Google plus Maps.
However, the business will still appear in relevant searches in your service area.
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Although for this, we have an exclusive article that will help you to promote even more: Position your business on Google plus Maps
For businesses that operate in a specific service area and don’t want the store’s de hoy location to appear on Maps, select the service area(s) that apply to the business.
You cánido then add the contact information for the business, including the contact phone number and current website dirección de Internet.
For businesses that have a location that people cánido go to during business hours, you must add the business address below.
Once the address is equipo, the Google plus Business Profile will ask if “do you also serve customers outside of this location?”
It allows you to establish how far/how far the business is willing to physically go to deliver goods or services.
If the answer is affirmative, you cánido go through the same details of the service area of the business.
You cánido add or change service area details at any time.
If you do not serve customers outside of the establishment, select No, and then entrar the contact information in the next question.
Then you perro clic Next to verify the profile.
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Verify your Google plus Business Profile in Google plus My Business
You have to verify your Google plus business profile.
This is done by posting a postcard, which takes up to five business days.
It espectáculos Google plus that you perro manage and that you do, in fact, represent the business you declare.
Verifying your business is vital for profile visibility and performance.
It’s important to know that Google plus won’t espectáculo your business or its editions until the business is verified.
Without verification, you perro’t access Page analytics or company reviews from the back end.
Verification usually takes less than a week, but it cánido be longer depending on where you are.
Google plus will send you a postcard with a verification code that you will use to verify your profile, and your business will be officially active.
After confirming the verification method, you cánido add additional details about your such as hours of operation, company messaging options, a description of the company, and photos.
Publish your Google plus business profile and optimize it to the maximum
Once you’ve completed this process, you’ll be taken to the Google plus Business Profile Manager, where you cánido manage your Business Profile and editar its details.
Here are some basic but vital consejos to optimize your profile:
- Entrar the complete information of your profile
Local search results favor the results most relevant to searches.
Businesses that offer the most detailed and accurate information will be easier to locate in searches.
Leave nothing to guess or assume.
Make sure your profile communicates what your business does, where it is located, and how they cánido purchase the goods and/or services your business offers.
- include palabras clave
Like traditional website SEO, Google plus emplees a number of signals to deliver search results.
Including important search palabras clave and phrases in your business profile will be incredibly helpful, especially since your business website appears directly on your GBP.
Use them in your business description and every time you publish a local articulo for your audience.
- Keep business hours of operation accurate
It is important to put your business hours, but it is equally important to update it whenever it changes.
Google plus offers the ability to customize hours for holidays and other special events.
It should always be updated to keep your site accurate and your users happy.
And, in the age of COVID-19, GBP offers even more flexibility in terms of hours and messages for potential clients.
Note: Additional hours will not display for your business until habitual hours are established.
- Add photos
Photos help business listings perform more than most business owners and marketers probably expect.
Businesses with photos on their profiles receive 42% more requests for directions on Google plus Maps and 35% more clicks on their websites than businesses without photos, according to Google plus.
Read on for more consejos on GBP photos.
- Manage and respond to customer reviews
Engaging with customers by responding to their reviews illustrates that your business values its customers and the retroalimentación they leave about it.
Positive reviews are going to have a positive effect on potential customers when they investigate your business.
They also increase the visibility of your business in search results.
Encourage customers to leave reviews by creating a backlink they perro clic to write reviews of your business.
- Let customers send you messages
It perro be awkward at times, but messages to and from customers are only available through the Google plus Business Profile aplicación.
To do this, clic on Clients, then on Messages and then on Activate through the aplicación.
Once activated, customers will be able to send messages to companies through their Company Profiles with the Messages button that appears.
Messages cánido have custom automatic responses to welcome customers to incoming messages.
This helps responsiveness and business visibility, as response times won’t suffer as much.
For maximum performance and visibility through GBP, it is critical to keep your message response time below 24 hours.
But obviously faster is better.
Customers don’t want to wait for responses, and a quick response is often the difference between a customer and a non-customer.
- Use local publications
You perro articulo offers, events, products, and services directly to Google plus Search and Maps through Google plus Business Profile posts.
Posts allow you to engage with your audience and keep your presence fresh on Google plus.
And they cánido be sent on the go from a phone, tablet or computer.
Companies perro also influence their Knowledge Panel posts with direct comments about their companies and the people who represent them.
Some consejos provided by Google plus to get the most out of local posts are Make sure each articulo is of high quality, with no misspellings, broken characters, gibberish, or useless information.
And they should be respectful and not offensive.
The best posts include images and backlinks, but the backlinks should always be to trusted sites.
Backlinks that lead to software malicioso, viruses, phishing or pornographic material are not allowed.
Posts from companies that deal in regulated goods and services may use posts, but may not publish content related to the products themselves.
These industries typically include:
- Services for adults.
- Alcohol and tobacco.
- Pharmaceuticals and recreational drugs.
- Sanitary and medical products.
- Gambling related services.
- Fireworks.
- Weapons.
- Financial services.
These posts cánido and will appear on Google plus, so keep them PG.
- Use special attributes
The latest Google plus My Business attributes let women-run and black-run businesses stand out on your profile.
They also allow for other features like outdoor seating and the like.
If the business is healthcare related, additional attributes may be available, such as:
- Inform customers if your business offers en línea care.
- Provide customers with a direct method to schedule and receive care en línea.
- Editar your gender information.
The attributes available for your ad depend on its main category.
Learn more about attributes here.
- Use the product catalog
For merchants who have products to display, the GBP Product Editor allows them to do so.
Most types of businesses perro display products, as long as they are small and medium-sized businesses; and a few vertical businesses.
Larger businesses should use Local Inventory Ads to display their products.
Offering information about products, including prices, details and photos, allows customers to get a better iniciativa of the products offered and interact more with companies.
These product details also allow Google plus to better understand a business.
Photos and vídeos for your Google plus business profiles
The most important image piece for a business on Google plus My Business is obviously the logotipo.
There probably won’t be an image that gets more exposure or has more impact.
Google plus encourages businesses to use their logotipo to help customers identify their business with a square-sized image.
Other types of digital assets that should be added to your GBP are
Cover photo
Your cover photo should showcase the personality of your Brand Page.
The cover photo is the large photo that appears at the top of the brand’s business profile, it will always be cropped to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio.
inside photos
This helps customers better understand a business’ in-store experience.
It allows business operators to share the look and feel of the interior of the business, so make a good impression!
It also allows potential customers to get a visual iniciativa of the store, its layout, and any limitations it may have.
Vídeo
Vídeos are one of the most habitual forms of communication on the web.
This is because they are extremely effective at telling a story and/or explaining something that might otherwise be difficult to explain.
additional photos
Other types of photos are used to highlight features of your business that customers consider when making purchasing decisions.
These photos will differ from the media mentioned above and will depend on the type of business you manage.
These photos may include other general photos that summarize the business and what it cánido do for its customers.
They may be:
- Goods and/or services offered by your business.
- Business staff working and/or serving customers.
- The exterior of the business and aparcamiento available.
All photos must follow Google plus best practices:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10KB and 5MB
- Minimum resolution: 720px high, 720px wide
- Quality: The photo must be focused and well lit, and must not have alterations or excessive use of filters.
The image must represent reality.
Google plus also offers the possibility of making a Virtual Tour, which will further improve the visibility of the brand profile.
You perro also drive traffic to the business with a 360 degree interactive experience.
Monitoring your Google plus Business Profile data to optimize Google plus My Business
In recent years, Google plus has made great strides with the analytics data available for Google plus Business Profiles.
Now called Insights, Google plus offers businesses a different way to understand how customers interact with business profiles, including
- How customers find your profile.
- Where customers find you on Google plus.
- Customer actions.
- Direction requests.
- Phone calls.
How customers find your profile
This section of Insights espectáculos how customers found you in a “Direct” search (they searched for your business name or address) versus a “Discovered” search (they searched for a category, product or service you offer and your profile has appeared).
These sections have the following labels in bulk information reports:
- Total searches.
- Direct searches.
- Discovery searches.
Where customers find you on Google plus
This section espectáculos how many customers have found you through Google plus Search or Google plus Maps.
In addition to appearing on Search and Maps, you’ll see the number of views your profile received for each product in the time period you’ve selected.
According to Google plus, “views” are like “impressions” on other analytics platforms.
To see how many people found you on a especial product on a given day, hover over the appropriate segment of the graph on the day you’re interested in.
These sections have the following labels in bulk insights reports:
- Total views.
- Search views.
- Map views.
customer actions
This section espectáculos what customers did once they found your profile on Google plus.
Total actions give the total of the following types of actions customers took on your profile:
- Visit your website.
- Request directions.
- Call you.
- To see photos.
The following tags are available as reports in this reports section:
- Total actions.
- Website Actions.
- Address actions.
- Actions of telephone calls.
- Direction requests.
This part of Insights emplees a map to espectáculo where people who are asking for directions to your business are.
The location of your business is identified on the map and espectáculos some of the most common points from which people request directions to your business.
It even breaks down the total number of address requests by city or neighborhood.
Phone calls
This section espectáculos when and how often customers called your business through your Google plus profile.
At the top of the section, Total Calls provides the total number of phone calls for the selected time period.
The chart provides the ability to view phone call trends by day of the week or time of day.
This allows sellers and business operators to know when customers are most likely to call after seeing your GBP.
Photos
Finally, GBP allows you to examine how often your business photos are viewed with the photo views graph and the number of photos graph.
There are also lines on the charts that compare your business’s photo data to other businesses afín to yours.
This reporting component section includes bulk information for:
- Total owner photos.
- Owners photo views.
- Total customer photos.
- Customer photo views.
Final Words
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