Long ago, consumers would have to flip through huge print directories to look for businesses that might offer the products and services they wanted.
Using a search engine is not only faster and easier, but provides so much more than a name and phone number. Businesses can showcase their address, their hours, reviews and more.
Your mission as a brand should not only be making sure you show up in search results, but that to optimize the information that gets presented to potential customers in search results.
If you’re looking for a Google My Business guide to help with that, you’ve come to the right place – this post will tell you everything you need to know about that service, which is now known as Google Business Profile.
What is Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business?
Unless they already have a brand in mind, most consumers will start their shopping journey by using Google’s search engine or even Google Maps.
Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business) is a tool that allows brands to add and update details about their company to help Google’s algorithm to respond to those search queries with the most appropriate matches. It’s a self-serve mechanism that can allow you to boost how visible you are on Google’s most popular marketing channels.
Google evolved its approach from a separate Google My Business app to Google Business Profile to allow companies to directly manage their information in apps such as its search engine and Google Maps. The tips that follow tell you everything you’d want to find in a Google My Business guide, but offers the most up-to-date information related to Google Business Profile.
Benefits of using Google Business Profile
If you haven’t set up your Google Business Profile yet, now is the time. You’ll enjoy benefits that include:
- Enhanced discoverability: Particularly when consumers are looking for brands close to home, a Google Business Profile allows you to show up in areas like the box with multiple company listings alongside a neighborhood map. This increases the odds they’ll take a closer look at your brand and make a visit to a physical store or even your web site.
- Increased credibility through social proof: People want to know there are others out there who have already shopped from an unfamiliar brand and had a good experience. Ensuring your Google Business Profile shows off positive reviews helps build their trust and take the next step in terms of checking out your products and services.
- Improved real-time communication with customers: Launching a new product? You can add it to your Google Business Profile to let the world know. The same goes if you have to make a change in operations, such as temporarily closing a physical store location or extending your hours as part of the holiday shopping season.
Setting up your Google Business Profile account
Given it was a tool designed with small businesses in mind, Google Business Profile setup is straightforward enough that you don’t need any special technical or marketing skills. Here’s how it works:
How to create an account
Log into your Google account: This should be a business account, not a personal account. If you’re setting up an account for the first time, use your work e-mail address and fill out all the basic fields.
How to claim a business on Google Business Profile
- Visit a page marked “Find and manage your business.”
- Fill out all the relevant details about your business. This not only includes your business name but your business type. For example, you can select from options such as a business that sells through physical stores, via eCommerce or service areas.
- Help Google to connect you with potential customers by entering where your business is located. If you’re an online-only brand you can enter your web site address instead, as well as the country in which your business is registered. Make sure to use a position marker if Google offers one to make sure your precise address is shown on Google Maps.
- Add your complete business contact information such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers and website URL.
How to claim a business on Google Business Profile
You may have an existing profile that Google created on your behalf.
- Use the search field where you can look up business names
- Enter your business name. When you see it, click “Claim this business.”
- If someone else is currently managing this profile, click “Request access” and fill out the form. You’ll be notified via e-mail about the status of your request.
- If no one else is currently managing the profile, you’ll still need to verify it.
How to get access to an account managed by someone else
The current profile owner has three days to respond to requests to claim the business. If your request is approved, you’ll get a confirmation e-mail with a link to take ownership. If you’re denied ownership, you’ll still receive instructions on how to appeal the decision with Google. Google has warned, however, that the option to claim a business is not always available.
Step-by-Step guide to verify Google Business Profile
Once you’ve finished setting up or claiming your Google Business Profile, you’ll need to let Google review it to ensure the information is accurate and doesn’t mislead consumers in any way.
Step One:
This process will begin when you see a “Get verified” button and click on it.
Step Two:
You’ll be asked to choose a method to be notified about the status of your verification. This can include getting a phone call, a text message with a verification code or receiving an e-mail message. Brands can also record a short video with details about their business to get verified as well.
Step Three:
Wait. The verification process can take up to five business days. If for some reason your information was not accepted, you’ll need to go through the verification process again.
How to add a manager
Once you’re verified you may want other members on the team to get involved. Under the settings area in your profile you’ll see an area called “People and access.” When you click “add” on the left-hand side, simply fill out their name and e-mail address to send an invitation. Once they accept, they will be able to edit and manage your company’s profile.
Essential image guidelines for Google Business Profile
Before the name of the service was changed, search experts referred to Google My Business optimization. This is still an important area with Google Business Profile, and images are a natural place to start. We’re all innately attracted to photographs when we’re looking up information. That’s why your Google Business Profile not only needs to describe your products and services in words. Pictures can tell an even more compelling story, but only if you create and edit them with care.
Use this checklist to review your images before uploading them to a Google Business Profile listing:
- All images are original and not sourced from a stock photography service.
- All images are cropped into a square to avoid getting cut off when they’re shown in search results.
- Nothing is blurry or difficult to decipher at a basic glance.
- Any text overlay is kept short and doesn’t interference with the overall viewing experience.
- Images reflect the most common search intent of your prospective customers.
That last tip may require further explanation. When you’re adding images to your profile, put yourself in a consumer’s shoes. What will help them make a decision to learn more about your brand and even make a purchase? The answers will vary depending on your business, but think about using a cover image that captures something unique about your brand, whether it’s an image of your main location and logo, the inviting interior of a physical store, your most popular or namesake product or even a team image that showcases the people customers will meet.
Always review Google’s content guidelines and policies as you select and optimize images for your profile.
Enhancing your Google Business Profile visibility
Though you may initially set up your Google Business Profile manually, you can work with a trusted partner to automate and optimize your data to ensure your listing gets seen.
With Highstreet.io’s business listing management service, for instance, scheduling profile updates and distributing data directly to Google becomes a simple, turnkey process.
How to drive traffic to your Google Business Profile listing
Companies have often conducted searches like “expand Google My Business reach,” and no wonder – you want to get as many prospective customers considering your business as possible.
Think of your Google Business Profile almost as you would your web site. The most you add to it – whether it’s new products you’re carrying, the latest photos or some fresh customer reviews, the more likely it will show up in Google Search and Google Maps. Make sure your listing is also attached to your staff’s e-mail signatures and on your e-mail newsletter, if you have one.
Using dashboard for better management
The dashboard provides you with a consolidated view of everything that’s happening on your Google Business Profile. Check it frequently to make sure you and other members of the team aren’t duplicating efforts, and that your profile is free of errors or typos.
The dashboard will also show reviews as they come in, which we discuss in more detail below.
Managing Google Business Profile reviews
Marketing your products and services provides consumers with an important source of information, but it’s not the only source they care about. Reviews help address some of their most common questions and can convince them your brand’s offerings are a good fit for their needs.
With enough positive reviews of three to give stars, your Google Business Profile becomes a selling tool that can increase revenues and turn more customers into repeat buyers. Reviews also attend to attract increased traffic to web sites because they contain valuable information, particularly for local searches.
You can encourage customers to write reviews by directly asking them on sales receipts and in follow-up emails. If you operate physical stores, staff can suggest it when they offer positive feedback in person. Some companies even set up displays with QR codes that take customers directly to your Google Business Profile to leave a review.
What to do if you receive fake reviews on your Google Business Profile
Unfortunately, not all reviews are genuine – on Google or elsewhere. Sometimes fake reviews come from people simply trying to cause mischief online, but others are part of schemes to defraud customers or mislead them in some way. That’s why questions like “how to remove bad reviews from Google My Business” were a standard part of any Google My Business guide.
Establish a regular schedule to periodically look through any reviews you’ve accumulated as part of your Google Business Profile. If you read one that seems to come from a bot or contains false and malicious information, report the review to Google. A self-serve process will allow to share the necessary information to have fake reviews removed, and to get information on the status of your request.
Maintaining Your Google Business Profile
This is another best practice that would have been any Google My Business guide and which continues to apply: People who discover your brand through a Google Business Profile should never see information that is out of date or no later accurate. You may move a physical store to another location, for instance, or even change your primary business phone number.
How to edit information
Whatever you have to revise, just log into your account and profile, and then select the “Edit” button (This may be called “Edit Business Information” within Google Maps).
Simply make your changes and save them, just like you would if you were writing a document.
Updating business hours and address
Even if you’re making minor or temporary adjustments, use the same “Edit” button to avoid confusion or disappointing customers who may be looking your company up in a hurry on Google Maps, or as part of a comprehensive search on their desktop.
Adding photos and videos to Google Business Profile page
Most businesses are constantly introducing new products, updating their physical locations or expanding into new markets. Editing your profile is almost like spreading the news on a community bulletin board.
Once you’re in Edit mode, scroll to the area designated for images and videos. You’ll be able to upload or in some cases drag and drop content directly into your profile.
How to add multiple locations on Google Business Profile
Depending on the size of your organization and number of stores, look for the “Businesses” option in your profile settings. From there, you can choose “Create Group.” You’ll be able to click on “Add Locations” from there, and can include detailed contact information for each one.
Of course, it can become onerous to manage multiple listings simultaneously, so consider working with Highstreet.io to connect to the Google API.
Troubleshooting common Google Business Profile issues
As with any other business tool, your Google Business Profile can require careful handling. Here are some tips to follow
How to handle a suspended Google Business Profile account
Suspensions are usually due to what Google perceives as a violation of its guidelines. If this happens, you can use the Google appeals tool to share any evidence about why your account should be reinstated. You’ll be able to check the status of your appeal in your My Account area.
How to contact Google Business Profile support
Google offers a dedicated site where you can easily look up the most common issues businesses have with their profiles. This self-service approach also includes a community area where other business owners can ask questions to their peers and look up answers to previous queries.
Connect your Google Business Profile to Merchant Hosted Local Storefronts and grow sales
Your Google Business Profile should be part of a strategic sales and marketing strategy that simplifies and streamlines the shopping journey. This also includes the use of Local Inventory Ads (LIAs), which you can run on Google to show customers what you have in stock at a nearby store.
When customers see a LIA and want to learn more, a Merchant Hosted Local Storefront (MHLS) provides a landing page that can include the local product price, related products, a map to the nearest store and customized branding. This complements the experience they enjoy by shopping using Google Search and Google Maps.
A MHLS needs to be powered by product feeds with a number of specific attributes, all of which need to be regularly tracked and updated in order to provide a consistent and reliable shopping experience.
Fortunately, you don’t have to set up and manage MHLS feeds on your own. Connect with Highstreet.io to learn more about how we’re helping brands maximize the value of their Google Business Profile and increase local conversions with automated feed management solutions and MHLS services.