Services
Google Business Profile Management Services
Make it Easy for your Ideal Customer to Find Your Business on Google Maps and Google Search Results
Get the Most Out of a Free Tool
Getting your ideal customer knocking on your door and connecting with your business is the main goal of Google Business Profile.
Having a sign with your business name and related services or products is one of the things that business owners get into at first. So, it should be creating a GBP account that will help you to attract potential customers and engage with your current customers when they search for your name, related businesses, services, or products.
Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google my Business) is a free tool offered by Google to help businesses to be found locally on the most popular search engine of all time (Google has 92% of search engine market share).
What is Local SEO and why is related to Google Business Profile?
Optimizing results for location-specific search queries is what digital marketers call Local SEO. There are two different local search or pack results: Google searches and maps results, check out the results of the query “Electrician Takapuna” below.
Local businesses ranking for high relevance keywords are more likely to be contacted and get the sale. Your local customer or prospect is always looking for trusted and easy to contact providers of high-quality products and services.
Being local is a key differentiator and word of mouth works perfectly for many small and medium businesses out there (WOM marketing strategy) but the reach that an optimized and well-maintained GBP is undeniable.
STEps to create a google business profile account
Claim. Verify. Optimize. Maintain.
How to Create a Google Business Profile
1. Create/ or Claim your GBP:
Create/ or Claim your GBP: If you store doesn’t appear in Google Search results you need to create a new profile but if your business name #FCFCFC comes up you can claim it 😊. For creating or claiming a GBP you need to have a google account (gmail or google workspace). For creating a google account please visit accounts.google.com
1. Verify
Verify: This is the most important part of the process; you won’t be able to manage your profile until you have completed this process.
Google needs to make sure that you are the real owner of the business you are claiming. Verification helps protect business owners and ensure reliable and accurate business information across all Google platforms
Ways to verify your GBP:
- Phone*
- Email *
- Postcard (which can take up to two weeks to do, we recommend avoiding editing your business information to prevent delays in the verification process)
- Google Search Console*
*It applies for certain business profiles.
It took me 4 weeks to get the Google Business Profile verification code in Auckland - New Zealand
No need to panic, it will take time but you will get it.
At the time they were sending it from Malaysia and the pandemic might had caused delays. While we wait for the verification code, we can work on content, pictures and citations, so plenty of things to do.
2. Optimize GBP
Set up & Optimize GBP: Setting up and maintaining a GBP is about consistency. By keeping information current and putting your customers at the centre of your google business profile it is unquestionable that your business will be bound to succeed. Check out below must do things for optimizing your Google Business Profile.
- Keep business information accurate and current.
- Get as much genuine reviews as you can and respond them using my guide for responding google reviews.
- Make sure your type of business and service area is accurate
- Create a powerful business description, focusing on content that is important and useful to your customers to understand your business.
- Mission, vision & history
- Services and product offered
- Use pictures to enhance your profile
- Create a succinct category description
- Analyse GBP insights and improve your posts, promotions and events based on your user intent and customer profile, and don’t forget address any concern your customers might have
- Please be aware that google has specific guidelines for auto dealers and healthcare providers
3. Create Citations
My advice is to get listed in well-known sources of information in your industry, local community websites and of course conventional local directories such as Zomato for restaurants and TradeHQ for tradies.
Consistency is key for getting google to trust your company, so please make sure that you keep the same name, address, and phone number in every single citation. Also, check that none has created fake accounts of your business with the wrong info.
4. Get Authentic Reviews
Authentic Reviews Tell a Story About the Quality of Your Services or Products & How People Are Treated When They Do Business With You.
If your services & Products are as Good and you Say it is, getting Authentic Google Reviews should be an easy task
Please don’t try to trick Google with fake reviews, or you account can be suspended or even deleted from GBP.
Getting high quality reviews from your real customers is what I call digital word of mouth but more powerful. I consider it to be more powerful because it has more exposure (every google user) and will be there as long as google is providing its services.
Do you know that the average customer reads 10 reviews per business before making any decision? Yes, reviews are the way to validate their thoughts on contacting you or buying from your business.
The process of acquiring and managing google reviews must be consistent and clean. Check out our steps on how to reply google business profile reviews.
5. GBP Up to Date & Customer Engaged
Have you visited a place because it says is open on google but when you get there is closed? It is annoying, isn’t it? It has happened to me a couple of times and it does put me off with their brand or business in general.
Maintaining your Google business profile is key for having a good ranking, getting high-quality leads and increasing customer engagement.
- High-quality post updates, promotions, or new products. Quality over quantity always win.
- Respond FAQ from your customers
- Create products categories related
- Covid Updates are very important, you need to keep you customer safe and protected. Google does not allow a photo or video to cover news related to COVID-19 as these can promote fake news. When making Covid updates please use the specific covid window on your dashboard.
- Business hours up to date
- Relevant Pictures of your business, please read more about photos a video guideline for GBP.