Making a strong first impression on your prospective customers is no longer done in person. It’s through your online presence. The first place prospects search is online, and more often than not, Google. With Google having a strong hold on today’s search engine market share, creating a free Google Business Profile is a must.
A Google Business Profile is a free tool to share details of your business, including your location, services, products, hours, and more. Whether you have an online-only or physical location, Google Business Profiles helps increase your online presence, boost your SEO, and local search visibility. Local businesses are more likely to appear when searches in your area are conducted using Google Maps.
Create A Google Business Profile
Setting up your Google Business Profile is easy and completely customizable. You control what information you want to share and can update it at any time.
Sign in to Google Business Profile Manager
If you’re already logged into a Google account, you’ll already be logged into Google Business Profile Manager. If you aren’t already logged in, you’ll need to either log in, or create an account.
Add Your Business
Search for your business’s name. If it doesn’t appear in the drop-down, you’ll need to add your business, select the most accurate category, and then click Next.
Add Your Location
If you have a physical location, you’ll select Yes and add your business’s address. If you don’t have a physical address, you can hit Next. If you didn’t enter an address, you’ll need to add the region you’re based in from the drop-down menu. Once chosen, hit Next.
Add Your Contact Information
Arguably one of the most important elements of your Google Business Profile, adding your contact information is how prospective and existing customers can contact you. If you don’t want phone calls or don’t have a phone number, click Next once you’ve entered your information.
Verify Your Business
Although you may not have a physical address, you will need to enter a physical address in order for Google to verify your business. This is only for Google to verify your business, not to share with online searchers. Once entered, hit Next. You will receive a postcard by mail within the next few days with a five-digit code.
Once you receive this code, you’ll enter it on the next screen or at business.google.com and hit Verify.
Edit Your Profile
Once you’ve verified your business, you’ll add in additional information about your business. Add your business hours, a description of your business and the products or services you provide, reviews, photos, and any other pertinent information that you want to share.
Important Elements to Consider
Add Keywords to Your Profile
When adding your description, be sure to add keywords to boost your chances of showing up when online searches relating to your business are conducted. Be sure to include them naturally, not by keyword stuffing. If your profile is found to be keyword stuffed, this will do more harm than good to your account.
Share Reviews
Share reviews of your business to show prospective customers how trustworthy and credible you are. If you don’t have any reviews to share, you can go to your Google Business Profile dashboard and hit Share Review Form. This will provide you with a link to share your existing customers to encourage them to review you.
You cannot turn off the reviews feature of your profile, but you can flag and report reviews for being untrustworthy, inappropriate, or irrelevant. A best practice of collecting reviews is to respond to them. Always be professional in your response and thank the reviewer for their review.
Keep Your Profile Up to Date
Make sure your information is kept up to date. If you are closed on certain holidays, move physical locations, or have new products or services, be sure to update your Google Business Profile with this information.
Leverage Your Google Business Profile
Adding another channel to your marketing strategy means your team has one more thing to do. At Agenda Media Group, we specialize in digital marketing and all things SEO related. Our goal is to increase your conversion rates to help you convert more clicks into leads and those leads into sales.
In addition to Google Business Profile management, some of our other services include SEO management, social media advertising, social media management, content writing, Google Ads, and website design.
Contact us today to get a free proposal to see how we can help you.
