How To Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Optimising your Google Business Profile is incredibly important and effective for higher search rankings for businesses, especially locally. If your business doesn’t have a Google Business Profile, or you haven’t claimed your listing, check out our ‘Setting Up Google My Business’ marketing tip. Google Business Profile was previously known as Google My Business, and the steps to optimise your Google Business Profile have recently changed. For the best local SEO Perth results, learn how to optimise your account by completing the following steps:

Optimising Google Business Profile Information

Ensure the business information listed on your listing such as your phone number, address and opening hours are consistent with your online presence (e.g. website, directories). A common mistake is abbreviating words such as ‘highway’ to ‘hwy’. You can avoid these simple errors by creating an information sheet that sets out the standard format for key business information.

How to update your business information on desktop using Google Business Profile Manager:

Check out a video explanation of how to update and change your business’s information in Google:

How to optimise your business information on Google Search view:

How to optimise your Google Business Profile on mobile:

If you’re updating your information using your smartphone or tablet, the steps are a little different. Previously, your business information was found in the Google My Business app. This has been removed, with all business updates now taking place in your Google Maps app. Ensure your app is updated, and take the following steps to update your Google Business Profile listing as well as post photos, posts and more.

1. Ensure you’re logged in to your business account
2. Search your business name or click user icon in the search bar in the top right corner
3. Click “Your Business Profile”
4. In Overview mode, there are 3 icons – “edit profile” “promote” and “customers”
5. Click Promote to see your performance, create ads, post photos, updates, offers and events
6. Click Edit Profile to you update your business information such as categories, location, operating hours, and more. Learn more about how to update your business hours on Google and why this is so important.

Why you should optimise each section of your Google Business Profile

Category

Ensure your primary business category is as accurate as possible. This is what tells Google (and users) your main business service and is a top priority when optimising your Google Business Profile. There are many to choose from and Google is always updating their list, so be sure to check back regularly to see if a more relevant category for your business has been added. You also have the ability to choose sub-categories, so choose as many as are relevant to your business.

Products and Services

As mentioned in our ‘Setting Up Google My Business’ marketing tip, it is essential that you include your products and/or services to rank for your desired keywords. Depending on your business category, you will have either a service tab and/ or products tab in your business’ listing. You can add a service by pressing the ‘add another service’ button, and include a keyword-rich description that entices customers. Press the ‘add product’ button to list your products, and be sure to include the product image, price, description, and a call to action button with a link to the product page on your website (e.g. order online, buy, learn more, get offer). 

Google Business Profile Reviews 

With your star rating clearly displayed under your business name, encouraging customers to write Google reviews can instil consumer confidence, whilst improving your search rankings. As long as reviews are obtained through ethical means, Google supports businesses asking customers for reviews, so no excuses! Another tip is to reply to Google reviews to show that your business is attentive to customers.  

Google Business Profile Posting 

Regular posting on your Google Business profile gives you the chance to promote your business by advertising events, offers, and general company updates. These posts can also act as a great SEO tool when you write them with relevant keywords for your business, and tells Google you’re an active, operational business. Create a post by heading to the ‘Posts’ tab in your Google Business Profile account dashboard, or schedule regular posts with a social media scheduling software – we use Loomly! You’ll want to ensure your posts are less than 300 words, and include an image or video. Encourage conversions by adding a call to action button (e.g. book, order online, buy, learn more) to your post with a link to your website. 

Google Business Profile Photos

Unfortunately, your Google Business Profile posts don’t automatically carry the photo over to the ‘Photos’ section of your listing, so we recommend manually posting these. You have the ability add a logo, cover photo, as well as specific photos that show the interior and exterior of your business, and photos of your team. When posting photos to Google Business Profile, ensure the photo is named using Google’s ideal naming conventions, e.g. digital-marketing-bloom-digital. Using keywords that are relevant to your business helps with SEO by signalling to Google what your photo is about. Any photos or videos uploaded here must abide by Google’s photos and videos policies.

Google Messaging

Similar to Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger, Google has a messaging feature that allows users to contact you using your Google profile. If you would like your customers to be able to contact you through your Google listing, you can set up Google messaging under the ‘Messaging’ tab. Previously, you had to download the messaging app to view and respond to messages, this has now changed. Messages are now able to be viewed in Google Maps on your smartphone (ensure you switch on notifications) or in the ‘Messages’ tab on your Google Business Profile dashboard. Be warned, Google may deactivate your messaging if you do not respond within 24 hours, so ensure that you turn on email notifications if using a desktop or laptop to respond to messages.

We hope this blog post helps! For more information about how to optimise your Google Business Profile or other marketing platforms, get in touch with our experienced team at our SEO agency in Perth for a coaching session, and read our other marketing tips.