5 High-Impact Tips To Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) might be the missing piece in your local SEO strategy.

If you have a business with a local service area, a well-optimized GBP is the key for visibility in the “Local Pack” search results and on Google Maps.

According to a study by BrightLocal, the average business profile is found in over a thousand customer searches each month — 84% of which are discovery searches.

This means that optimizing your GBP could be exactly what you need to reach new customers who are actively searching for products or services like yours.

In this article, I’ll walk through five key tips to optimize your Google Business Profile and boost your local visibility.

• The Benefits of Google Business Profile Optimization
• 5 High-Impact Tips for Optimizing Your GBP
  1. Create and Verify
  2. Fill in All the Details
  3. Optimize Categories
  4. Add Images
  5. Communicate and Update
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can I improve my Google Business Profile visibility to attract more customers through local SEO?

The Benefits of Google Business Profile Optimization

Why optimize your Google Business Profile? Here are a few benefits:

1. Better visibility: Detailed business profiles can attract people who are simply looking for a product or service, not a business name.
2. Build trust and engagement: Using high-quality photos, adding specific categories and including positive customer reviews improves your credibility and helps you connect with your customers better.
3. Direct customer interaction: Google Posts, customer reviews and messaging gives you a direct line to your customers, giving you more opportunities to build loyalty, respond to inquiries and promote special offers.

5 High-Impact Tips for Optimizing Your GBP

1. Create and Verify

Do you have your Google Business Profile yet? If you do, have you verified it?

First things first: Sign in to your Google Account (or create one using your business email). Go to create a profile, enter your business name and select it if it appears in suggestions.

Google offers step-by-step instructions on how to complete this piece here.

Next, you want to verify the profile. A verified Google Business Profile can be a big influence on Local Pack ranking, and you can see evidence of this in the 2023 Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors Report (No. 9).

Basically, Google wants to know you are a legitimate business, and there are some steps you have to go through.

The whole process of getting your GBP verified and up and running in search could take up to a few weeks (or more) if executed efficiently, depending on the type of verification.

You can see Google’s help file here on verification and explore the different ways to verify, including phone/text, email, video recording, live video call or mail.

2. Fill in All the Details

A more complete GBP may influence how well you do in the search results. So, take your time on this step and make it as robust as you can.

For example, Extra Space Storage’s GBP for Thousand Oaks has multiple photos and a video by the owner, products, categories, hundreds of questions and answers, a robust description, recent updates, links to social profiles and more.

Here are all the details available for you to fill in, as outlined in Google’s help file:

• Business name: Enter your exact business name as shown on all branding. If you change it post-verification, re-verify.
• Category: Choose a primary category that represents your business accurately. You can add up to nine additional categories, but more may not necessarily be better. Avoid using categories solely for keywords or attributes.
• Address and pin location: Input the complete address or leave it blank if customers don’t visit your physical location. Address changes require re-verification.
• Service area: Specify the local area you serve based on cities, postal codes, etc., to clarify where you deliver or visit.
• Hours: Set regular hours, plus don’t forget holiday and feature-specific hours.
• Phone number: In addition to the primary business number, you can add up to two more contact numbers (not fax). Use a local number for your primary, and you can add a toll-free number as a secondary if you have it.
• Website: Add your website and ensure Googlebot can crawl your site; some business types may add links for online orders or appointments.
• Social media links: For eligible regions, add one link per social platform, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and others.
• Attributes: Add attributes like “Wi-Fi” or “outdoor seating.” Some attributes rely on customer feedback.
• Business description: Write a description (up to 750 characters) highlighting offerings, history, mission and unique points about the business or brand. Take the time to craft this section as it contributes to the first impression of your business. Avoid URLs, HTML or promotional offers. Experiment with breaking the text up for easy reading (instead of a large wall of text).
• Opening date: Enter the opening date to inform customers of business longevity; only month and year are required.
• Menu/services: Use the Menu and Services Editor for accurate menu or service listings (limited feature available for certain industries). Make sure to craft your service offerings with care and include relevant keywords naturally.
• Products (retail): Add your products and put thought and time into product details, weaving in relevant keywords where it makes sense. You can automatically add products by linking a POS system with Google’s Local Inventory app. This is a limited feature at the time of writing.
• Hotel features (hotels only): List check-in/check-out times and hotel amenities to keep guests informed.
• Car dealership inventory (dealers only): Display available cars for sale, manage inventory and use preferred data providers if eligible. This is a limited feature at the time of writing.

Pro tip: Make sure to get your NAP+W (name, address, phone number and website) right as part of a greater strategy for NAP+W consistency across the web — inconsistencies across the web confuse Google.

3. Optimize Categories

The right category for your GBP may be the most important ranking factor in the Local Pack.

Most SEOs agree, as showcased in the Whitespark 2023 Local Search Ranking Factors study referenced earlier:

For this, you want to choose the most relevant primary category for your business.

Be specific, such as “hair salon” instead of just “salon.” If your ideal category isn’t available, pick the closest general option from the list.

You should have plenty to choose from though. This list of GBP categories from Propellic shows thousands (almost 4,000).

When you pick your primary category, think about what your business is at its core.

Here, Google gives a guiding principle for picking a category:

“Select categories that complete the statement: “This business IS a” rather than “this business HAS a.” The goal is to describe your business holistically rather than a list of all the services it offers, products it sells, or amenities it features.”

While you can add up to nine more categories, start with an additional two or three — and only if they are relevant.

As Google points out in the help file linked above: “Don’t add a category for every product or service.”

However, it can be helpful to add categories based on special departments or services, as Google says here:

“For example, if you manage a grocery store that includes a pharmacy and deli, choose “Grocery store” as your primary category, then add “Pharmacy” and “Deli” as additional categories.”

Use the attributes feature to refine what you have to offer even more.

Experiment over time to see how different categories may impact your business.

4. Add Images

You want to make sure you do as much as possible to own the first impression of your business. And sometimes photos can be that first impression.

A positive image of your business can drive conversions. BrightLocal research (cited earlier) found that businesses with more than 100 images on their GBP get 520% more calls, 2717% more direction requests and 1,065% more website clicks than the average business.

Both owners of the business and customers can both upload images, but it’s important that you take responsibility for getting some high-quality images up.

Going back to the example shared earlier with Extra Space Self Storage, you can see the difference in photo quality from what the owner uploaded, and what a customer uploaded.

The owner’s photo is on the top, and the customer’s on the bottom:

If you were to only rely on customer photos, you’d be missing out on a big opportunity.

You can include photos such as your logo, a cover photo and additional photos of your business. Don’t forget you can add video, too.

Google has a helpful file on the types of photos you can include and why you’d want to include them, here.

You can learn more about photo and video guidelines and specifications in Google’s help file, here.

Aim to keep your photos fresh and update on a regular basis — try a new photo every week.

5. Communicate and Update

There are different ways to engage with your audience through your GBP, and one great way is to take advantage of Google Posts.

Google Posts serve as mini announcements of what’s going on at your place of business. These posts can help you stand out from the competition and engage further with your audience.

Your audience can get notified of your updates, too.

One study, done informally and posted on Moz, found that these posts are highly engaging but about 40% of businesses do not take advantage of it.

You can post anything from promotions and events to key updates about the business and any relevant news.

This Google help file gives more general information on Google Posts, and Google gives guidelines on the content you create here.

Aim to keep this area of your GBP fresh, posting once a week is a good cadence.

Final Thoughts

There’s much you can do to continuously improve your Google Business Profile optimization.

To start, focus on high-impact tactics like verifying your profile, filling in all the details, selecting precise categories, adding quality images and engaging through regular updates and Google Posts.

Remember, your GBP often serves as a first impression of local businesses for searchers. Keeping your profile accurate, visually appealing and informative not only boosts local search rankings but also builds trust and attracts new customers.

For more local SEO tips, see our big local SEO tips list.

Our SEO experts can help you optimize your Google Business Profile for peak performance and generate more traffic.

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FAQ: How can I improve my Google Business Profile visibility to attract more customers through local SEO?

An optimal Google Business Profile is essential to drawing customers through local SEO. Taking the steps to optimize and expand their online presence online ensures businesses can increase customer reach.

Set up your Google Business Profile by providing accurate details relating to your name and address, phone number, website, categories and categories. Google uses these details to match up local searches with local businesses more accurately. Be sure to add stunning images or posts that draw customers in.

Call upon satisfied customers to leave reviews that demonstrate the depth of your care for customer service while simultaneously building trust as a business. Create an effective review strategy by inviting all reviews – both good and bad – right after sales/service have occurred.

Local citations are of equal importance. Make sure your business information is consistent across various online platforms like directories and social media; this will keep search rankings higher while helping customers quickly locate you.

Include local keywords in your business description and posts to optimize SEO results and drive more local searches. Doing this can make an immediate statement about who your audience is.

Stay engaged with your community by using Google Posts and answering inquiries in the Q&A section. Keep your profile current by regularly adding updates that inform potential customers of special offers or events happening near your location.

Implement these strategies to boost your visibility on Google and attract more traffic and customers. Be mindful to remain consistent as trends and customer preferences may alter over time.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Sign into your Google Business account.
2. Verify that all of your business details are complete, current and accurate.
3. Add images to show off your business, products and services. Make sure they are high-resolution.
4. Customize your business description by including relevant local keywords.
5. Take steps to verify your business location using Google’s verification process.
6. Establish clear business hours, including any holidays that may arise.
7. Share updates, special offers and exclusive events on Google Posts.
8. Respond swiftly and appropriately to customer reviews, feedback and inquiries.
9. Encourage customers to submit positive reviews following purchase.
10. Monitor customer profile insights to evaluate customer engagement.
11. Make adjustments to your profile according to feedback and performance data.
12. Use questions and answers to address common customer inquiries.
13. Keep your business information consistent across platforms.
14. Engage with local community events and spread the word through your profile.
15. Make use of local SEO tools to measure performance.
16. Adjust based on local search trends.
17. Join forces with local influencers to increase profile visibility.
18. Use social media to drive visitors to your Google Business Profile.
19. Stay relevant by regularly adding fresh content.
20. Evaluate competitors’ profiles to gain insights and make improvements.
21. Use Google Ads to increase organic traffic.
22. Apply advanced SEO strategies to reach more customers and expand your local SEO visibility.
23. Look for ways to cross promote your brand and work with other local businesses.
24. Always review and assess how your local SEO strategy is doing. Make adjustments as necessary.