In 2022, Google changed the name of Google My Business (GMB) to Google Business Profile (GBP)

Google Business Profile is a valuable tool for your enterprise, particularly if you are looking to grow your organisation in a specific geographic market.

You may already have encountered trends and information regarding GBP, but you may still be a little confused as to how the platform will benefit you and your business. If this is you, you’re certainly not alone.

With our Google Business Profile guide, we seek to demystify the platform so that businesses of all sizes and backgrounds can get the most out of GBP.

Once you gain an understanding of how GBP works and what it means for your business, you can be perfectly positioned to leverage the unique benefits of the platform. Increasing numbers of businesses are signing up to GBP and experiencing local and general SEO boosts in the process, as well as other perks.

Read on for our Google Business Profile 101 guide for beginners.

What is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is a handy platform that helps customers to search for products and services in their local area. While GBP is designed to help consumers, it’s also highly useful for businesses seeking to expand their reach and grow their reputation in the local market.

Key Google Business Profile statistics demonstrate how useful this platform can be for organisations:

  • Around 5% of GBP listing views result in the consumer taking some sort of action.
  • Average GBP listings are found by around 1,000 searches each month, with discovery searches providing 84% of these viewings.
  • Worldwide, there are around 3.5 billion GBP searches each day.
  • On average, 16% of businesses listed on GBP receive more than 100 calls each month from their listing.

How Google Business Profile helps small businesses, especially local businesses

Google Business Profile is an invaluable tool for businesses, especially for those that provide products and services in their local area.

Some of the benefits of Google Business Profile include:

1. Customers can find your business more easily, thanks to the SEO boost of GBP, as well as the increased visibility of your business on the GMB directory.

2. Your business will be visible on Google Maps. How long does it take for your business to show on Google Maps? This depends on when the next Google Maps update in your area is scheduled. While Google’s algorithms will crawl your listing quickly, it may take months for Maps to update if you are located in a rural area. In more populated areas, however, updates should happen within one week of your listing being crawled.

3. You will be able to respond to reviews that are posted online. This is critical to your reputation management strategy.

4. Google Business Profile really works as a promotional tool, with 64% of customers saying that they have used GBP to find crucial contact details for businesses in their area.

These are just a few of the benefits of Google Business Profile, and the process of setting up a GBP account is a straightforward one. Simply log into your Google account and then head to business.google.com — follow the instructions to complete your set-up and account verification.

Setting up Google My Business | My Web Advantage

Have you read our post on how to create a GBP account?

How to optimise your GBP listing

Setting up and verifying your GBP account represents the minimum standard. Your competitors are also likely to have a Google Business Profile account, and so you need to make sure that your account stands out, providing the optimal benefit to your business.

    • Generate legitimate reviews. As many as 97% of customers check online reviews before purchasing a product, which makes this a valuable resource for your business.
    • Focus on providing the very best products and services to your customers to encourage these reviews.
    • Build strong relationships with your customers to make them more likely to post organic reviews on the Google Business Profile platform.
    • Encourage as many of these reviews as possible over time. The more positive reviews your GBP listing gets, the better your business will perform via the platform.
    • Make sure your GBP details are correct and up to date.
    • Your customers will not appreciate encountering incorrect or invalid information.
    • Create a short, snappy piece of introductory content directing customers to your webpage, and post this on your GBP account.
    • Create landing pages and other optimised content for your website itself, crafting a seamless experience for your customers when they click through to your page.

Is a Google Business Profile a must-have?

Google Business Profile certainly is a must-have! These three takeaways demonstrate why this is.

1. GBP helps you keep pace and move ahead

Your competitors probably have GBP profiles. Make your own profile to keep pace with them, and then optimise it to move ahead.

2. GBP helps you get more from local marketing

Local SEO is a huge part of promoting your business. GBP helps you to get more from this important aspect of marketing and promotion.

3. GBP Puts You in Control

Don’t let negative reviews harm your business. Respond to these reviews via Google Business Profile, and turn negative into positive. Get great Google reviews for your business in the process.

Setting up Google My Business | My Web Advantage

Get the best from your Google Business Profile with our free GBP audit report.