A Guide to Google Business Profile Management: Setup, Optimization, and Beyond

Google Business Profile is a proven tool for winning valuable impressions and quality leads from nearby consumers, making it a must-have platform for local businesses. Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer, restaurant, or service business, GBP offers incredible potential when set up, optimized, and managed correctly.

Whether you’re looking to create a Google Business Profile or optimize your listing, this guide can help. To learn more about our Google Business Profile services and other local listings management, get in touch!

What Is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is a free local listings tool that has supplanted the yellow pages as the world’s go-to business directory. GBP is essential for creating a strong digital brand presence by putting your business information in relevant Google search results and Google Maps, which is exactly where everyone wants it to be. These local listings drive exceptionally high-quality traffic, with the average conversion rate for website visits coming from GBP being three to four times higher than traditional Google organic search traffic.

Additional Benefits of Google Business Profile

GBP is a highly visible and accessible component of today’s search engine results page (SERP). That makes it an ideal tool for sharing important updates about your business, such as:

• New, seasonal, or holiday hour changes
• Delivery and pick-up options
• Events and promotions (called “Offers” on GBP)
• Accessibility information, such as wheelchair access or private parking

These days, it’s not enough to complete your Google Business Profile verification and be done. Especially for small businesses in competitive industries and markets, GBP is an opportunity to boost brand awareness and out-position local rivals.

Note: If you already set up your Google Business Profile, skip to the next sections to get optimization tips.

How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile Listing in 4 Steps

1. Claim your business on Google.

If you haven’t claimed your business in GBP yet, it may still show up in search results, but you won’t have any control over the information listed. To take control, first you’ll need to prove that your business is real and located at the official address. If you have multiple locations, you’ll want to claim each one If you haven’t claimed your business in GBP yet, it may still show up in search results, but you won’t have any control over the information listed. If you can see that your brand already has an unclaimed profile, you’ll need to prove that your business is real and located at the official address. If you have multiple locations, claim each one as a separate listing. To get started, you’ll need to create a

How to claim a Google Business Profile: Google has instructions for claiming your business here, but we’re sharing the nitty-gritty. Start by finding your business in Google Maps. If no other users have access to it, you’ll have the option to select “Claim this business” within the profile. This will take you to the Business Profile manager, where you can log in with your desired Google account and start the verification process.

2. Verify your business with a code.

After you’ve completed the claiming process, request a verification code from Google. Many choose to receive this code by mail (postcard). But you may qualify for these alternate delivery methods:

• Text message
• Email
• Instant verification: You may qualify if you’ve already verified your business with Google Search Console. If so, you’ll get an automatic notification when you log in to your GBP account.
• Bulk verification: You may qualify if you have more than 10 locations and you’re not a service business or listing management agency. Just click “Chain” when you’re starting the verification process.

To verify, log in to your GBP account and click on the “Verify now” link next to the location you want to verify. (If you only have one location, there’s only one place to click!) Enter your verification code when prompted.

Note: Never received your code? Don’t worry. You can request another one, possibly with a different delivery method.

3. Add users to your Google Business Profile

Once your profile is verified, decide how to manage users in Google Business Profile. You can add trustworthy staff through access management settings so they can help manage your account. It’s always a good idea to have at least two email accounts (and two users) with access to your profile, just in case you can’t log in for some reason. There are different permission levels available to make it easy to provide users with the access they need. Those levels are:

• Account Owner: Your account can only have one Owner, so decide which Google email to assign as the Owner. This will be the email account that either created or claimed the profile, unless you change it. Owners can add Managers and Site Managers to the account, add and delete listings, and perform all Google Business Profile optimization tasks.
• Managers: Account managers can do everything that the Owner can – except for deleting listings or managing access.
• Site Managers: These users have only the access required to manage daily interactions through the business listing, like responding to reviews and posting content.

As you’re deciding who should have access to your Google Business Profile account, consider keeping the list short. This ensures more control and oversight of how your brand voice and image are communicated through your business listing. Be sure to remove users if staff leave the organization or if you’re no longer working with a Google Business Profile agency.

If an agency (hey, hi) will be managing your Google Business Profile listing(s), it’s easiest to grant them Manager access. If you are a franchise business – whether at the corporate level or franchise owner level – learn more about managing franchise local listings.

3. Complete your Google business listing profile.

Fill out the Info section of your profile. Effective GBP optimization starts with including as much accurate information as possible. Here are some tips for each area:

• Business name. The business name you enter on your business listing should be your DBA, or “doing business as” name. That means it should be the same name that appears on your website, storefront, signage, etc. Do not add something (like a city name or owner name) to your business name if it isn’t officially part of it. This is misleading to your audience and goes against Google’s rules for representing your business.
• Category. Setting a category will help customers find you more quickly. Describe your business using as few categories as possible. Do not use this area of your listing as a place to stuff keywords – but do check out our Google Business Profile SEO (search engine optimization) tips below!
• Address and service area. Make sure your address exactly matches the one on your website and your other business listings. This will ensure it shows up on Google Maps. If, for any reason, you don’t want to show your business address (e.g., it’s also a home), you can choose to hide it and show the service region. However, make sure you fully consider the ramifications of hiding your address in GBP. Showing a service area is also possible – see details below!
• Hours and special hours. Set your consumer-facing regular hours and use the “special hours” area to list hours for holidays, events or unusual circumstances. The special hours don’t override your regular hours; rather, both will show up. If you have a seasonal business, alter your regular hours each season.
• Phone number. This one is fairly self-explanatory! However, be sure that the phone number you include is the same number you have on any other local listing, like Bing, Yelp, Facebook and so on.
• Profile short name. A short name works like a hashtag, helping your audience find you faster. It should be a simple name that reflects how people talk about your business. If you serve one city or town, consider including that location in the short name. For example, @ThatsMyJamTraverseCity.
• Website. Your website link should typically be your homepage URL. If you have multiple locations that are all represented within one website, point each location-specific GBP listing to a page about that location.
• Appointment link. The appointment link should be the URL of a page where users can easily schedule an appointment or contact you for an appointment.
• Products and services. You can list your core products and services here, including descriptions. Scroll down to our Google Business Profile optimization and SEO tips to learn more about these.
• Attributes. These are factual or subjective descriptors of your business that are very visible in search results. For example, “Women-Led,” “Wi-Fi Available,” “Credit Cards Accepted.” The business category you chose will determine which attributes are available. Learn more from Google.
• Business description. Make your business description short, helpful and powerful. Emphasize what you do, what your mission is and what makes your business stand out from competitors.
• Opening date. This is the day you officially opened for business.
• Photos and video. Upload lots of photos here, including at least three high-quality exterior pictures of your business location, a logo photo, three interior images, and action shots of your products or services. Consider also uploading short videos (less than 30 seconds) in this section of your profile, using the menu at the top of the Photos section.

Once you get through all these details, your Google My Business listing will look great! Don’t forget to apply the finishing touches and keep your profile maintained, as described below. Remember: You can edit your Google Business Profile as often as you need to provide users with the information they’re looking for!

Google Business Profile Optimization Tips

Simply using and maintaining your profile is a major part of Google My Business optimization. The other part is search engine optimization (SEO). We have tips for managing your Google Business Profile and adding organic search value to your business description and category.

Tips for Managing Google Business Profile Reviews

71% of consumers read online reviews, and most check at least 2-3 review sites before making a purchasing decision. Monitoring reviews, responding to questions and feedback, and engaging customers all help improve your profile and win business.

What should you do with your Google Business Profile reviews?

Designate one or two people as your Google Business Profile review scouts. They should monitor for new reviews and respond (politely and gracefully) to all of them, good and bad, within a couple of business days. They can also “thumbs up” reviews and flag any spam reviews.

Additionally, create a plan for encouraging your customers to leave more reviews. The number of reviews you have significantly increases your chances of ranking well in the “Local Pack,” or featured local search results powered by Google Maps.

Watch This: How to Get More Reviews for Your Business

Ongoing Maintenance and Management

GBP isn’t a “set it and forget it” tool. If you don’t keep your information up to date, somebody else may submit a correction, which could be inaccurate and potentially reduce your business leads. Business owners can avoid that issue by frequently revisiting their profile and keeping it accurate, or hiring professional Google Business Profile management services from our local marketing team.

Google Business Profile SEO Tips

Reviews aren’t the only way to help your Google business listing rank in search results. You can also utilize these methods for beneficial Google My Business SEO:

1. Optimize your service and product descriptions.

While the service and product descriptions on your GBP business listing are not a direct search ranking factor, they are still a great place for relevant keywords. The content is directly in front of your audience and may make a difference in the number of people who choose to convert.

This is how to write a Google Business Profile description:

• Make sure your service descriptions are clear and don’t contain obscure jargon and cliches.
• Include relevant keywords that reflect your products, services, and location.

Here’s a peek at the descriptions for Oneupweb services;  see if you can spot the service keywords we included:

2. Create Google Business Profile posts.

GBP offers a posting feature that works like a microblog. Many Google Business Profile experts suspect these posts may be a ranking factor. Posting regularly shows that you care about engaging with your audience on Google. You can post about special offers, business updates, events and more using Google’s guidelines and examples.

Be sure to add “Book Now” to Google Business Profile posts that include a strong call to action (CTA). There are other button options as well; use the most relevant CTA for your post content.

3. Track GBP traffic separately in Google Analytics.

Our SEO and PPC teams at Oneupweb find it useful to track GBP traffic as a separate source in Google Analytics, rather than as general Google traffic. You can do this simply by tagging your website link in GBP using UTM parameters. Then you’ll be able to analyze the differences in website behavior when people come from your GBP profile versus a traditional organic search result. We also have a nifty UTM parameter tool to make tagging your GBP links easier!

4. Use Google Business Profile FAQs

Most local businesses receive the same few questions repeatedly. Provide answers to those questions by filling out your account’s FAQ section and updating it when you notice recurring questions.

While the official FAQ tab is no longer displayed in the main Google Knowledge Panel in search results, the Q&A feature is still displayed within the Google Maps app, and the advantages of adding FAQs to a Google Business Profile are significant:

• SEO value: Your GBP FAQs may impact your search results if a local user includes them, though this typically requires them to include your brand.
• User experience: Answering the question before it is asked shortens the sales cycle and removes friction from the conversion process. They don’t have to type in their question or wait for a reply.

Are There Google My Business Ads?

There are, but it isn’t as clear-cut as you may expect. You can’t create paid ads directly through the Google Business Profile platform, but you can link it with a Google Ads account. Linking these two accounts opens these possibilities:  

• You can create Local Search ads. This type of search ad will show up in the usual “Local Pack” of featured search results or Google Maps, as shown in the screenshot below. Your pin on the map will change color, too, lending your business credibility!

• You can create Google Local Services ads. Currently, Local Service Ads are
  only available to some types of service businesses. You only pay when someone
  contacts you directly from the ad. Here’s an example of what these ads look like in search results:
  

• You can get Google Guaranteed or Screened. When your business is Google Guaranteed or Google Screened, you get a green badge on your Local Services ads. Anytime someone books your services through a Google Local Services ad, Google will refund the customer (up to a certain dollar amount) if they are not satisfied.
• You can create Local Inventory Ads for products. Having a well-optimized Google My Business account increases your advertisements’ chances of being served up to your audience. And lucky for you, now you know all about proper GBP optimization!

If you’re interested in learning more about paid advertisement strategy for Google and beyond, Oneupweb’s paid media team would be happy to help.

Invest in Google Business Profile Optimization Services from Oneupweb

Small businesses can’t afford to leave marketing opportunities on the table. Rest assured, if you aren’t optimizing your GBP, responding to customer reviews, or posting regularly, your competitors are. With nearly 30 years of franchise and local business marketing experience, Oneupweb knows how to deliver results and make life a little easier for your team. We want to be your marketing department; start the conversation by calling (231) 922-9977 or getting in touch online.