Google Business Profile is your new shop front

Searching for anything on a search engine is pretty easy but finding that thing that you want isn’t always quite so easy. When it comes to searching for a business, we need something more intuitive than a list of business websites. These days, we want to know how good each business is via things like reviews. We may also need directions to the office or shop, or simply want the quickest possible way of finding the right telephone number.

This requires more than simply a website. It requires a registration of who your business is, where it is, what it does and how to interact with it. This is Google Business Profile and it is your digital shopfront.

It’s not the same thing as registering your website

One common misunderstanding with Google Business Profile is that it is not the same as a website registration or vice versa. In fact, it is possible (though not a good idea) to have a Google Business Profile listing without a website. It's certainly possible to do the opposite. Many businesses are completely unaware of this service even when they have had websites for many years, or assume that one will take care of the other.

There may already be a listing for you..

Google can and often does find businesses through its analysis of other forms of content, so an established business may already have a simple profile in place, albeit created automagically. It may or may not be wrong but at the very least it's not a great advert to be partially complete. If you see a listing for your business already, you can often claim it for your own and then have complete control. However, this also means that other people could do the same (so if you are reading this and have had your business for more than a few months, go and check now that you don’t have an unclaimed business profile!)

Why wait? It's free!

Registering with the service is free and relatively simple (you don’t need to be a nerd to do it). All you will need is to enter your business details into the Google Business Profile service and wait for a registration card to be sent to you in the post. This contains a code which completes your registration. This process is somewhat different to registering a website - it requires you to prove that you have a business address, even if you don’t publicise where it is. When your registration is complete, it will be visible in Google searches and available to anyone using smart devices with Google integration, such as Android phones.

Don’t be shy!

As part of your Google Business Profile, you will be asked to confirm your contact information for your business. Also your opening hours and the distances over which you offer your service. There are many pieces of information you can supply, so try to complete as much as you can!

Location, location, location

Whilst it is possible to have a Google Business Profile listing without showing your business address (we do) there are downsides to this. If you don’t allow Google to show where your business is, it can’t show it on a map, and therefore, it can’t select the nearest business to present to the searcher. In our case, and this is increasingly common in a post pandemic world, we all work from home, so we don’t actually have an office. This may be the same for you but if you do have a location where your customers can visit you, your business profile becomes even more powerful. It can show you to people in your immediate area and offer directions to anyone heading your way.

Ranking and advertising

Google Business Profile results face the same problem as Google website search results - there may be many results! So how does GBP deal with this? Normally, the results are shown in small quantities of prioritised businesses, perhaps only 3 or 5, with a link to see the full results elsewhere. This is great if you are in that short list, and less so if you are not!

The exact mechanism for determining who gets priority is not public knowledge but follows some general principles. Google will try and find the nearest businesses it can, and then sort them by reviews and profile quality. If your business has lots of positive Google reviews (which you manage via your profile) you’re going to have a better chance than local businesses with poor or no reviews. Similarly, Google wants to promote active businesses, not dormant ones. So a fully completed profile is certainly helpful, as are pictures related to your business, such as your office or shop, or the goods and services you provide. If you look highly active, interactive, organised and with good reviews, Google will want to put you front and centre of its results.

It is now also possible to pay for a high listing in local business results via Google's paid advertising platforms. A good idea is to check what's already happening with your intended results - if your competitors are all paying for Ads, it makes it more likely that you will need to as well.

Look good. Look active.

As mentioned above, Google wants to connect searchers with good businesses. It is possible to overtake more established businesses in your area by doing a better job of managing your Business Profile than they do. Ask for reviews of your customers. Take good photos and add them to your profile. Write small posts in your profile so that you communicate with the people searching for you.

Look at it from the perspective of being the customer, not the business - where would you rather spend your money? With an active, positive and well regarded business, or one who doesn’t bother to update their website or Google Business Profile?

Did you know…

Google is actively promoting Google Business Profile as a means of improving your businesses’ ranking in their search engine results. It is their preferred method, after paid advertising. Google Business Profile is free and powerful.

Heres a recap

• Google Business Profile is a free service for listing your business
• It is separate to listing your website and you can do either or both
• You gain a listing by either claiming an existing profile that is unclaimed, or registering a brand new business
• You don’t have to publicise your location but if you have a Shop or Office, this is a significant advantage
• You can interact with your customers through your profile via reviews, posts and messages
• Google prioritises well-received and active businesses, local to the searcher
• Keep your profile in good order and regularly updated in order to have the best chance of being top of the list!