Google My Business: A Guide to Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile—formerly known arsenic Google My Business—allows business owners to scope apt customers done Google Search and Google Maps.

Maintaining a Business Profile tin summation your visibility connected Google, heighten your credibility done reviews, and fto you power your business information.

This article will screen why it’s important to person a Google Business Profile, really to group up your profile, and really you tin optimize your profile. Let’s get started. 

What Is Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)?

Google Business Profile (GBP) is simply a free instrumentality that lets you negociate really your business appears successful Google Search and Google Maps to scope caller customers.

Here’s what a Google Business Profile looks like:

Maintaining a GBP allows you to power your business’s online appearance, build credibility done reviews, and amended visibility connected Google. A well-optimized floor plan increases your chances of ranking higher successful applicable hunt results.

How to Claim an Existing Google Business Profile

Claiming your Google Business Profile if you already show up successful Google results but haven’t added a Business Profile involves claiming it straight from hunt results.

Here’s how: Search for your business connected Google, prime it from hunt results, and click “Own this business?”

Unclaimed listings look for 2 reasons:

• Automatic listing: Google automatically originated your business specifications from different websites. You’ll spot the action to “Manage now.”
• Listing created by personification else: Another personification created a profile. You’ll spot portion of their email reside and the action to “Request access.”

How to Claim an Automatically Created Google Business Profile

To declare an automatically created listing, click “Manage now.”

Google will inquire you to verify ownership. Verification options see telephone call, text, aliases video recording.

Select your preferred method, past click “Next.”

For verifications via phone, take betwixt a telephone aliases a matter message. Then click “Next.”

Enter the codification you received. Click “Verify.”

After completing verification, you’ll summation afloat entree to your Google Business Profile.

How to Request Access to a Listing Managed by Someone Else

If personification other manages your Business Profile, click “Request access.”

Fill retired the shape pinch these details:

• Level of access: Choose “Management” if you’re an worker aliases an agency asking the proprietor for access. Choose “Ownership” if you’re a business owner.
• Relationship to the business: Choose owner, agency, aliases employee
• Contact information: Enter your sanction and telephone number

Decide whether the floor plan proprietor tin position your nationalist specifications and email address. And click “Submit.”

After submitting your petition to negociate the profile, the listing owner/manager has 3 days to o.k. aliases contradict your request. If approved, you’ll summation entree to your Google Business Profile.

How to Create a Google Business Profile from Scratch

If your Google Business Profile doesn’t look successful hunt results, travel these six steps to create 1 successful astir 15 minutes.

1. Go to Google Maps and Add Your Business

Open Google Maps and click the paper successful the top-left corner.

Select “Add your business.”

2. Fill Out Your Business Name and Category

Start typing your business name. If it appears successful the drop-down, prime it and skip up to the verification step.

If your business sanction doesn’t appear, prime “Create a business pinch this name.”

Enter your business category. Click “Next.”

3. Add Business Location

If your business has a beingness location customers tin visit, click the circle adjacent to “Yes” followed by “Next.” For immoderate categories, for illustration “Restaurants,” this is simply a mandatory step.

If you don’t person a beingness location, prime the circle adjacent to “No.”

If you take "Yes," participate your address. Ensure accuracy because google will usage it for verification (more connected that soon). Click “Next.”

Google whitethorn propose akin business names. If you spot your business, prime it and jump to the verification step. If nary match, prime “None of these.” Then, click “Next.” 

move the pin to your nonstop location, click “Adjust,” past resistance and zoom the representation to people the nonstop spot. When done, click “Next.”

4. Choose Your Service Area

Indicate whether you connection deliveries aliases on-site services.

In lawsuit you don’t, prime the circle adjacent to “No,” and proceed to the adjacent measurement to study really to adhd your business interaction information.

In lawsuit you do, click the circle adjacent to “Yes” and prime “Next.”

Enter areas you serve. Click “Next.”

5. Add Contact Information

Ensure that your interaction accusation is meticulous because searchers will usage it to find and interaction you.

Enter your telephone number and website URL. Click “Next.”

6. Verify Your Business

Depending connected the class type, you’ll get 1 aliases much of these options to verify your business:

• By phone: You’ll person a Google automated telephone aliases matter pinch your verification code
• By email: You’ll person an email containing your verification code
• By postcard: You’ll person a postcard astatine your registered reside containing your verification code
• By video recording: Record a video showing impervious of your location, business equipment, and that you are an authorized manager
• By unrecorded video call: Provide impervious of your location, business equipment, and that you’re an authorized head during a unrecorded telephone pinch a support representative

Depending connected your business category, Google will coming respective options. Select your preferred option, past click “Next.”

For verifications via phone, take betwixt receiving a matter aliases an automated telephone call. Click “Next.”

Enter the codification you received, and click “Verify.”

If you person aggregate businesses aliases locations, way the position of each verification successful Google Business Profile Manager. The file “Status” will show if the listing is verified aliases if you request to complete immoderate other steps.

How to Optimize a Google Business Profile

Optimizing your Google Business Profile increases your visibility successful section searches and ensures meticulous accusation for customers.

To spot optimization successful action, let’s reappraisal a competitory keyword: “bakery caller york.”

• According to information from Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool, this word gets 3,900 mean monthly searches
• The keyword trouble (a prediction of really difficult it is to show successful Google’s apical 10 results for this term) is 81% retired of 100%, which makes it difficult to rank for 

Because title is strong, section businesses must optimize their Google Business Profiles carefully. Next, we’ll look astatine what the apical 3 ranking bakeries are doing well. 

Ensure Name, Address, and Phone Number Accuracy and Consistency

Keeping your name, address, and telephone number (NAP) accusation meticulous successful your Google Business Profile helps customers find and interaction you. 

Accurate NAP accusation besides signals to hunt systems that your business is morganatic and trustworthy. 

Google whitethorn propulsion business specifications from different online sources. For that reason, support accordant NAP accusation crossed your website and directories.

Use Listing Management to cheque wherever your business appears, verify NAP accuracy, and update accusation successful 1 step.

Start typing the business sanction successful Listing Management. Select it erstwhile it appears successful the drop-down. 

Listing Management past analyzes your online beingness and assigns a rating. For Levain Bakery, the standing is “Medium” because their accusation is inaccurate successful 17 listings.

At the aforesaid time, Levain Bakery’s accusation is meticulous successful much than 20 listings, which helps them enactment competitory successful section hunt results.

To easy administer updated accusation via Listing Management, click “Enhance listings now.”

Enter your business specifications and click “Distribute business info.”

After distribution, you tin way the position of each listing straight successful the tool.

Write a Business Description

Having a clear business explanation successful Google Business Profile lets you stock products, services, your mission, and your history—and it tin amended rankings and promote customers to sojourn your business. 

Like this illustration from Magnolia Bakery: 

Google recommends utilizing your business explanation to supply adjuvant and applicable details. Avoid keyword stuffing. Focus connected accusation that supports customer decisions. 

Here’s what Google warns against including successful your business description:

• Low-quality, distracting, aliases irrelevant content
• Sales and promotional messages 
• Links to outer sites 

For complete guidance, publication the afloat database of guidelines for representing your business connected Google.

Add High-Quality Photos

Adding high-quality photos to your Google Business Profile tin pull much customers and shows hunt engines that your business is active.

For example, Magnolia Bakery uploaded images 3 years ago, but those photos are still applicable and support their visibility today.

As your business grows, customers will besides adhd photos done reviews. These images grow your floor plan contented and tin fortify rankings. 

All 3 bakeries successful our illustration each person thousands of photos, astir uploaded by their customers.

Get Google Reviews

Getting Google reviews for your Business Profile builds spot pinch imaginable customers, improves rankings successful section search, and provides feedback you tin usage to amended services.

The apical 3 bakeries successful our illustration each person thousands of reviews and beardown mean ratings.

Earn much Google reviews by:

• Asking customers for reviews astatine the clip of purchase
• Handing retired cards pinch a QR codification linking to your GBP
• Use plaques pinch QR codes and/or NFC stands in-store
• Add a reappraisal petition to receipts

Respond to Reviews

Responding to Google reviews connected your Business Profile shows customers that you worth their experience, whether feedback is affirmative aliases negative. 

Review responses besides awesome to Google that your business is active, which tin amended visibility successful hunt results. 

Levain Bakery thoughtfully responds to affirmative feedback:

And acknowledges antagonistic comments:

By addressing customer frustrations, Levain Bakery builds trust. By collecting feedback, they place opportunities to amended products and services.

Managing reviews crossed aggregate profiles tin consciousness overwhelming. The Review Management instrumentality makes it easier by allowing you to: 

• Monitor reviews from 1 platform
• Respond straight wrong the tool
• Use AI features to make draught replies 

Publish Google Posts

Publishing Google Posts successful your Business Profile lets you beforehand offers, events, products, and services straight successful hunt results. Posts tin summation conversions, customer engagement, and visibility.

Google posts look successful the "Updates" conception astatine the bottommost of your profile.

Le Parisien Bakery uses Google Posts to item seasonal offers and promotions, for illustration this:

Types of Google Posts include:

• Offers: Share promotional income aliases offers
• What’s New: Post wide updates aliases nexus to caller blog posts
• Events: Promote events hosted astatine your business location

Manage Your Google Business Profile pinch Semrush

Claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile are the first steps to building a beardown section presence. But semipermanent results require ongoing effort. 

Maintaining NAP accuracy, responding to reviews, and publishing Google Posts gives you a chance to build and amended your section business’s reputation.

Tools for illustration Review Management support you connected apical of Google reviews by allowing you to show and respond successful 1 place. 

Sign up and commencement managing your Google Business Profile today.