How to Create Google Business Profile to Grow Local SEO
In this article, we are going to learn how to create Google business profile that will grow your local search traffic. Creating a Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is an important way to attract new customers to your business through Google Organic Search, Google Reviews and Map. Google is the world’s most-visited website that’s currently holds more than 92% of search engine market share.
Google My Business, Google for Business or Google Business Profile is a free business listing tool from Google; which allows you to provide your business contact details, products descriptions and photos, including your office location, and business opening hours.
Creating your free product profile is a great way to market your business locally and increase your online visibility across the internet. Information from your Google Business Profile will appear in Google search engine results pages (SERPS), Google Shopping Place and Google Maps when people are searching for such information. These tools will also give directions to your customers.
Thus, Google for Business Profile is mostly available for most businesses that have physical contacts with their customers. This includes businesses with a physical office or store locations; such as restaurant or supermarkets; businesses that provide professional services or domestic jobs by meeting with clients in nearby locations; like plumbers, beauty salons, painters, pharmacy shops, lawyers, consultants, etc.
More so, if you own an online-only business, this is also good for you. You’ll also leverage other Google tools like Google Ads and Google Analytics to be able to know what your customers are looking for and find out how to advertise your business locally in a way to make more sales. Now, let us look at how this Local Business Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy can boost your business.
What is Local SEO for Business?
Local business search engine optimization techniques are quick ways a business can meet and engage its nearby customers using digital marketing tools and local directory listings such as Google Business Profile. For instance, a restaurant business cannot gain costumers from outside its countries of residence, but can get more customers from its immediate geographical locations.
In order words, this kind of business is like local providers who require quick sales and fast track service deliveries. So, for a business like this to be able to drive traffic to their website or to its physical location, they need local SEO.
Any business that has a physical office location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO. Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps your business be more visible in local search results on Google and other major search engines.
If you search for any keywords relating to your business, product or services on your device browser; a Google map listing appears underneath. This is known as a Google business listing map pack, or Google business place which can help your potential customer find you. But, to understand local SEO in more details, we need to know how the Google Search Engine works.
Related: Top 20 Nigeria Business Directories and Search Engines
How Does Google Search Engine Work?
Search Engines use your business location as reference when providing your products to local researchers. Your Google My Business listing shows searchers where and how to visit your business, office or store. In particular, such listing for a local business is more likely to appear when people search for a nearby business using their smart phones, tablets or laptops.
When you type a search phrase into your browser app, it submits your query to search engines like Google which will check the pattern of various websites signals, their ranking factors and return a list of relevant sites that match your search.
Of course, Google is not doing a live search of the entire internet every time you type-in something into your search bar. It’s actually serving a stored copy of all of the relevant and closest websites it has discovered. This process is called the Google Indexing.
And to form the index, Google uses small programs called “spiders” to crawl the World Wide Web. Each spider works by visiting a single web page, and then follows the links on that page to other contents or pages on the internet.
As web content gets crawled, it’s stored in Google’s servers and thus, the index is built. These spiders work at a mind-blowing scale, constantly crawling millions to trillions of web pages at an incredibly fast pace. And ensures that the Index is up-to-date as new sites and connections are made.
After analyzing the behaviour of users during online searches, Google figure out that people seeking certain types of businesses need results from their immediate area. That’s why Google for Business local search algorithm includes a proximity factor, which is a fancy way of saying that Google Businesses take location into account when you search for a local keyword (a query with local intent).
If you’re at work and want to get a pizza delivered for lunch, for example, searching for “pizza delivery” shows a list of business locations or places near your office in its local search result. Google listed businesses will appear top on the search results even when the searcher doesn’t include a city name or “near me” in their search.
How to Create Google Business Profile to Boost Your Organic Search Results
Whether you’re looking for foot traffic or web traffic, Google Business Profile is the ultimate search referrer tool available in today’s internet space. A Google Business Profile helps ensure that people find your business when looking for products and services like yours in their local area.
Below is a step by step guide on how to create Google Business Profile to boost your local SEO, drive traffic and increase sales.
Step 1: Sign in to Google Business Profile Manager
When you log into a Google account, you’re automatically logged into Google Business Profile Manager. Otherwise, enter your usual Google account login details or create a new Google account to get started.
Step 2: Add your business name
Click Add your business to Google, then Input your business name. Select the appropriate category for your business and click Next.
Step 3: Enter your location
If you have a physical location that customers can visit, select Yes. Then add your business address. You may also be asked to position a marker for the location of your business on the Google map.
If your business does not have a location customers can visit but offers in-person services or deliveries, you can list your service areas. Then click Next.
If you didn’t enter a physical address, Google will ask you to specify which region you’re based in. then you will have to choose this from the drop-down menu and click Next.
Step 4: Fill in your contact information
In this section, you are required to input your business phone number and website address if available; so customers can reach you.
If you prefer not to be reached by phone, you don’t have to enter a phone number. We can help you build your business website within 5 business days.
When your info is complete, click Next.
Step 5: Verify your business
To verify your business on Google, you need to enter your personal address and click Next. Enter your real physical address, not a post office box here.
This information is not displayed on your Google Business Profile or shared with the public; it is only used to send your business verification code.
Although, you’ll be offered the applicable options for verifying your account before it go live to the public. Physical businesses will need to get a postcard by mail to verify their location; while Service-area businesses can be verified through an email address.
Once you receive your five-digit code, enter it on the next screen and click Verify. You’ll get a confirmation screen showing you’re verified.
On that screen, click Next to add additional details.
Step 6: Customize your profile
Now, you can enter your business hours, messaging preferences, business description, and include products photos or your company Logo. When you’re done, click Continue. You’ll find yourself in the Business Profile Manager dashboard.
Step 7: Manage your Business profile
From here, you can manage your business profile, view insights, manage reviews and messages, and be able to create Google ads if you intend to advertise your business online.
Step 8: Optimize your profile content for SEO
Let us now get into the details of how to optimize your profile content. Here are some steps you can take to maximize your SEO score on your Google my business profile:
- Complete all elements of your profile
- Verify your location(s)
- Add real images and videos of your business
- Include keywords in your profile description
- Encourage customer reviews and answer questions(FAQ)
- Keep your business information up to date with local event and business hours
- Add special features and attributes to your business listing
- Add your new products, services, event and publish content for anything new
- Take advantage of Google’s free and paid marketing tools to boost your online presence
Wrapping up: How to Create Google Business Profile.
Now you know how to optimise your business for local traffics using Google business listing tool…right? Finally, we need to know that Google determines your business local search ranking based on three factors:
(1) Relevance: This is how well your Google My Business listing matches most users’ search queries.
(2) Distance: This is how far your location is from the search or searcher
(3) Prominence: This is how well-known your business is in the internet, (based on factors like website links, clicks, number of reviews, rating score, and local search engine optimisation.
I hope this article helps!
By: Victor Adewuyi
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