One of the most important things you can do for your business, and its visibility, is to be listed via a Google Business Profile (GBP). Often the first place customers look for up-to-date business information, it is an essential part of any company's online presence. Reportedly 86% of consumers rely on GBP when searching for opening hours, telephone number, address etc.
Furthermore, there are many benefits of GBP, from improvement of local SEO to its integration with Google Maps, which makes finding your business easier. To ensure you get the very best from your listing, we have compiled a list of how to optimise your business’s GBP.
Your Google Maps listing Checklist:
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile.
- Get reviews on your listing. However, only those with Google/Gmail email addresses can leave a review. It is imperative to regularly get positive reviews and replying to them too shows good customer service.
- Provide all the key information, such as full business name, address, website, phone number etc..
- Add images and videos, including photographs of both the inside and outside of your business premises.
- Add a detailed business description and include keywords in the description. You can have up to 750 characters in the description.
- A primary category and multiple secondary categories can be added.
- The content on your website should reflect your desired keywords, as Google can highlight this on your business listing.
It’s crucial that you utilise and optimise your GBP to accurately display your business. Often the first point of contact for your potential customers, if your business hours or description is out of date, you can lose trust and business.
