Wondering how to grow your Google Business Profile audience? Learn actionable steps to enhance your profile, engage with customers, and boost local search visibility.
Google receives 99,000 queries per second, translating to 8.5 billion searches daily. These numbers have two implications:
- Google is one of the biggest sources of website traffic.
- Businesses must differentiate themselves from the ‘noise’ — their competitors!
A great way to enhance your brand’s online presence is by setting up a Google profile and attract visitors.
Here’s an in-depth guide on how to attract more visitors to your Google Business Profile.
TL;DR – How to Increase Google Business Profile Traffic
This article outlines practical steps to attract visitors to your Google Business Profile (GBP).
However, if you can’t read it now, here’s a synopsis of what is discussed:
- Embed Google Business Profile on your website
- Provide verified information
- Upload high-quality media
- Update your GBP regularly
- Encourage customers to submit reviews
- Use Google Insights to optimize your GBP
Continue reading the article for an in-depth guide on attracting visitors to your business profile.
Need a quick solution to enhance your GBP’s online visibility and attract more visitors? Embed your business profile on your web pages.
Our no-code widget allows you to embed and customize your GBP to match your website theme. Create a SociableKIT Google Business Profile widget today.
Benefits of Google Business Profile (GBP) for Businesses
Have you created and verified your Google Business Profile (GBP)? If not, you are likely missing out on potential leads, hurting your bottom line.
Below are various ways your business benefits from setting up a complete GBP:
- Online visibility: GBPs make it easy for potential leads to find your business on Google Search. They can then follow the attached link to browse products on your website. Also, shoppers can use your GBP to search for your address on Google Maps.
- Verified business information: GBPs are a great way to provide accurate information about your business, including your address, operating hours, contact details, and service catalog. It protects potential buyers against falling for dubious information from fraudulent sites.
- Positive first impression: As a business owner, you can set up your GBPs to create a positive first impression on first-time visitors. For instance, you can add high-quality photos showcasing your brand logo, premises, staff, and products.
- Customer engagement: A GBP allows customers to rate your services, which creates an opportunity for engagement. You can respond to the reviews to provide updates about your services or address customer complaints. Potential buyers can also ask questions about your products or services, allowing you to engage with them directly.
5 Factors Influencing Your Google Business Profile Visibility
“What determines my GBP’s online visibility?”
This is a common question among many business owners hoping to see their GBPs rank higher on Google Search results.
Let’s discuss 5 factors influencing your GBP visibility:
1. Verified Business Information
Providing accurate information about your business is the surest way to ensure your GBP’s visibility.
Optimize your GBP so visitors can tell who you are, what you do, where you are located, and when they can visit, just from the provided business information.
2. Number and Quality of Reviews
A high number of Google reviews boosts your GBP’s visibility. However, it cannot be at the expense of the quality of the reviews.
Receiving multiple negative reviews often reduces your visibility, underlining the importance of delivering quality customer service to increase the chances of positive feedback.
3. Business Category
Select a business category that reflects your services or market niche. This ensures your GBP appears in relevant searches, boosting your visibility.
In contrast, using the wrong business category could mean your GBP appears in unrelated Google searches. This could taint your brand’s credibility, as users could interpret it as deliberate misinformation.
4. Business Location
Interestingly, there has been a 250% increase in Google ‘near me’ searches to discover local businesses. The keyword ‘near me’ filters the search results to GBPs located within a reasonable distance from a user’s location.
As such, setting the right business location is essential for your GBP visibility, especially regarding local SEO.
Also, embed Google Business Photos to help visitors recognize your premises during physical visits. You can capture photos from the different directions customers might approach your business location.
5. Google Posts
Google allows businesses to publish text, photo, or video content on their GBPs.
Combining various media formats can help enhance your GBP’s visibility. This is because Google’s search algorithm considers the shared media to return the most relevant search results.
How to Attract More Visitors to Your Google Business Profile
We have highlighted the benefits of having a GBP and the factors influencing online visibility.
Still, the question remains: How do you attract more visitors to your GBP?
Let’s discuss some practical tips below:
1. Embed Google Business Profile on Your Website
Integrating your GBP into your website is one of the best ways to attract visitors to your business profile. You can embed your Google Posts in different website sections to achieve the desired visibility.
For example, adding it to your homepage makes it visible to most website visitors.
There are various ways to embed a GBP on a website. However, we recommend using a website widget for flexible customization and integration.
Our Google Business Profile widget provides a no-coding solution to embed your GBP anywhere on your website. You can also tailor the widget’s appearance to match your website theme.
Looking to embed your GBP on your website to boost engagement? Create a widget today and showcase your GBP on your website.
2. Provide Accurate Information
For many businesses, GBP is the first point of contact with potential buyers. The information you include in the GBP should be accurate to attract more visitors. Otherwise, you risk losing your customers to other businesses.
Besides accuracy, ensure the information has the appropriate context. For example, if you encourage visitors to book an appointment online, the provided link should lead to your Google calendar instead of your home page.
3. Upload High-Quality Media
Use high-quality photos and videos to showcase your products and services, focusing on unique business elements that could differentiate you from your competitors.
Also, leverage user-generated content as part of your media. Encourage customers to capture their experience with your products or services and upload the media when submitting feedback.
4. Update Your GBP Regularly
Review your GBP regularly to ensure the provided information is up-to-date.
For example, suppose your business opens every day without fail, but you plan to close for a week for renovations. This should be updated in your GBP so as not to inconvenience your clients.
5. Encourage Customers to Submit Reviews
Request your customers to review your business and submit user-generated content, where possible.
Remember, Google reviews encourage potential leads to interact with your GBP to see what past customers say about your business.
Visitors who find the Google reviews helpful will also likely submit their testimonials after purchasing your products. This increases your review count, boosting your online visibility and attracting more viewers.
6. Use Google Insights to Optimize your GBP
Analyze your GBP insights and identify ways to optimize your profile for better visibility and engagement.
Part of the performance data shows how visitors find your GBP and how they interact with your profile. For example, you can learn how many people visited your website, requested directions to your business, or contacted your sales office from the GBP.
Use these insights to optimize your profile to match your visitors’ needs. For instance, you can change your business description and category so your GBP ranks for specific keywords your visitors search.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Your GBP
Below are common pitfalls to avoid with your GBP:
- Incomplete profile: An incomplete profile undermines your business’s credibility and trustworthiness, as visitors might consider the information unverified. It also affects your GBP’s visibility, which might encourage visitors to consider your competitors.
- Inaccurate or outdated information: Providing the wrong information could portray your business as ‘sketchy,’ turning off customers. Similarly, outdated information, especially your phone number and location, hinders potential leads from contacting your business.
- Ignoring your customer reviews: Not responding to customer feedback, especially negative reviews, reduces visitors’ engagement with your GBP. Potential buyers could interpret the lack of response to mean poor customer service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below are commonly asked questions about managing Google Business Profiles:
How Often Should I Update My Google Business Profile?
Google does not limit the number of times you can update your GBP. This means you can review and update your profile as often as needed to ensure accuracy.
How Do I Verify My Google Business Profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide to verify your GBP:
- Claim your GBP on Google.
- Pick your preferred verification method. The methods include: by postcard, by phone, by email, and using Google Search Console.
- Reverify your GBP after updating the information on the claimed profile.
Can I Manage Multiple Locations with One Google Business Profile Account?
Yes. You can add multiple locations under one GBP. However, the locations will appear as separate listings within your business profile.
Conclusion – How to Grow Your Google Business Profile Audience
As a business owner, you must recognize the importance of having a Google Business Profile to enhance your online visibility. However, setting up a profile is only part of the work, as you must also entice visitors to engage it.
The highlighted steps should help you attract visitors and optimize interactions with your GBP.
As the first step, consider embedding your business profile on your web pages to direct the engagement on your GBP from your website.
Our SociableKIT Google Business Profile widget lets you display your GBP anywhere on your site. Also, the add-on syncs regularly, which ensures any changes made to your GBP reflect on your website.Create a SociableKIT widget today and embed your Google Business profile on your web pages.