5 Tips to Generate Leads with Google Business Profile

Create a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) to generate leads with local search. There is a good chance that your competitors are getting your Google leads and sales if your business profile is not set up or optimized. New customers use local search to find products or services nearby. When customers can't find your business, they go elsewhere - to your competition.

As a result, even if you have a better product or offer better services, when it comes time to generate leads, your competition is getting the new customers first. They are getting the traffic, leads, and sales that your business should be getting. This article will help you create a Google Business Profile and optimize it to generate leads for your business.

Why Is Google Business Profile Important?

Google has a free tool for your business to generate leads and target the right audience. When done right, this tool will help with local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to organically get traffic to your business. Without their tool, you are left to find alternative methods to market and advertise your brand. Tip #1 is to create a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and set up your online presence. Google offers this free tool to provide businesses a listing in local searches. By not having a complete Google Business Profile set up, your company is limited in its ability to reach and target new customers.

Generate Leads Using Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile (GBP) lets new customers find you locally.

Some companies have a GBP listing set up but their profile is not complete and missing key company information. Tip #2 is to ensure that your profile doesn't lack the service areas, business hours, recent photos, and posts. Your business will be in a better position to take advantage of local Google ranking when you optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP). Your company will be positioned to attract new customers. Improve your business profile by successfully filling in all of the profile sections.

Create a Google Business Profile

Increase your customer base with a Google Business Profile (GBP) to offer your products and services locally. A listing creates the building blocks generate leads with GBP and Google local services. As a result, your company will be able to reach a wider audience and connect with new local customers. By optimizing your profile listing, you will convert traffic into sales. We call that "converting call-to-actions into quality leads." This all begins with your Google Business Profile listing and showing your business credentials. Your company is a few steps away from standing out among its competition to attract new traffic.

Get Started with Single or Multiple Locations

If you have not set up a GBP account for your company, it is recommended that you set up one. You will need to add your business to Google then go through the steps to verify your business. If you have a Google Business Profile account but it is outdated, you can access it while logged in your Google account. Go to Google apps then install Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). You will want to include in your business listing any COVID-19 pandemic update, business hours, and special holiday hours to start.

To get started, open a Google Business Profile (GBP) account to claim and add your business on Google using the profile tool. Google supports two types of business profiles: The first type is a business that customers can visit that has one or multiple physical addresses. The second type is a company that provides onsite services at the customer's location. Click here to begin the process.

Google Business Profile Verification

As part of the verification process, Google will mail you a postcard with a code to the physical location of your business. This postcard normally arrives in about 5 business days.

To complete verification, you will need to enter the code and successfully fill out the profile. This process will need to be repeated for each physical location for businesses with multiple locations. Click here to go to Google's dedicate page and check on your verification status.

Tip #3 is to make sure that you accurately fill in your business information section with Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) details. and include all of the locations that your company does business in.

If your business provides onsite services at the customer's location, adding different service areas will allow you to target additional keywords with location specific to those areas. This will provide an extra opportunity to grow your audience and attract traffic as you publish posts with location keywords.

Google allows the option to define up to 20 service areas for small office, home office owners that travel to customer locations. Click here for guidelines on business in GBP listing to avoid suspension.

Get a Higher Google Local Ranking with Google Business Profile

Rank higher and reach more business customers.

Optimize Google Business Profile Ranking

Make sure that your Google Business Profile information is accurately filled out as it plays a very important role in local SEO ranking. This includes properly filling out all of your service areas and publishing new posts on a regular basis. Posts need to provide company updates, product releases, and special promotions.

Your GBP business information should match the information on your website to ensure consistency across your platforms and avoid vagueness. Google uses algorithms that take into consideration how to rank businesses in local results. Three factors that Google use are relevance, distance, and prominence.

These factors include how relevant your business service is to the customer's needs. The distance factor is the proximity of the provider to the customer's location. The prominence factor is the business content, backlinks, and reviews as it relates to the customer's search. These are just some of the factors that can influence Google's algorithms to rank one business higher than another.

Your GBP listing needs to compliment your overall SEO strategy to rank higher in local SEO traffic. Tip #4 is to use an SEO plugin. There are several popular SEO products available on the market today. The most popular one is Yoast SEO and another plugin just as good is RankMath. The latter being lighter overall in plugin size and overhead load. Yoast offers a plugin subscription for both the premium and local SEO that we have used for years. RankMath offers a yearly product which and is more cost effective when compared to both. Not to mention the free version of RankMath comes with far more features than the Yoast free plugin. We prefer RankMath along with Content AI feature.

Yoast is one of the must-have plugins especially if you are running your website on a WordPress platform. As organic SEO can take time to generate results, there are additional services offered by Google. One of the services is called Google Guaranteed.

Google Local Services

Show up when customers search for your services.

Google Guaranteed

Tip #5 is using Google Guaranteed, a paid Local Services Ads (similar to Google Ads) platform that helps local businesses generate leads. Their paid service focuses on displaying ads that are based on the local service areas your business serves.

Google Guaranteed uses a budget and bidding system to determine the ranking of all local ads. Click here to learn more about how local ads bidding works.

The budget control is similar to Google Ads where you can set a daily budget of how much you would like to spend on ads. You only pay when a customer contacts you through a message or phone call on the ad.

Google Guaranteed offers each business one of two badges to help provide and maintain trust. The Google Screened and the Google Guaranteed badges. To obtain either badge, Google performs a check on your company's license and insurance. A checkmark represents a legit and credible business that assures buyers it has passed Google's requirements and is trustworthy.

Choosing the right partner can offer your business the complete boost it needs using GBP and website to generate leads in your industry.

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