7 Steps To Optimize Your Google Local Business Profile

If you aren’t familiar with Google Local Business Profile listings, they are the local business listings displayed when users perform local searches. They show up with red pins and 5-star reviews on a Google Map, often to the right of the search results.

These Google Business Profiles are an important marketing tool for local businesses because they are fully integrated into Google’s search listings, maps and mobile apps. This creates a golden opportunity for savvy online marketers to help businesses claim and optimize their Google Local Pages.

With mobile search soon to eclipse desktop searching and more than 40% of searches on mobile devices having local intent, Google is essentially offering a free mobile search optimized website to businesses where clients can call, subscribe or e-mail with a single click.

On a Google Local Business Page you will find photos, videos, Zagat scores and summaries (Google bought the review service Zagat in September 2011), a description from the business owner, useful information like the business’ address, phone and hours of operation and of course, social recommendations by customers on Google.

This represents a huge opportunity if you can learn how to claim and optimize these Google Local Pages for Businesses. With Google Local Business Profiles showing up in web search results, on Google Maps and on mobile devices, they are a powerful marketing tool for local businesses that want new customers to find them.

How To Get Started With Google Local Business Profiles:

To claim and then optimize your firste Google Profile, here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Search Google for your business.

The first thing to do is to search Google to see if there is already a listing for the business. Google has already created basic listings for over 80 million businesses using data from Yellow Pages-like business listing services. If you can find the business listed, you can claim it in conjunction with business owner by having a PIN code sent to the listed business phone number or a postcard containing a PIN code sent in the mail to the listed business address.

2. If a listing doesn’t not exist, create a new Google Business Profile.

If a Google+ Local Page does not exist for the business, then you can create a new Google Business Profile. Google will want to verify the businesses’ phone number and possibly the address also by sending a text message or a postcard with a PIN number on it to verify ownership.

3. Complete the Google Business Profile with all the requested information.

Whether you add a new business or update an existing listing, you will need to optimize the page by filling it out completely. You should complete the business name, address, phone number, add a description with business-related keywords, hours, products or service information.

4. Add photos and videos of the business location, their products and happy customers.

Photos figure prominently on Google Local Business Profiles so I recommend getting some professional photos of the business. Take advantage of the banner at the top of the profile to capture people’s attention since it is the first thing they see. Develop a strategy to encourage the businesses’ customers to share their images of the business location and products on the Google+ Local profile.

5. Create incentives for customers to provide reviews.

Individual reviews can be left by any users who are logged into their Google account (which basically means anyone with a Gmail account). Get creative and develop a compelling incentive for customers to write a review on your Google Local Page. Reviews will help the Google Local Business Profile ranking but more importantly they will boost its visibility on Google’s search engine results and give the business more credibility.

6. Engage with prospective and current customers by interacting with them and posting fresh content on your Google Business Profile.

To be assured of a consistent ranking, Google wants to see regular updates. You should try to update the Google Local Business Profile every month and make an effort to engage directly with your customers on Google. Try to respond quickly to reviews or photos of the business that are posted on Google.

7. Build links to your website and local citations with your business name, address, phone number and website.

Google’s crawls these local review sites for citation sources which will improve your rank on Google Maps and local search if your business is listed. If you want to increase a Google Local Business Profile, add the company’s address, telephone and website information to these directories to get an initial boost in rankings:

• Yellow Pages – Not completely dead yet, still worth using as a citation course. Basic listing free.
• Service Magic – A website to find screened and approved local professional service providers.
• Angi – A top-notch local review website.
• Local.com – Free business listing from one of the web’s top local business directories.
• Yelp – The largest, community-based local review site. Main source for Apple’s new Maps.
• Manta – One of the largest business directory online.
• Patch – A source for local knowledge.
• CityGrid – Local advertising and business listings.
• BBB – Increases businesses credibility.
• HotFrog – Easy directory to add a listing.
• MojoPages – Local listing and business rankings.
• MerchantCircle – Free business listing and customer reviews.
• City Data – An important citation source for Google+.

Why Google Business Profiles Are Just Important As Websites

Basically, a Google Business Porfile is a free mobile-optimized site for local businesses, which makes it easy for mobile users to quickly find more information about the business, its hours, customer reviews, directions to its location and call with a single click on their smartphone. Yet, the vast majority of businesses have not claimed and optimized their Google Local Business Profiles

Once a Google Business Profile has been claimed, it can be fully optimized for the local search keywords that customers are using to find similar businesses. Unlike a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter page, a Google Local Business Profile shows up at the top of Google’s search results and the more a business adds photos, videos, reviews, builds links (called citations for local pages, I’ll get to that shortly) and update the page, the higher it will rank in the local search results.

With oover 80% of customers researching local businesses online before making a decision, it is a business necessity to have a well-optimized Google Business Profile.

Other Related Local SEO Resources:

I would focus the majority of your time and effort on a Google+ Page simply because Google search dominates business discovery. I think it is also worthwhile to create profiles on theses other local search and social discovery platforms.

• Yahoo! Local Pages – You can also claim local business listings on Yahoo.
• Foursquare For Business – The popular local geo-location check-in app Foursquare is also a great place to claim your business listing.
• Bing Business Portal – You can also get a search-optimized business listing on Bing. I recommend doing this because Facebook uses Bing Maps extensively so having your proper location listed on Bing Maps is very important.
• Facebook Business Pages – As Facebook search improves and is used more, Facebook Pages will be more valuable for local businesses.
• LinkedIn Company Pages – LinkedIn recently updated their Company Pages adding new features and making them more useful for businesses and marketing professionals.