One key component to running a successful business is building awareness. In digital marketing, we often think about the buyer’s journey through the marketing funnel, starting with the awareness stage and ending at the conversion stage. A great way to bring awareness to your business is by creating a Google Business Profile (GBP), a free tool offered by Google.
In this article, you’ll learn about what a GBP is, the benefits of having one, and how we use GBP for our clients.
What is a Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile — previously known as “Google My Business” up until its name change in 2022 — is a free service offered by Google that allows your business to reach customers through Google Search and Google Maps. Your GBP acts as a hub for the key information about your business: phone number, website, address, hours of operation, and so much more.
So, how does it work? When a customer uses Google Search to look up your business, your GBP profile will be shown on the right-hand side of the screen on a desktop or at the top of the screen if you’re on a mobile phone or tablet. Customers can then see all of the information that you choose to highlight in your GBP.
Benefits of Having a GBP
In order for your business to grow, you want potential customers to know you’re out there. Consumers commonly use Google as a search engine to find businesses in their area, and a Google Business Profile helps put your business in the spotlight. Not only does a GBP let you control and monitor your business’ presence on Google, but an updated, complete GBP can help you achieve more views and establish better reputability which, in turn, makes customers more likely to purchase your products.
Google allows you to customize your GBP to showcase photos of your business, special offers, and products before potential customers visit your website. GBP also acts as a convenient hub where consumers can access important information about your business and get their questions answered through multiple methods of communication, like phone calls, booking, messaging, and Q&A.
Another advantage of having a GBP is that it boosts awareness for customers using Google who might not be searching for your exact business, but are near your location. For example, if a customer types “dealerships near me” in their search bar, Google will showcase the business profiles of dealerships nearby. This makes it easier for the customer to find what they’re looking for, and it drives awareness to your business — it’s a win-win!
All in all, having a GBP helps you stand out while making it easy for customers to do business with you, which raises your chances of repeat business.
How Aronson Advertising Uses GBP for Our Clients
It’s not enough to simply create a Google Business Profile — it should be kept up to date if you want to maintain reputability and consistency for your business. That’s where we come in. When you select GBP services through Aronson Advertising, we do the hard work for you to ensure your business stays relevant and performs at its highest potential. Some ways in which we use GBP to help grow your business’ online presence include:
- Optimize your primary account — Our team manages GBP categories, services, FAQs, amenities, highlights, offerings, payments, and hours (main and holiday) to confirm that consumers have access to information that might impact their business. We then update and check each profile continuously throughout the month.
- Provide recommendations — We monitor your profile’s performance and provide recommendations that might help strengthen your profile and enhance user experience.
- Active profile management — Our team will actively manage your profile to appropriately accommodate any suggestions for profile updates and ensure all inbound customer questions have answers.
- Build custom artwork — We will create custom media for current product specials and post monthly to the applicable profile.
- Monitor traffic — We use Google Analytics and GBP Insight data to track the exact source of your profile’s traffic and make any changes necessary to maintain growth.
- Adapt to changing trends — Since Google is constantly updating, our team works to ensure your GBP stays current with the latest trends and updates.
If you’re interested in learning how maintaining a Google Business Profile can benefit your business, reach out to Aronson Advertising through our online form to find out more about the digital marketing and advertising services we offer!
