5 ways to boost your business right now with this Google freebie

It’s unlikely most make it through the day without Googling something. At this point, Google has become more than a search engine, it’s become a verb! Everything you do online feeds into Google – unless you intentionally block it, and even in those cases, you’re sending signals to Google search crawlers to perform a specific action on your website.

Google has created ways to assist local businesses, giving them a platform for small business owners like you to tell the world about your business. This allows you to stand out among your competition on Google – and the best part? It’s free.

Create a Google Business Profile

To get started, you need to create a Business Profile on Google. This process is fairly easy. Simply enter your business name, and choose the type of business: online retail, local store, or service business. You can choose all that apply. If you select online retail, the next step will be to enter your web address where customers can visit to purchase from you.

Next you’ll select a business category. As you begin typing, autofill options will appear in a drop-down. Choose the one that best fits your business – this is something you can change or add to later. The point of adding this is to help keep details organized, for when people are searching they’ll be able to discover your business by industry. How many times have we all searched for hair stylist/accountant/plumber/landscaper/painter near me? The businesses that have selected these categories to describe their business are the ones that show up when we search. 

Adding these details helps the Google database stay updated and accurate to provide users with the best options and experience. In the past two years, searches including ‘near me’ have increased significantly on the search engine – think of the potential eyes your business could be missing.

After selecting your industry you’ll be asked to provide the physical location where people can visit your business. This part gets pretty cool—after entering your address a map will appear for you to drag and zoom to position the marker on the exact spot where your small business is located.

Once you’ve mapped your location, add the phone number for your business. You do have the ability to skip this step if you don’t want to publicize your phone number for any reason. Before your profile can be fully managed and represented on Google, you need to verify that you are the owner. The options to do this depend on the details you’ve entered. If you’ve skipped a phone number, the option defaults to receiving a postcard by mail to the physical mailing address you provided.

My business is verified, now what?

Congrats, you’ve verified your business and can now begin taking advantage of all the benefits of having a business profile.

1. Your Google business profile makes your small business visible

This means that when searches are done surrounding your industry, based on the information you entered, your business will appear with pertinent details. This allows users to easily find you and consider you for their needs. 

2. Your Google Business Profile aids in your SEO efforts

So, this is not to say that once you’ve created your profile, magically you’ll begin appearing on page one of the SERPs (search engine results pages), however, it’s also not saying that you won’t. Your business profile on Google feeds a great deal of information into Google’s database. As more people begin to find you, Google rewards that. It will show that people are reacting to your listing and engaging with your profile. This is all positive for SEO. Organic search really comes down to catering to the needs of the user and your Google profile should do just that. Provide your business details, location, hours, contact information, photos, even reviews. This allows users to see the best your business has to offer.

3. Your Google Business Profile allows you to host customer reviews

There are many companies across the internet that provide opportunities to host reviews for your business at a cost. With your Google Business Profile, you can have your customers leave a review on your Google business listing for free. This is an incredible benefit. It enables you to capture customer feedback in a public setting, and have people brag about how amazing your small business is. You have the ability to respond to reviews as well, and this is just important. If someone did not have the best experience with your business and decides to tell the world about it, be sure you respond to them in a polite, professional manner. How you react to negative criticism will show people what your business stands for and how you treat ALL customers.

Some small business owners use Google reviews as a way to incentivize customers. They’ll offer a small percentage off their next purchase, free shipping, free samples, etc. You don’t have to do this, but it’s a good way to encourage people to review your business, and will help you gain a star rating on your Business Profile.

Related: Small business customer service: why it’s essential for survival

4. Your Google Business Profile gives you access to customer insights

By creating a business profile with Google, you’re provided with a dashboard that includes insights such as how customers are finding you on Search and Maps. In addition, the data provided sheds some light on what users do after they find your listing. You’ll be able to see how many views your listing receives, where and how your customers find your listing, actions taken with your listing, and more. This data is at your disposal, for free!

5. Google is the future

Let’s face it, Google is not going anywhere – they built it and people keep coming to them, basically the technology equivalent of Field of Dreams. As technology advances, new functions, features, and devices are developed, having something as simple as a Google Business Profile can only be a benefit. Once the metaverse is in full swing, there could be integrations with Google profiles that easily bring your business into the metaverse. Only time will tell. 

But in the meantime, in the here and now, if you don’t already have your business listed with Google, you could be missing out on traffic coming to your website and business. Do yourself (and your small business) a favor and create your profile today.

Related: The Metaverse: what you need to know about the Next Big Thing

Your Google Business Profile is not exactly a set it and forget it type of tool. Pay attention to the insights regularly. Look over the reviews and be sure to respond to them. If you have negative feedback lingering, it could hurt your business even more if you don’t respond to it. Your Google Business Profile can be extremely valuable – it’s just a matter of you taking the time to use it.