You created your Google Business Profile.
Added the phone number.
Uploaded a few photos.
Entered the working hours.
And then forgot about it.
Six months later, the timings have changed.
The website has been updated.
You offer new services.
The old phone number is still showing.
And some of the photos no longer represent the business.
In the meantime, users continue to discover information on Google.
This is why the creation of a Google Business Profile is not the end goal.
It must be checked, revised and kept up to date.
For verified businesses, Google enables them to control their profile data in Google Search and Google Maps.
Someone searches:
“interior designer near me”
or
“clinic near me”
or
“restaurant in my area.”
You might have them view your Google Business Profile before they visit your:
web site, Instagram, Facebook or office.
From that profile, they would like to know:
• Are you open?
• Where are you located?
• What type of services do you offer?
• How can they call you?
• Is there a website?
• What does the business look like?
• What have other customers experienced?
Your Google profile isn’t merely a listing.
For many customers, it is the initial impression they’ll have of the business.
Imagine a customer checks Google.
It says:
Open until 8:00 PM.
But your business actually closes at 6:00 PM.
That is a frustrating customer experience that could have been avoided with a simple update.
Google Business Profile lets businesses update their regular hours of operation, as well as special hours for holiday or temporary schedule changes.
Check your timing anytime you:
When working hours increase, holidays are coming up, seasonal schedules are implemented or your business is operating differently for a short while.
Accurate hours assist customers to plan before coming to the shop.
Your business information may change over time.
Perhaps you added a new number for customers.
Maybe your webpage has been transferred to a new domain.
Or you had a more effective landing page for inquiries.
When Google is still displaying the old information, a potential customer might:
Dial the incorrect phone number, access a non-functional website, or just get frustrated.
Periodically check your:
Please be careful not to take them for granted because they were accurate at creation of the profile.
The way you describe your business matters.
Your description of your business is important.
Your business might have grown since it was originally set up.
A company that started with one service may now be providing multiple services.
Or the primary focus may have changed.
Check your business classification and description and ensure that your profile reflects your business.
Don’t add categories that have nothing to do with the product or service just to be included in more searches.
The profile should accurately describe the real business.
Businesses evolve.
You may introduce:
New services, more products, new departments, new packages, new appointment dates, or new service areas.
Make sure that your Google Business Profile accurately reflects important changes when the relevant features exist.
Up-to-date information allows others who find your business to know what you are able to provide.
Don’t have customers reach out to you simply to find out basic information that is readily available.
Customers may not be able to tell what the company looks like from the newest picture on your profile if the image is four years old.
Use current and authentic photographs as needed.
your business, your office, your team, your products, your completed projects, your interior and facilities, or your services.
Verified businesses can add photos and videos to their Google Page, and Google states that exterior photos can assist customers identify a business when they go to.
Use real and relevant photographs to make customers familiar with what to expect.
More images are not automatically better.
Use photographs that actually help someone understand the business.
A restaurant might show:
the dining area, food, entrance, and seating.
A construction company could show:
real projects and completed work.
A clinic could show:
The exterior, facilities and other appropriate areas and respect patient privacy in the reception.
A model could demonstrate:
products, displays and place.
Your Google profile needs to let customers know and assess the true business, which shouldn’t resemble a stock image gallery.
Typically, business owners handle their profiles from their own accounts.
Sometimes look at the profile from the customer’s viewpoint.
Search for your:
business name and location.
Then check:
Is the name correct?
Is time on accurate?
Does the phone number ring?
Is the site properly opening?
Do the newest services exist?
Do the images still have a current meaning?
Is the location correct?
Google suggests looking at the profile to see what activities members have seen in the comments and even on Google maps and in private browser mode. Sometimes you notice problems immediately when you stop looking at the profile as its owner and start looking at it as a customer.
The other reason to review your profile often is that the information you’ve entered may not always be accurate.
According to Google, it may change profile information based on user reports if it feels information is inaccurate or outdated, or if licensed content is used.
Businesses can review certain Google updates from their profile. That means you need to check if there is important information that has changed in a profile, when maintaining it.
Do not assume:
Two years ago, we got in the right way in here, so we’re still doing it the right way.
Review it.
Google Business Profile is another location where customers can leave reviews.
Future customers can glean knowledge about your business from those reviews.
Monitor them regularly.
Answer professionally, if appropriate.
When there’s a thoughtful answer, they’re listening.
It does not just apply to the positive feed; it also applies to criticism.
Avoid:
Arguments, emotional reactions, copied e-mails, or sharing private customer information.
A review response isn’t written just for the person who left the review.
It’s also something that future customers can read.
One of the reasons for the Google profiles becoming outdated is simple:
Everyone thinks somebody else is doing it.
Assign responsibility.
This can be done by:
By the owner, the marketing team, branch manager, administration team or other authorized person.
Google Business Profile also includes two other roles: owner or manager, which enable authorised team member to assist in managing information, posts, and customer interactions without having to share one password.
The important thing is that someone knows:
“This profile is our responsibility.”
You do not need to spend hours reviewing your Google profile every day.
For many businesses, a simple routine can prevent obvious problems.
Once a month, check:
Business name
Category
Address or service area
Phone number
Website
Working hours
Holiday hours
Services
Photos
Reviews
Important profile updates
Update it sooner if there is a change throughout the month.
The purpose is simple:
Make sure that the image that customers see matches the business’s current offerings.
If there are any changes that are important, don’t wait until your monthly check.
Make changes to your Google Business Profile when you:
Move, update hours, introduce new services, update contact information, update your website, close temporarily, reopen or make other major changes that will affect your customers.
Google reviews are edited before they are posted and some may have to be edited an additional time to be approved. It’s better to update early rather than when customers begin to report incorrect information.
A customer should not see:
One phone number on Google, another on Instagram, different timings on Facebook and an old address on the website.\
Ensure that your core business information is consistent in your:
Google Business Profile, website, social media pages, directories and other key online listings.
Consistency helps customers to know what to expect and trust in the information they receive.
If it is a significant business change, consider more than one platform.
Refresh the entire online brand.
Changes happen in your business continually.
It should update your Google profile as well.
Doesn’t require frequent, unneeded revisions.
Requires precise information, informative images, up-to-date customer information and attention.
Your profile from two years ago may not be a good representation for the business you’re running now.
Come up with your own search.
Observe the customer’s viewpoint.
And correct it, if it doesn’t reflect reality.
Don’t make a Google Business Profile and forget it.
Create it.
Verify it.
Maintain it.
And make it useful to folks trying to find your business.
A Webrandtech Education Series for Smarter Digital Growth.