In today’s competitive digital landscape, having a strong Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is essential for any business. It serves as your virtual storefront and helps local customers find you more easily. With billions of searches occurring on Google daily, optimizing your profile and growing its audience can help your business stand out from competitors. This article will explore strategies to grow your Google Business Profile audience, increasing your business’s online visibility, engagement, and customer acquisition.
Why Growing Your Google Business Profile Audience Matters
The audience for your Google Business Profile consists of potential customers who find your business through local searches, Google Maps, or Google Search. These are often people in your area who are searching for services or products similar to what you offer. Growing your audience not only helps you reach more customers but also enhances your local SEO, increases trust through engagement and reviews, and drives more in-store or online traffic.
Here’s why focusing on growing your Google Business Profile audience is critical:
- Increased local visibility: The more people who view and engage with your profile, the higher the likelihood that your business will appear in local search results.
- Improved customer trust: Profiles with active engagement, positive reviews, and frequent updates tend to attract more trust from potential customers.
- Drive more foot traffic: A well-optimized profile encourages visitors to take actions such as requesting directions, calling your business, or visiting your website.
1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO
One of the most important steps in growing your audience is ensuring that your Google Business Profile is fully optimized for local SEO. Local SEO helps improve your visibility for searches related to your business location. Here are some essential steps for optimizing your profile:
a. Complete Your Profile Information
Your Google Business Profile should be as complete as possible. This includes filling in all the fields with accurate and up-to-date information, such as:
- Business Name: Use your official business name exactly as it appears on your signage and branding.
- Address: Provide your precise location to ensure your business shows up in local map searches.
- Phone Number: List a local, contactable phone number, which adds credibility to your business.
- Website URL: Direct customers to your official website, where they can find more details about your services.
- Business Hours: Make sure to list accurate hours of operation, and update them for holidays or special events.
b. Use Targeted Keywords
Include targeted keywords that reflect the services and products your business offers, particularly location-based keywords. For example, if you’re a bakery in Los Angeles, integrate terms like “best bakery in Los Angeles” or “Los Angeles baked goods” into your business description and services. This will help Google match your profile to relevant local searches, growing your audience over time.
c. Select the Right Business Category
Choosing the most relevant business category is crucial for ensuring your profile appears in the right searches. Google allows businesses to select both primary and secondary categories. Be specific—if you’re a pizza restaurant, choose “Pizza Restaurant” rather than a broader term like “Restaurant.”
2. Encourage and Respond to Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are one of the most important factors influencing whether people choose your business over competitors. Not only do reviews help build trust with new customers, but they also improve your local SEO, which can directly lead to audience growth.
a. Ask for Reviews
Encourage satisfied customers to leave a review on your Google Business Profile. You can ask for reviews through:
- In-person interactions: After a successful service or purchase, politely request a review.
- Follow-up emails: Send a short email thanking the customer for their business and asking for feedback with a direct link to your Google review page.
- Social media: Prompt your social media followers to share their experiences through Google reviews.
b. Respond to Reviews
Responding to reviews—whether positive or negative—demonstrates that your business values customer feedback and is active in its community. Address negative reviews professionally, offering solutions where possible. Engaging with reviewers can further boost your profile’s visibility and build trust, helping to grow your audience.
3. Post Regular Updates to Engage Your Audience
Google Business Profiles allow businesses to post updates, which can help keep your audience engaged and attract new visitors. Posting regularly about events, promotions, or new products shows that your business is active and relevant.
a. Types of Updates to Post
- Product and service announcements: Let your audience know about new services, products, or special offerings.
- Events: Share upcoming events, whether in-store promotions, workshops, or online webinars.
- Seasonal updates: Adjust your hours or promotions based on holidays and seasonal changes to show customers your business is up-to-date.
Regularly posting updates helps to keep your profile fresh, encouraging more people to engage and ultimately expanding your audience.
4. Utilize Photos and Videos
Visual content plays a critical role in growing your Google Business Profile audience. Profiles with photos receive significantly more clicks and engagement than those without. High-quality images and videos can give potential customers a better understanding of your business offerings.
a. Upload High-Quality Images
Add images that showcase your business environment, products, services, and team. Include interior and exterior shots, as well as photos that reflect your business’s personality. A restaurant, for example, should include pictures of its dishes, seating area, and staff to give potential customers a sense of the dining experience.
b. Add Videos
Short videos can be an excellent way to highlight your business. Videos can showcase customer testimonials, provide tours of your location, or highlight behind-the-scenes activities. Videos can also make your profile stand out in search results and capture audience interest more quickly than text alone.
5. Leverage Google Questions & Answers
The Google Questions & Answers feature allows customers to ask questions directly on your Google Business Profile. Engaging with these questions can help you grow your audience in several ways:
- Respond promptly: Provide accurate and helpful answers to customer questions. This demonstrates that your business is attentive and customer-focused.
- Preemptively ask and answer common questions: If you notice recurring questions, you can post them yourself and answer them proactively. This can help provide valuable information to potential customers, making your profile a useful resource.
6. Link to Your Google Business Profile from Other Platforms
To maximize your profile’s exposure and drive audience growth, you can promote your Google Business Profile on other platforms:
- Social media: Share your profile link in Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter bios. Regularly post links to encourage followers to visit and engage with your profile.
- Email campaigns: Include a link to your Google Business Profile in your email signature or newsletters, encouraging customers to learn more or leave a review.
- Website: Embed a Google map with your business location on your website, linking directly to your profile for easy customer access.
By integrating your Google Business Profile across different platforms, you’ll increase traffic and grow your audience.
7. Monitor Performance with Google Insights
Google Insights offers valuable metrics that show how customers are finding and interacting with your profile. You can track:
- Searches: See how often your business appears in direct and discovery searches.
- Customer actions: Monitor how many people clicked on your website, requested directions, or called your business.
- Photo views: Measure how often your photos and videos are being viewed compared to competitors.
Use these insights to adjust your strategy, focusing on areas where you can further grow your audience.
Conclusion
Growing your Google Business Profile audience is key to increasing your local visibility, attracting new customers, and driving business growth. By optimizing your profile for local SEO, engaging with customer reviews, posting regular updates, and utilizing visual content, you can build a strong online presence that draws in potential customers. With consistent effort and strategy, you’ll see sustained audience growth, boosting both your profile’s traffic and your business’s success.
