For a business that serves an area, the Google profile yields more than anything else that is free. It appears above ordinary websites, with phone, map and reviews — and many people settle the matter right there, without visiting any site at all.
Creating and verifying
Registering is free. Confirming that the business is yours is usually done with a code sent by post, phone, video or e-mail, depending on the case. Without that confirmation the profile stays limited.
Filling everything in
A complete profile shows more than a half-filled one. Worth completing:
- the right category — the field that most influences which searches you appear in;
- real opening hours, holidays included;
- phone number and website address;
- the area you cover, if you travel to the customer;
- real photos, of the place and of the work. Stock photography convinces nobody.
Reviews are the main differentiator
Between two similar profiles, the one with more recent reviews shows first and converts better. Ask every satisfied customer, on the day, with the link ready.
And answer all of them, including the bad ones — the answer is read by the person who is still deciding.
Keeping it alive
Post news now and then, refresh the photos, correct the hours. A dormant profile loses position to an active one.
What the profile does not solve
It covers local search. It does not cover people looking for your product without naming a city, nor people in another region. For those, the route is your website — and the website has to be findable, which comes back to having other sites point at it.
