The importance of effectively managing your Google Business Profile in today’s digital world cannot be overstated.
With search engine visibility being a critical factor in driving local business success, it’s crucial to understand which elements of your GBP can directly influence your rankings. Let’s take a deep dive into nine essential fields on your Google Business Profile that have a proven impact on your visibility, along with two additional fields that have recently emerged as potential ranking factors.
Why Now Is the Time to Focus on Local Search Visibility
The world of local search evolves every day, which is why staying ahead of the curve is more important than ever. Industry expert Mike Blumenthal, a trusted voice in local search for two decades, has underscored the significance of Google’s self-preferencing practices.
Google likes to give preference to its own products in its search results (i.e. Google Business Listings). In fact, it’s tendency to favor its own products—often at the expense of third-party visibility—has been a focal point in antitrust discussions. An example is Google’s decision in 2007 to remove the highly visible link to MapQuest, contributing to its decline while Google Maps surged to dominance.
Google’s local graph, a crucial part of its ecosystem, is something the search giant is keen to protect.
As Blumenthal notes, “Google was quite clear that they would not be talking about Local Search results or their entity graph in the context of “self-preferencing.” By attempting to set up this boundary, they’re trying to protect one of their important sources of proprietary data that encourages zero-click behaviors: the local graph.”
Key Insights on the State of Organic Search in 2024
For local business owners and marketers, this means it’s time to pay attention. With the state of search in 2024 presenting new challenges and opportunities, here are three key insights:
1: Navigating SERP Changes
The organic search results pages (SERPs) have undergone significant changes this year, with updates and the rapid introduction of AI-driven features creating a chaotic environment. These developments have posed challenges for publishers and business owners, as content is often repurposed by AI, diminishing organic visibility.
2: The Unique Nature of Local Search
Unlike broader web traffic, local search operates differently. While Google’s preference for its own local content can negatively impact publishers, local businesses can still benefit from the prominence of Google’s local graph. The goal is to ensure that customers find you, whether through your website or various local search features like local packs, Google Maps, or AI summaries. The key concern is accuracy—making sure your business information is correct to avoid losing potential customers.
3: Making the Most of Local SERP Opportunities
Despite the broader concerns around self-preferencing, local businesses can still capitalize on Google’s local search features. The relative stability and effectiveness of local SERPs make them a valuable focus for driving both online and offline conversions.
10 Google Business Profile Fields That Matter for Local Search
In the past, there were just four GBP fields commonly recognized for their ranking impact. Thanks to ongoing research, we now have a more comprehensive understanding. Here’s an updated list of nine critical fields, plus two emerging factors you should consider:
1: Business Title & Description
Your business title remains a powerful ranking signal. However, avoid overloading it with keywords, as doing so can appear untrustworthy and damage your brand’s recognition. Adhere to Google’s guidelines while exploring opportunities to optimize your business name for better local visibility.
One thing to keep in mind about business names: If you plan to grow your business beyond a single location, using your city’s name in the title could cause confusion and ranking problems down the line.
Use the business description field to outline your offer to your customers. Your 1-2 sentence elevator pitch goes here.
2: Business Address
Your physical address plays a significant role in your local rankings.
Being close in proximity to your market searchers means that you will rank higher in Google’s local search rankings. The closer you are to your target market, the more likely you will rank over your competitors as well. In the event that you are farther, SEO can improve your rankings to a degree.
3: Categories
Choosing the right primary and additional categories is vital (e.g. remodeling companies, home builders). Ensure that your primary category accurately represents your core offering, and use the remaining nine categories to paint a complete picture of your business.
4: Website Link
Linking to a strong, authoritative website can boost your local rankings. Invest in building a high-quality website that answers customer questions and is easily discoverable in search results. Understanding and using SEO will boost your website’s Google rankings.
5: Hours
Recent studies show that whether your business is open or closed can influence your local pack rankings. Optimize your hours by identifying gaps in your competitors’ availability and filling them.
There are two ways to optimize your local ranking through business hours:
- Staffing your business 24 hours a day.
- Figure out your top competitors’ hours, and change yours to compete with them. An example would be opening your business on a Monday if your competitors are closed that day.
6: Customer Reviews
Reviews impact both conversions and rankings. There are several factors to take into account in reviews:
- Overall star rating
- The total number of reviews
- The language used in customer reviews
- How recent reviews are
By focusing on maintaining a steady stream of fresh reviews and responding to them, you can ensure that your star rating reflects positively on your business.
7: Attributes
By identifying what type of business you are and other key insights into your business, you can improve your Google ranking. Investigate and include relevant attributes in your GBP. Some, like the “small business” attribute, can positively impact your rankings. Be cautious with fields that may override other justifications.
8: Services
A great way to enhance your business’s local rankings and give customers a detailed list of what you offer is by adding detailed services to your profile. Include both Google-suggested and custom services to represent what you offer fully.
9: Products
Along similar lines, if your business offers products, you can upload your inventory to your profile. While most remodeler and building companies don’t necessarily have “products”, Google promotes businesses that provide consumers with eye-catching media. Include images that showcase your work, and you can improve your local ranking.
10: Popular Times
Businesses tend to rank higher during their peak times. While you can’t directly control this, you can influence it by driving traffic through promotions or special offers during quieter periods (think winter promotions for remodelers or builders).
In Conclusion, Fill Out as Much Information on Your Google Business Profile as You Can
If there’s one additional field worth mentioning, it’s the photo section of your Google Business Profile. High-quality images can significantly influence user engagement and, by extension, your rankings. By focusing on these key fields, you can optimize your Google Business Profile for maximum visibility and ensure your business stands out in local search results.
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