Over the last couple of years, local SEO has truly risen to become a marketing force to be reckoned with. For example, if we look at recent surveys, we see that 43% of all Google searches include a nearby location. Furthermore, as many as 97% of consumers look for local businesses online at some point.

These numbers can make or break the future of some companies.

That being said, though, the ways the users will come to interact with your brand upon performing an online search don’t always need to go through traditional local SEO channels. In fact, Google Business Profile is quickly gaining prominence as one of the most important local SEO entry points.

Let us take a look, then, at a couple of ways you can tweak your Google Business Profile page to get even stronger local SEO results.

What exactly is Google My Business?

But, before we proceed to the following discussion, let us quickly break down what exactly Google Business Profile stands for in 2023, and what marketing options it puts on the table.

So, in the simplest of terms, Google Business Profile is an online listing service that presents basic info about a business or its services when consumers search for that business or relevant keywords on Google Search or Google Maps. This online listing usually includes some visual content and basic contact options.

It is important to note, however, that in recent years, these solid foundations were expanded with the options to post questions and get answers, leverage FAQ sections, post reviews, and rate services, which makes it a very versatile and interactive marketing tool that in itself, generates a lot of traffic and boosts your online presence.

Use images in a creative and productive manner

Effective Google Business Profile listings should, of course, feature rich visual imagery. That is why you should go beyond the regular call of duty (images of your brand, staff, and premises) and do your best to make the images you use engaging, informative, and worthwhile.

So, feel free to use infographics, creative marketing messages, visual storytelling, and other resources to keep people coming back for more. Also, recent surveys indicate that more images usually correlate with stronger search performance – businesses with more than 100 images tend to get 520% more calls than their peers.

Leverage all the available options and settings

All the things we have covered above are very important because one of the main reasons why most business owners fail to make local SEO traffic from Google Business Profile is that they don’t realize just how powerful this platform can be. Therefore, if you want to use this resource to its fullest extent, be sure to use all the options. tweaks and settings you have available.

This can be a daunting task because GMB is becoming a very robust tool, but any GMB audit service should put you on the right track and easily uncover the weak points in your listing. However, for a truly holistic approach, you should also look to improve your website SEO to ensure the traffic you generate from Google Maps actually converts once it reaches your site. The more of these issues you get off the table, the stronger the results will be.

Use relevant keywords in your descriptions

Even though it spreads its resources across various channels, Google uses the same tools and resources across all these outlets. This means that all the effective SEO practices that put your brand on top of the SERP can also be used to give your Google Business Profile listing more prominence and, as a result, generate more traffic.

One of the most important tasks you will need to tackle in this regard is conducting thorough keyword research and using the resulting insights in your listing descriptions. Making your location littered throughout these descriptions can only strengthen the results.

Post frequent and time-limited updates and promotions

Keeping your Google Business Profile listing info consistent and up to date is an absolute must. But don’t allow yourself to be satisfied with these barebones requirements. Posting regular updates, offering limited one-time promotions to your users, providing exclusive content on this channel, and leveraging FOMO can significantly improve the performance of your Google Business Profile presentation and boost its SERP ranking.

In ideal circumstances, consumers should be inclined to share this content and encourage other users to see what’s going on. Treat this channel as a social media platform, and you will get similar results.

Encourage clients to post positive reviews

People have always placed great trust in social proof when making purchase decisions. Among these factors, online reviews have always been among the most relevant, with 95% of consumers checking them before buying a product.

Since Google Business Profile offers robust review and scoring functionality, you should encourage your consumers to use it to its fullest with incentives and loyalty programs. As for the negative reviews (and you will get them), your goal should be to handle such issues quickly, transparently, and responsibly.

Wrapping up

We hope these couple of suggestions give you a better idea of how to turn your Google Maps listing from a simple entry on someone’s Google Maps into a powerful, versatile online resource that can drastically boost your online presence and improve your SERP ranking. In this day and age, SEO has become a very complex industry that no longer focuses strictly on keywords and page optimization.

With the list of factors affecting SEO rankings expanding with each passing day, our efforts need to be spread more evenly. Overhauling your Google Business Profile listing does seem like a good place to start.