Google Business Profile Training
was offered to members of Hornsea Collective on June 10th. To make the logisitics easier, then I ran the session via Zoom. Google Business Profile (or GBP) is a fabulous and FREE online marketing opportunity provided by Google for local businesses.
Although setting up your profile is pretty straightforward on the face of it,
SETTING UP your profile PROPERLY and REGULARLY UPDATING IT can have a massive impact upon your local business success. So the focus of this Google Business Profile training is to make the most of it as an ongoing marketing activity. It is NOT 'set and forget'!
WHY use Google Business Profile?
So many local businesses seem to ignore this powerful online marketing opportunity and view it as a CHORE to keep it up to date. Sadly, they often don't put much effort into it, and potentially lose business as a result. That is such a shame!
And yet if you put in more effort than your local competitors,
which usually isn't actually that difficult...
- you'll typically get ranked in local search higher,
- which means you get found more easily,
- and therefore are more likely to be asked for quotes,
- be offered business opportunities,
- or have more people popping into your venue to see what you have and buy
The Google Business Profile training session
" Boost Your Local Business & Power-Up Your Google Business Profile"
was run on the 10th June via Zoom, and our focus was on:
1. Why bother setting up or updating your Google Business Profile
2. Setting up your profile 'properly'
3. The importance of Reviews
4. Creating a simple but powerful schedule for regular updates
5. Tracking your progress
Here are the various links & resources I mentioned.
How to 'get in' to google business profile
(or simply just google 'google business profile')
https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/
Make sure you are signed out of all your google accounts beforehand - saves making mistakes and using the 'wrong' account if you have several...
Google's training and resources for GBP
https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/resources/
Google support options for GBP
https://support.google.com/business/gethelp
Follow the steps on that page, and eventually you might get to email with a real person...
(by the way... don't bother trying to find a phone number - there isn't one for google support and you'll likely stumble into the grasp of scammers!)
Google YouTube Channel specifically for Google Business Profile help & information
https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleBusinessProfile
What is E-E-A-T? (understanding what Google considers to be quality content)
https://neilpatel.com/blog/what-is-e-e-a-t/
Neil Patel has great posts and articles and resources all around online marketing.
Getting Found In Local Search
https://yoast.com/local-search-seo-ultimate-guide/
YOAST are trusted experts in all things small business websites, content and 'getting found'
Handy Widget For WordPress Website To Display Reviews
Trustindex have some handy widgets which enable you to 'bring in' (embed) your reviews from Google Business Profile (plus tons of others) into your WordPress website.
Their free version allows you to display 10 google reviews, in a variety of nice looking formats. Their annual fee is very reasonable (just over a pound a week!) and could be a very wise investment for you if you are operating in a competitive environment and make reviews a priority for your business visibility and reputation.
https://www.trustindex.io/google-reviews-widget/
You can see it working on my site over here (scroll down the page)
https://virtualityworks.com/rave-reviews/
Beware Of Google Business Profile SCAMS & UNKNOWN EDITS!
Sadly there are quite a few known scams and problems caused by random people abusing the ability to 'suggest edits' to a GBP. And if someone does 'suggest an edit' then you are often NOT notified of it. The impact of such changes can be devastating to your local search results.
One in particular involves people being able to RELOCATE the 'PIN' of a business on the local map. This then causes confusion (obvs) and is designed to reduce your visitors.
Here is a short article from a very reputable source (Search Engine Land) which describes this problem in more detail AND HOW TO FIX IT WITHOUT CAUSING EVEN MORE PROBLEMS.
https://searchengineland.com/google-maps-pin-scam-threat-444109
It's stuff like this which makes it ever more important that you REGULARLY CHECK AND UPDATE YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE.
I've Turned This Training Into An Online Course !
" Boost Your Local Business & Power-Up Your Google Business Profile"
Several members of Hornsea Collective were unable to attend the live session, and others wanted a resource they could refer back to.
So I've created a short, well-structured, online course, featuring short videos and demos.
This will be available for purchase, for a small fee, in the next week or so.
AND IF YOU WANT TO HIRE ME FOR A BRAINPICKING / TROUBLESHOOTING / ADVICE SESSION I have a special support offer for my local Hornsea business community details here:
https://bookme.name/susanweeks/hornsea-local-power-hour
Getting your profile organised and regularly updated can be a game changer for your local business.
I'm cheering you on!
Sue