Google Business Profile – A Simple Tool to Boost Sales Conversion

Every business should aim to be visible online. You can have ambitious business goals, but if there is no information about your company in the online world, success will be hard to achieve.

The market has developed solutions to address these challenges. There are many tools to increase reach, but one of the most fundamental, accessible, intuitive, and above all, free tools is the Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).

Google and Google Maps in Numbers

According to the latest Statcounter research, 95% of internet users in Poland use Google daily.

Google Maps is also doing exceptionally well. Based on the Mediapanel study results reported by Wirtualnemedia.pl, nearly 22.5 million Polish internet users used Google’s mapping platform (both websites and mobile apps) in December of last year, which amounted to a 75% market reach. This success was primarily driven by visits to Google Maps.

 

What is a Google Business Profile?

The term „business card” no longer captures the full potential of this tool. It’s a comprehensive profile containing a collection of verified information on Google’s platforms.

Through this profile, you can publish updates, special offers, photos, gather reviews, and showcase your products or services. You can interact with customers not only via phone but also through short SMS messages.

The Google Business Profile is primarily targeted at companies operating in local markets, making them visible to users searching for services like hairdressers, auto mechanics, hotels, or restaurants. Here, customers can book hotel rooms, reserve restaurant tables, or order food for delivery. For companies operating globally, it offers an opportunity to promote their business, build brand trust, and strengthen customer relationships.

Having a profile on Google increases your business’s visibility in both Google Search and Google Maps, allowing your products or services to easily appear to potential customers.

Must-Haves for a Google Business Profile

Steps to optimize your Google Business Profile and achieve high rankings in Google search:

1. Keep Your Business Information Updated

For your profile to convert effectively, regularly update all information. Ensure the accuracy of the following key details:

• Business name
• Location and address
• Categories
• Phone number
• Opening hours
• Attributes
• Website
  
  

2. Add Photos

According to Google, businesses with photos on their profile experience 35% more website clicks and 42% more requests for driving directions via Google Maps. If your main photo is a generic green lawn from Google Street View, consider adding more relevant images of your building. Ask customers or friends to upload photos in their comments and reviews. Consistent activity could be rewarded by Google’s algorithms. Show your workspace or offer a virtual tour of your premises. Remember, for Google, authentic, lower-quality photos are better than the most polished stock images.

3. Showcase Your Products/Menu/Offer

The product editor allows you to showcase your products or services, increasing user interaction. Mobile users will see carefully curated items from your store’s offer in the Products tab, while desktop users will see them in the Product Overview module.

4. Post Regularly

Google Business functions similarly to social media, allowing you to publish posts about current promotions, important company events, or announcements. If you run a blog, share it here too—link your posts and include calls-to-action (CTAs). Consistency is key for the best results. Avoid profiles where the last post is from a year ago, followed by 10 posts all on the same date. This doesn’t look trustworthy to Google or to customers.

5. Take Care of Reviews! They’re Essential for Google’s Algorithms and Important for Customers

As consumers, we all rely on reviews and star ratings because of their perceived authenticity. Prioritize delivering excellent service to earn positive reviews. Remind your customers to leave feedback, asking them not only for stars but also for a short review with a keyword. For example, if you provide website design services, a simple sentence like, “I’m satisfied with Company X from Gdańsk, which built my website” can already help boost your profile’s conversion and overall site ranking.

To make it easier for customers to leave reviews, consider placing a QR code linking directly to the review page on your door, business documents, invoices, etc.

It’s essential to respond to all reviews, even negative ones. You can politely ask dissatisfied customers to contact you directly, and if the issue is resolved, you can encourage them to update their review.

While many „review sellers” offer fake reviews at attractive prices, these should be avoided. Google can detect fake reviews, which may result in your profile being blocked or, at best, buried deep in search rankings.

Important: Review authors can edit their reviews, but businesses cannot remove negative ones. However, if you can prove to Google Support that you were unfairly targeted by malicious competitors, your case may be reviewed favorably.

Conclusion

• The Google Business Profile is a simple, free, and effective way to gain new customers, understand their needs, and enable quick contact with your business. When users trust your company, they are more likely to engage with your links, promotions, and ultimately, your products or services.
• Boosting the SEO of any website, including local businesses with an active Google Business profile, effortlessly improves your website’s ranking in Google search results.
• Google Business Profiles provide valuable insights. With this tool, you can discover how customers are finding your business—whether through Google Search or Google Maps.

Google continuously improves this tool. Soon, online websites may not be as crucial in e-commerce, as well-managed profiles can take on this functionality.

Looking at large companies’ profiles, it seems they haven’t yet fully realized the potential of their Google profiles, which presents a significant opportunity for those who act now.

Effective Profile Optimization Requires:

• Proper time investment
• Consistency, similar to managing a social media profile (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn)
• Detailed monitoring of the profile, measuring metrics, analyzing results, and taking action
• Knowledge of what, where, and when to publish (content management, photos)
• Quick and appropriate responses to reviews, especially during a crisis
  
  

That’s why it might be beneficial to entrust the management of your Google Business Profile to a specialized agency. This way:

• You save time, while a dedicated team monitors and updates your profiles
• You receive detailed reports that allow you to track your profiles’ changing positions
• We monitor reviews for you on each profile, allowing for immediate responses
• We know what and when to publish to achieve the best results, ensuring regular updates, which significantly impact profile visibility (we’ll also choose the right type of post and keywords)
• We manage photos and videos, which are also ranking factors, and optimize them with keywords
• We stay updated with Google’s changes, so we know what the ranking factors are and how the algorithms work (and we know how to use this knowledge!)
• We’ll optimize your profiles with the right keywords—we know how to execute effective local SEO
• We can also use Google Business Profiles in other marketing campaigns!
  
  

Did you know that Google Ads clicks can be cheaper if your profile is well-optimized? We know this, and we can make it happen for you!