The Importance of Google Business Profile Optimisation for Businesses

Businesses without a Google Business Profile are practically invisible today. 

When you want to look for a good restaurant when you’re travelling. What do you do? You Google it, right?. And what do you see first? The Google Maps results with reviews, opening hours, and photos. 

If your business isn’t listed there or is poorly presented, you’re losing potential customers to the competition. It’s that simple. A Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is your company’s digital shopfront. Optimising it takes practically no effort and can dramatically improve your visibility.

Why You Need to Optimise Your Google Business Profile

An optimised business profile helps customers to make an informed decision about which company or which service to choose. A well-maintained Google Business Profile can compel consumers to choose your business over your competitors.

It doesn’t just stop at Google rankings. A GBP is really important to carry out effective local branding and marketing.

Improve Local Ranking

In addition to proximity and relevance, Google’s algorithm takes activity and information quality into account when ranking business profiles. 

Google receives these signals to rank you higher in local results when you optimise your Google Business Profile. Additionally, as you are aware, a higher rank increases your company’s visibility and engagement.

Boost Engagement & Conversion

With more customers interacting with your business profile on Google, you can capitalise on that, boosting engagement and conversions. An optimised business profile will guarantee you a decent amount of clicks to your socials or better your website, and that can lead to conversions.

The Difference Between Optimised and Unoptimised Profiles

Consider two restaurants. Only the name, address, and business hours are displayed in the first. The second presents appetising photos, current offers, 150 positive reviews, answers to frequently asked questions, and a direct booking link. Which restaurant would you choose?

An optimised Google Business Profile shows:

Complete contact information and opening hours

High-quality photos of your business, products, and team

Regular updates and offers

Positive reviews with professional responses

Detailed descriptions of your services

Attributes that make your business special

Answers to frequently asked questions

An unoptimised profile which appears neglected will feel untrustworthy for the visitors.

How does Google rank local businesses?

Google’s local search algorithm considers three main factors when showing the results. Relevance, distance and prominence. By optimising your profile based on these factors, you will be sending strong signals to Google, which will help you improve your position on the list.

Reviews have a major part in determining local rankings. Nonetheless, the thoroughness of your information, the engagement on your profile, and the standard of your content are also very important.

Being on top of the ranking brings about a lot of exposure in the “Local 3-Pack”, which refers to the three main local results that get displayed at the very top of the search results.

How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Step 1: Create and verify your account

You need to set up your profile in Google Business before you can optimise it. Go to google.com/business and sign in with your business Google account. 

Do not use a personal Gmail account; if you don’t have a separate one for your business, you should consider setting one up first.

After signing in, you need to verify your business. Google will usually send you a postcard with a code to your business address. This step is important to prevent fraud.

Step 2: Complete all basic information

The completeness of your profile directly impacts your ranking and the number of actions customers take. Here’s your priority list:

Complete immediately:

• Business name (exactly as it appears on your website and other platforms)
• Address (precise and consistent)
• Phone number (reachable during business hours)
• Opening hours (including holidays and special hours)
• Website URL
• Main category

Next:

• Business description (750 characters)
• Additional categories
• Attributes
• Services or products
• Payment methods

Maintain on an ongoing basis:

• Photos
• Posts
• Reviews
• Questions and answers

How do you write a compelling business description?

You have 750 characters to explain what makes your business special. Google displays this description in the “From the Owner” section, which often appears below the reviews.

You cannot edit the short description directly below your business name. Google generates this automatically for consistency across the platform.

For your own description:

• Explain clearly what your business is and what you offer
• Use related keywords in the text naturally
• Highlight your USP
• Write in a friendly tone

Example: “We are a family-run bakery with 30 years of experience in handcrafted bread and pastries. Baked fresh daily with local ingredients and traditional recipes. We also do gluten-free and vegan options.”

Why Categories Are So Important

Choosing the right category is crucial. Google uses your category to display your business in relevant search results. If you’re an Italian restaurant but categorised as “Restaurant”, you’ll lose potential customers who are specifically searching for “North Indian restaurant”.

How to Optimise Your Categories:

• Choose the most specific main category that best suits your business.
• Add up to nine additional categories, but only relevant ones.
• Update your categories if your business model changes.
• Avoid overly broad categories like “Retail”.

Note: Google may ask you to re-verify your business if you change or add categories.

Attributes

After you choose your category, Google offers specific attributes. These are special features that customers search for, such as “free Wi-Fi“, “wheelchair accessible“, or “outdoor seating“.

These attributes become more granular. Google asks for details like “good for working on a laptop” or “popular with travellers”. 

Attributes help in three ways:

• They improve your visibility in specific search queries.
• They help customers quickly decide if you meet their needs.
• They differentiate you from competitors.

Select all relevant attributes, but be honest. False information leads to negative reviews.

Why You Should Use Photos

According to Google, businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more clicks on their website.

But not just any photos. Follow these rules:

• High-quality, well-lit images (at least 720 pixels wide)
• Authentic photos of your actual business (no stock photos or AI photos)
• Variety: exterior, interior, products, team, customers (with permission)
• Regular updates (at least one new photo per month)
• Showcase special events and seasonal offers.

We suggest that you use at least 10-15 photos when setting up your profile. Google can also display a featured image based on the specific query. Also, you should name your photo files with descriptive names before uploading them; Google can also read that.

Reviews: The Most Important Ranking Factor

Reviews are invaluable. According to BrightLocal, 98% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Look at the top three local results for almost any search. They all have multiple reviews and solid star ratings. This isn’t a coincidence. Google also highlights keywords in reviews, which increases your relevance for specific search queries.

Here’s how to optimise your profile with reviews:

Encourage customers to leave reviews: Don’t be afraid to ask satisfied customers. Send them a direct link that opens the review form.

Respond to every review: Positive and negative. For positive reviews, thank the customer personally and specifically. For negative ones, remain professional, show understanding, and offer solutions.

Regularly collect new reviews: Google favours recent reviews. A 5-star review from three years ago counts for less than a 4-star review from last week.

Never buy or incentivise reviews: No discounts, gifts, or cash for reviews. This violates Google’s guidelines and can lead to penalties.

Why Should You Post On Google?

Just like on social media, you can post on your Google Business Profile. Posts appear in the “Updates” section and sometimes more prominently, depending on search queries. They even appear on Google Maps.

Posts help you in three ways:

• They show Google that your profile is active.
• They inform customers about offers, events, and news.
• They give you more control over your message.

Add Questions and Answers

Google allows anyone to ask questions on your profile. And even worse: anyone can answer them. This can lead to misinformation or even negative comments.

That’s why you need to actively manage this section:

Monitor regularly: Check for new questions at least weekly.

Answer quickly: Respond to new questions within 24 hours.

Be proactive: Ask and answer frequently asked questions yourself. This is called “seeding” and helps you highlight important information.

Typical questions you should ask yourself:

Does the store have parking space?

Which methods do you accept as payment?

Does it have Wi-Fi for customers?

Does the store have a wheelchair or a ramp?

Do you have home delivery?

By asking these questions in advance, you minimise the uncertainty and ease in making buying choices.

Avoid the Most Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Creating a profile and then neglecting it. Google prefers to show primary profiles. Activities through posts and updates lead to higher rankings.

Mistake 2: Wrong or not current information. Customers get very irritated due to the incorrect opening hours or unserviceable phone number.

Mistake 3: Letting negative reviews go by without a response. This has an adverse effect more than a benefit. Always reply professionally and constructively.

Mistake 4: Resorting to stock and AI-created pictures. Customers would like to see the actual company, not the stock images.

Mistake 5: Getting reviews through unethical means. This is against the rules of Google and can result in a lifetime ban.

Mistake 6: Not selecting a specific category. The greater the specificity, the more visibility you will get in the related search queries.

Conclusion

The process of optimising your Google Business Profile has become one of the most impactful and least expensive marketing activities to consider. It requires nothing but time, and the return on investment is often nothing less than impressive.

Inter Smart has managed to assist many companies in India, Europe and the UAE, where the most important factor is the local online presence. It has been proven that those who not only create but also regularly update their Google Business Profile get more visibility and trust, and eventually, more customers.

Moreover, the best thing about it is that it is totally free. There is no need for any advertising budget. Just your time and commitment.

So why wait? Start now by completing your profile, displaying high-quality photos and reviews, and keeping the posts and updates coming. Your potential customers are already on the lookout for you.

Get started with your Google Business Profile. Contact us now!