Do Google Business Profiles Impact Local SEO? Yes google business profiles are of huge importance to your local SEO and rankings in google maps. Google business profiles and reviews have a huge impact on local seo and we’ll discuss the optimization, tagging and resources that will optimize your profile properly. If you don’t read any more than the intro paragraph just know that it is a huge factor in your rankings.
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), there are very few things that are as powerful as your Google Business profile and customer reviews. Not only does it bring trust to customers, but also improves your SEO so potential customers are more likely to see your profile. In addition to this, reviews give your business credibility and can improve visibility for certain searches especially if the reviews are newer.
What is a Google Business Profile?
When someone searches up your business, your Google Business Profile will be the first thing the customer sees (Add or Claim Your Profile). You are also able to search up a business on Google Maps. Having a profile helps customers find/contact your business easier, as your business name, address and phone number is on it. This alone is extremely important, but the services/products, photos, and reviews on your profile are equally as important.
Why Google Business Profiles Matter for Local SEO
Visibility in the Local Pack
Search up any service on Google, and you’ll see the “Local Pack”, which is the top three search results before any other results appear (In-depth guide to how Google Search works). The Local Pack includes business name, reviews, address, hours of operation, phone number, and website (Understand how Google Sources & uses info in Business Profiles & local search results). Businesses in the top three get more clicks, trust, and overall more actions like calls and website visits which proves the question “Do Google Business Profiles Impact Local SEO?” is yes.
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Relevance to Search Queries
Google shows users the most relevant result for their search. Your primary and secondary categories immensely help local SEO. Your primary category shows your main service, and secondary categories help expand visibility. These categories help users find what they’re looking for and helps Google understand what your business is, therefore making you more likely to show up in local search results.
Engagement Signals
Staying active and frequently updating your profile is surprisingly efficient. By staying active, that means things like Google Posts, adding new photos/videos (Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile), updating services or products (if needed), responding to Q&A, and engaging with reviews (reply to customer reviews both positive and negative).
How Reviews Impact Local SEO
Reviews don’t seem like a big deal, but they can either improve or damage your ranking. Aiming for 40-50 quality reviews is great, and a 4 star review and above helps (Google Local Search Study: Businesses on First Page Have an Avg. 4.4 Star Rating). The more reviews you have, the better. When you have a large number of reviews that are positive, it signals to both potential customers and Google that you are a trusted business. That being said, one of the best things you can do for your ranking, profile, and overall business is to get more reviews. Getting new reviews impacts your ranking as well. Even if you have a lot of reviews, if most of them are years old it doesn’t look as good to Google as new ones. Having fresh, new reviews frequently shows that your business is active and improves SEO. When these reviews have keywords (like your services), that automatically gives you SEO value without trying. One last thing about reviews that is important is responding to reviews (Tips to get more reviews). When you respond to your reviews, it shows trust and signals to Google that you are still active.
How Much Do They Impact Rankings?
Google Business Profiles have a substantial impact on your rankings. Reviews alone can affect your ranking, and so does keyword relevance. Google also uses how big the reviews are, the rating, and the frequency of reviews as ranking factors. As mentioned before, so does responding to the reviews whether they’re good or bad reviews. Just think, the more activity on your profile the better. Of course backlinks and website authority have some impact, but not near as big of an impact as Google reviews do. It is still important to have backlinks and have a high authority website, but reviews and Google Business Profile Optimization affect your rankings more than other SEO methods. In addition to all of this, according to the Pew Research Center, a full 82% of adults almost always read reviews before purchasing items for the first time (Online Reviews). So this not only helps rankings, but helps building trust with customers.
Google’s Local Ranking Factors Explained
Your top ranking factors come from relevance, distance, and prominence (Tips to improve your local ranking on Google). All of these together help users find what they are looking for. This is why it is necessary to have all the correct and relevant information on your business profile, and update as needed. If your information is not accurate (or updated if needed), your profile might not show up on the search results.
How to Get More Google Reviews
Getting more reviews is easier than you’d think. When you meet with a customer, remind them to leave a google review. Making a poster with a QR code to your business profile reminding customers to leave a review will help people remember to leave a review. Replying to all your reviews are helpful as mentioned before. Even bad reviews are not a signal of a bad business. They are a good opportunity to understand your customer, and improve future experiences. Be honest and acknowledge any mistakes you might’ve made (Manage customer reviews). Do not take responsibility for things outside of your control though, and personalize your reply (Tips to get more reviews)
How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Complete Every Section
Completing everything in your profile is huge (Manage your Profile Strength). Filling out everything possible, like services, products, hours, address, and many more helps you be found by customers.
Add Photos
Adding photos surprisingly helps with SEO. Adding new photos or videos to your profile could be as simple as interior/exterior photos, team photos, or work examples. Having many photos and continuing to add more photos can help you rank higher. The reason for this is that it signals to Google that you’re active and real.
Your Google Business Profile and reviews take a big role in how often your business shows up, and whether customers choose you or the competition. While these factors seem easy, optimizing your profile takes time, consistency, and you have to do it correctly. That’s where working with SEO professionals makes all the difference. Contact us here at Raptor at (702) 907-0095.
What do you think? Do Google Business Profiles Impact Local SEO?
