How to Improve Your Google Business Profile (GBP) in 2023 to Drive More Local Traffic

You have two choices if you want local, focused traffic:

• dominate national or international search results
• Rank your local Google Business Profile listing.

Some companies combine the two, but it costs time and money to rank your website.

Want to increase traffic without waiting a long time for SEO?

Although you may undoubtedly optimise your website for local SEO to drive local visitors, doing so will take a lot of effort and money.

Focusing on your Google Business Profile (formerly “Google My Business”) will increase traffic more quickly and with less expense.

Google Business Profile: What is it?

A free company listing kept in Google’s database is called a “Google My Business Profile.” The Google network will feature business listings in a variety of locations, including search results, Google Maps, and Google Shopping.

It appears to operate exactly like any other company listing. You might showcase images of your company, identify your services, post your operating hours, and include your contact information. It contributes significantly to driving traffic from Google searches on a deeper level.

1. Sign in to your Google Business Profile account

2. Select your business category

Select the category that most accurately describes your company, and then click “next.”

3. Set your location

Decide whether or not you have a physical location that clients may visit to set your location. You will be prompted to provide your address if you do. Make sure to place the map marker as precisely as you can when asked to add one.

You will be required to list the places you serve if you don’t have a physical address for your clients but nevertheless provide in-person services or deliveries. After entering this data, select “next.”

4. Add your contact information

You should provide your phone number and website address in this box. If you’d rather not be reached by phone, you can omit your phone number, although it’s a good idea to have one anyhow.

5. Check your company.

This action is crucial. You will be required to provide a physical mailing address in order to prove that you are the company owner or authorized representative. Only Google will have access to this address, which will be concealed from public view.

To completely activate your listing, you will need the verification number that Google will give you via postcard at this address. To authenticate your business if you already have a code, go here.

6. Customize your listing profile

In this phase, you’ll provide more detailed information like your company description, operating hours, images, and preferred methods of contact. Clicking “continue” after finishing this section will take you to your Business Profile Manager dashboard. You can use these tools to maintain your listing, reviews, read and respond to messages, and even make some Google PPC advertising.

To increase traffic, optimize your Google Business profile.

1. Recognise the traffic sources for your Google Business Profile.

In order to optimize, it is crucial to understand how your GBP generates traffic. Three aspects, in total, affect local search ranking:

• how well a user’s search phrases match your listing. Your listing will be more likely to appear in the results if it is more pertinent.
• How far your business is from the user’s location?
• How popular your business is in your niche. This factor includes the number of reviews you have, your review score, and some SEO factors like how many backlinks you have.

Here is how it functions on the user’s end of things. Results in GBP are shown above results from organic searches. In those results, a properly optimized

Google Business Profile will appear. Even if your site pages never appear in search results, you will still receive traffic if your GBP does.

Here is how the back end functions. Using a user’s IP address, Google may determine their country of origin. Based on the zip code you include in your listing, Google also knows the location of your company.

A number of Google Business Profiles are shown at the top of the page when a user searches for a business similar to yours, with a preference for nearby establishments.

Many consumers will click on your listing rather than scrolling down to the organic search results when you optimise your GBP to appear in search results.

Understanding this provides you the advantage of being able to optimise your listing by providing a variety of keywords connected to your company that people may look for.

For instance, if you own a Mexican restaurant, you can use names for the specific foods you serve (such as enchiladas and tacos) to draw customers who are especially looking for such items.

Your local SEO will improve if you have a Google Business Profile since local users seeking for nearby businesses are more likely to find your listing in the search results.