Stand out from the crowd with google business profile

How to stand out from the crowd and get more customers with a Google Business profile.

Building your online presence is essential for connecting with customers and bringing in new business.

With so many resources and online channels available, knowing where to start can be a challenge, but Google Business is a powerful resource that can help. By easily establishing a digital presence and sharing the important details of your business with potential customers, setting up an account should be on your radar to grow your business.

What is a Google Business Profile?

From sharing opening hours to listing contact information, a Google Business Profile can help get all important information in front of customers, to help them easily engage with your business.

What’s more, you don’t need to find a specialist to help you set it up – and, even better, it’s free. To get started, all you need to do is provide your logo, phone number, location, opening hours, photos and website address. When complete, you’ll simply need to verify your business by email or phone. Once you do that, your business information will be available on Google for all to see.

How does it work?

Essentially, it acts like a digital phone book that enables your business to show up on Google Maps and appear in local search engine results when someone looks for the product or service you offer.

A Google Business Profile shows potential customers where, and how, to visit your business – whether your service is available online or from a set location. It improves SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) too, so your website appears higher in search results and your business is more likely to be recommended when people search for nearby businesses when using Google Maps.

Why should you set up a profile?

According to Google, customers are 70% more likely to visit and are 50% more likely to consider buying from your business after you set up a Google Business Profile. In short, it’s an easy, free way to drive customers to your website and help your business get noticed and stand out among competitors.

Plus, it lets you update customers with essential details, so they never miss out. You can share updates on whether you’ve expanded your services, introduced new products or closed for a holiday, as well as when you reopen following essential maintenance, or a refurbishment, for example.

It’s also a great free form of advertising because it lets customers share their experiences in real-time by submitting reviews, ratings and photos. People trust reviews left by others. Businesses worldwide heavily rely on customers spreading the word about their products or services. In fact, 90% of people are much more likely to trust a recommended brand – even if it’s from a stranger. A profile lets customers take their word-of-mouth marketing to the web.

Making the most of Google Business

Google is the world’s most visited website and one that customers use the most to find what they’re looking for. Creating a Google Business Profile is a simple, free way of attracting new customers, so if you haven’t created one yet, you’re missing out on a powerful advertising opportunity. After all, it’s a meaningful way of building trust and credibility for you and your business – and, once you’re set up, you’ll start seeing its benefits in no time.

Keep your Google Business Profile Updated

So, you’ve created your own Google Business Profile – but what comes next? Now you need to take on the equally important task of keeping your profile information up to date.

Review your information often

When details about your business change, updating your Google Business Profile should be high on your priority list to avoid customers seeing outdated information. So, regularly updating your profile is a must – and the more changes you make, the easier you can be found on Maps and Google Search.

If your business is moving location, you’ve opened another shop, or your opening hours and contact information have changed (even if it's just for a national holiday) – you’ll need to make these changes to help customers have the right information about where, when, and how to find you.

Share the responsibility

We know that running a business is more than a full-time job. That's why Google lets you share the responsibility of updating your Profile by adding Owners and Managers. For example, if you have a second location, you can put the manager of that shop in charge of their local Profile.

Owners have full permission to edit the details of your business and can add and remove other users too. While Managers have the same editing permissions as Owners, they aren’t able to add or remove other users.

Only a Profile Owner can invite others to become Owners and Managers. Each person you add will have their own access and you don’t need to share your login information with them.

Here’s how to add another user:

1. Go to your Business Profile.

2. If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.

3. Click ‘Users’ from the menu

4. In the top right corner, click the invite new managers icon

5. Enter the name or email address of the person you’d like to add

6. Select the user's role by choosing ‘Owner’ or ‘Manager’

7. Click ‘Invite’

Want to remove someone you’ve added? Click on the ‘manager' icon, then select the person you’d like to remove.

How do I edit and make changes to my Profile?

If you need to change information like your address, business hours, contact information or photos, follow these steps:

1. Log into your Google Business Profile

2. Select ‘Edit Profile’ and ‘Business Information’

3. Make your edits

4. Don’t forget to save your changes after each edit

The best thing about a Google Business Profile is that it’s free to create. However, it's only useful if you update it regularly, so make sure you take care of it. So, we recommend setting yourself a reminder every couple of months to make sure all the information is up to date.


Still unsure how to get started? Discover how to take the next step by chatting to one of our friendly V-Hub Digital Advisers.