Google and Galao

 


    Coffee shops near me. If you look at my Google search history, this is something you’ll find, and you’ll find that I’ve searched it often. If I’m out and about somewhere other than my hometown, I’m probably going to need help finding a place to caffeinate my college brain that isn’t a Starbucks. So, I pull up my phone, type my search into Google, and bam! A list of shops near me, along with their Google Business Profile. I’m sure you’re familiar with Google Business Profiles, but in case you need a refresher, let’s get coffee and come back. And hey, if you’ve never had a Portuguese Galao, there’s no better time than this to give it a try.


    There’s just something about the frothiness of a Galao that makes it taste so much richer than a latte, wouldn’t you agree? But enough coffee talk, let’s get back to business profiles. A Google Business Profile is the result that comes up when you search for a business. Oftentimes, it’ll show the business name, a star rating based on consumer Google reviews (that you can look through if you so desire), the average price range of the items sold at the business, business hours, and then options to view the menu. Also listed on the GBP is the phone number, address, and links to the business’ website. In addition to the initial profile, GBP has implemented a post feature, where businesses can share updates, photos, and information in the style of a social media platform. These pages are often the first thing consumers see when looking for your business online—in fact, Hansika Vaid from SocialPilot tells us that “70% of your potential customers look up your business online before making a purchase decision or visiting”— and if your business doesn’t have a GBP, then consumers are left to find your virtual presence through more searching and, in today’s world, the longer it takes to find information, the less inclined consumers are to continue to search for it. We are a society of instant information and instant gratification— this is why Google Business Profiles are crucial elements to your marketing strategy, and why I’m going to give you my top three tips on how to successfully use GBP.


Tip Number 1

Add as much information as you can when creating your GBP. When you set up your Google Business Profile, it will prompt you to fill in things like your business name, business type, area served, phone number, address, and will ask you to verify the legitimacy of your business. When your listing is complete, you will have options to add more information such as hours of operation and photos of your business, as well as set up a messaging function. Experts Tushar Pol and Connor Lahey from Semrush say that “information like operating hours and business photos will help your potential customers reach you better.” The more information you fill out, the more convenient it is for searchers to find what they need.




Tip Number 2

Take advantage of the updates function. GBP isn’t just a basic source of information—it also holds a promotional function. By using the updates section of GBP, you are able to create small sections that look like ads, featuring information and/or photos, that will be visible when a consumer clicks on your business to view our GBP. SocialPilot’s Hansika Vaid states that “A GBP post can contain information about events, special offers, promotions, new products/services, etc. that you want to share with your customers. The post may contain, images, videos, URLs and calls-to-action.” If its new, exciting, and something people should know about, it probably should be on your GBP updates.





Tip Number 3

Update your Updates frequently. Updates can be an incredible feature for advertising, but that’s only true if you keep them current. Each Update lasts for a total of seven days before it expires, so if you make a post on a Monday, you will need to be thinking about your next post the following Sunday night. Just like any social media platform, you have to use it to gain interaction and engagement, and keeping on top of things with GBP Updates is a great way to start, because your main audience on GBP is people who have yet to have an experience with your business! These Updates can give you a good boost on website clicks, direction requests, and those in-person visits. In fact, SocialPilot's Hansika Vaid shares, "businesses which continuously keep updating photos on their listings tend to receive 42% more requests for directions on Google Maps. They also get 35% more clicks through to their websites.”


Google Business Profile is so much more than just a search result. Its a landing page for new customers, a refresher page for repeats, and one of the best places to share promotions, discounts, and service updates. No brand or business is complete without a GBP, and hopefully these tips will help to you create or revamp your brand's Google Business Profile to be the best that it can be so that you can reach a larger audience, and the audience can reach you. Go forth, and GBP.

Thanks for reading, 
The Caffeinated College Student

Comments

  1. Careena's AdventuresApril 21, 2024 at 10:42 PM

    I love the tone and voice throughout your post. The theming is a delight to read and I love the concept of including coffee-related examples and language. I also learned about a new type of coffee drink, so that was a plus! As far as the content itself, it's very well-organized, easy to read, and includes plenty of your own thoughts among the source material. I like how you've used headings in bold, with the first line of each section italicized. This furthers helps to break down the text to make it easier to digest. Great work! I look forward to seeing what other content you "brew" in the future!

    ReplyDelete

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