Google Business Profile Optimization Checklist 2024

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) serves as a digital business card and is essentially the most important listing if you own a local business that wants to attract local customers. In local SEO, the GBP is even more essential than your website, as most people who search for local businesses will look at the local map pack (the small Google Maps excerpt with the GBP listings underneath) or check Google Maps directly. Thus, you need to ensure that your GBP stands out among these searches.

How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile?

A fully optimized GBP can not only gain general online visibility but also attract new customers to your location (or service) as they get all the information they need to assess whether your business is what they are looking for.

The following steps must be taken to fully optimize your GBP so it meets the 2024 standards recommended by local SEO experts:

1. Claim or create your Google Business Profile
2. Verify your Google Business Profile
3. Optimize your business details, including name, address, phone number, opening hours, business categories, attributes, etc.
4. Add a local SEO-friendly description
5. Add high-quality images and videos
6. Add relevant products, services, or industry-specific options (e.g. menus)
7. Pre-fill the Q&A section
8. Use Google Posts daily
9. Add a booking link
10. Add your social media channels
11. Ask for customer reviews and respond to them
12. Monitor your GBP insights regularly

Let’s take a detailed look at what each step entails. By following our guide step by step, you will have a fully optimized GBP at the end, setting you up for success and attracting new local clients to your business.

Claim or Create Your Google Business Profile

Before you can optimize your GBP you need to either create one or, if Google already created a listing for you, you need to claim it. To create or claim your GBP:

1. Sign in to Google Business and search for your business name.
2. Claim your listing if it already exists or create a new profile if your business is not yet listed.

Verify Your Google Business Profile

Before your GBP becomes publicly available and can be found in local searches, it requires verification. The verification process is essential because Google wants to prevent fake listings or unauthorized changes to an existing listing. Verification methods may vary, including options like postcard, phone, email, or, in some cases, instant verification (if you are already verified in Google Search Console). If you manage more than 10 locations for your business, you might qualify for bulk verification.

When you sign in to Google Business, you will see “Verify now” on your dashboard. Click on the button and complete the steps shown on-screen.

Learn everything about the complete Google Business verification process and what to do if your verification fails or if you are asked to re-verify your business.

Optimize Your Business Details

The next step is to ensure all your business details are aligned. Make sure to fill in the same details that are presented on your website, official documents, and other directories across the web. Keeping your business details consistent online is called NAP Consistency and is an important ranking factor for local SEO. Google wants to ensure you do not have contradicting data about your business online, as this could confuse potential customers. The following details should be filled in:

• General Business Details: Add your business name, address, phone number, and website link.
• Opening hours: Add your general opening hours and special opening hours (holiday opening hours).
• Business categories: Choose your primary category carefully (be as specific as possible) and add relevant secondary categories.
• Attributes: Select specific attributes that best describe your offerings, such as “Women-owned” or “Wheelchair accessible.” The more information you provide, the better the first impression of your GBP will be (among customers and search engines).

Add a Local SEO-Friendly Description

You can add a description to let customers and Google know more about your business. Consider the following aspects to craft a compelling and local SEO-friendly description that leaves a great first impression:

• Keyword research: Use a free keyword research tool (e.g., Google Keyword Planner) to find relevant keywords for your business. Make sure you research localized keywords (e.g., restaurant near me or restaurant in [city]) and choose keywords with a high search volume. In your description, use one primary keyword (e.g., restaurant in [city]) and 2-3 sub-keywords (e.g., dishes or unique selling points).
• Services or products: Describe your core services or products, focusing on your unique selling proposition.
• Primary location: Mention your city, neighborhood, and surroundings to reach local customers effectively. Remember not to overdo it with your keywords. Nowadays, you don’t need keyword stuffing to be recognized by search engines; in fact, it would have the opposite effect. These days, search engines are well-trained to understand context, so focus on a natural integration of relevant keywords.

Add High-Quality Images and Videos

A photo speaks more than a thousand words! So, choose high-quality images and perhaps a video (if applicable) to give insights into your business's daily operations and offerings. Consider the following suggestions to choose the best visual aids possible:

• High-resolution images: Add photos of your storefront, interior, team, and products to reflect your business’s unique atmosphere.
• Short videos: Create a brief, engaging video showcasing what sets your business apart or highlighting a popular product or service.
• Images of your business: Show the interior and exterior of your business, as well as your staff and special features. You can also include the surrounding neighborhood. Sometimes, even an image of your front door can be useful if it’s generally difficult to navigate to your business. This helps potential customers feel confident in recognizing your business easily.
• Images of your offerings: Show your dishes, hotel rooms, amenities, and products - essentially, present what customers can expect. What you show in your images can differ per industry.

Add Relevant Products, Services, or Industry-Specific Options

Services, products, brands, or industry-specific options are additional details that can help potential customers decide on a business. Consider filling in the required fields:

• Services and brands: Include services and brands (e.g., if you are a hair salon, add services such as “hair extensions” and brands like “Kerastase”).
• Products: If you offer products, make sure to provide a good description and include prices.
• Industry-specific details: For example, restaurants can add menus, while service-based businesses like salons can list pricing for popular services. Hotels can list their room prices. Adding this information can be very helpful for Google and potential customers to get an even clearer picture of your business and offerings. It can also prevent unnecessary doubts or confusion, as customers will know exactly whether your business meets their needs.

Pre-Fill the Q&A Section

Many customers may have recurring questions. Pre-fill your Q&A section with questions frequently asked by past customers. If you’ve had your GBP for some time, there might already be questions from people. In that case, it’s recommended to answer these questions (even if helpful past customers have already provided answers). By responding, you show customers that you’re approachable and committed to providing excellent customer service.

Use Google Posts Daily

Google Posts is a microblogging feature of your GBP that allows you to share daily updates in the form of an image with a caption and Call to Action (link to a designated page or an incentive to call you). Set up Google Posts by considering the following:

• Schedule a post daily: Regular updates keep your profile active and engaging, signaling to Google that your business is active and has interesting things going on. Planning a post for each day of the week is ideal, but if that’s not feasible, aim to post at least from Monday to Friday.
• Include high-quality images: High-quality images not only attract interest in the post itself but will also appear in your GBP image gallery, allowing you to control the visual aesthetic of your GBP.
• Highlight offers and events: Use posts to share limited-time offers or promote upcoming events.
• Use engaging and informative captions: Write a short caption that includes relevant keywords from your keyword research. Ensure captions are informative and engaging, sparking interest and encouraging potential customers to visit your website, call you, or come directly to your location.
• Use a compelling CTA: The Call to Action supports your caption by allowing you to include a link to a designated page (e.g., “Book now” leading to your booking form) or encourages interested viewers to give you a call. Google Posts allow you to integrate more keywords into your GBP, which can boost your visibility. Moreover, you signal to Google that you’re an active business. You also increase the chances of direct engagement with your target audience, which can attract new customers. Google Posts functions like a mini social media platform within your GBP.

Add a Booking Link

If you are a restaurant, hotel, or if you provide services requiring appointments, we recommend adding a booking link to your GBP. With a booking link directly on your GBP, you make it even easier for potential customers to choose your business - they won’t need to click through to your website to find the booking form. Connect your GBP with a third-party booking provider of your choice:

• Select “Bookings” in your GBP settings
• Select a provider of your choice and sign up for it
• Within one week your booking provider will show up automatically on your GBP

Add Your Social Media Channels

You can link your social media channels, such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn, to your GBP. By linking these channels, you establish a stronger brand presence and make it easier for potential customers to learn more about your business. Switching between channels becomes seamless, and it also helps demonstrate that your business is legitimate by showing a presence on multiple platforms.

Our tip: Search engines like Bing consider social media content a direct ranking factor for local SEO. By keeping your social media up-to-date and active, you can directly influence your online visibility and attract more customers.

Ask for Customer Reviews and Respond to Them

Customer reviews and maintaining a high overall rating are crucial for increasing online visibility. A steady flow of positive reviews and a quick response rate to these reviews are essential. Follow these steps to collect more reviews and ensure a strong overall rating:

• Ask personally for reviews: When your customer is about to leave, ask them for a review. This could be at the end of a meal, consultation, or stay at your hotel. Train your staff to consistently ask satisfied customers to leave a review.
• Print QR codes: Make it easy for customers to leave a review by printing a QR code on signs, receipts, or flyers. The QR code should lead directly to your GBP review section. To retrieve the link, click on “Ask for reviews” in your GBP settings.
• Create a review campaign: Send follow-up emails to customers who booked appointments or services online. Once the job is completed, send an email with the link to your GBP, politely requesting their feedback.

Redirect negative reviews to a private survey: To better control your overall rating, use the Obenan Review Management Tool to create a review campaign that redirects negative feedback to a private survey. This way, you can collect feedback for internal use without it appearing on your GBP. Once a review is submitted, ensure you respond within a maximum of 24 hours (even better if you manage to reply within one hour). This signals to Google that your business is active and values customer feedback, whether positive or negative. Additionally, it shows your customers that you care about them, which can encourage more potential customers to choose your business over competitors.

With Obenan, you can not only create review campaigns but also automatically reply to incoming reviews in your brand’s tone of voice. This ensures a prompt response to incoming reviews without requiring you to reply personally.

Learn more about our Review Management Tool.

Monitor Your Google Business Profile Insights Regularly

You need to check in regularly to assess if your GBP is performing well or if specific sections need optimization.

• In your GBP insights, you can access data on the following:
• Impressions: Learn how many people viewed your GBP profile.

• Searches breakdown: This metric shows the keywords that drive the most traffic to your GBP.

• Business Profile interactions: Gain insights into how many potential customers interact with your business.

• Website clicks: See how many potential clients clicked through to your website from your GBP.

• Directions: This metric shows how many people requested directions to your business on Google Maps (for brick-and-mortar businesses; for service area businesses, this metric is less useful).

• Bookings: Get insights on how many people booked a service or appointment directly via your GBP.
• Menu (only for restaurants): Analyze menu views to identify which dishes attract the most interest and drive potential customers to your restaurant. If your results are declining, review whether you’ve followed all the steps in this guide properly. Next, examine if it might be helpful to change your keywords or adjust your business category. Furthermore, GBP is constantly evolving, so by the time you’re checking your results, new updates might already be in effect that could be impacting your interactions. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated!

Wrapping Up - Optimizing Your GBP Requires Constant Monitoring

Local SEO, and by extension your GBP optimization, is not a one-time effort. It requires constant monitoring because Google frequently publishes updates, and users can also suggest edits to your GBP. If you don’t reject these edits within 48 hours (which can happen faster than you think, especially during a busy week), they’ll be published and could distort your online presence. Additionally, it’s essential to post Google Posts regularly and respond to reviews promptly.

To make this easier, we recommend our Obenan local SEO tools. These tools not only keep your business details on your GBP accurate at all times but also synchronize them with over 130 business directories for enhanced exposure and increased online visibility. Review management becomes effortless with automated processes, from gathering reviews through review campaigns, redirecting negative feedback to private surveys, and responding to reviews on your behalf. Google Posts can be scheduled once and set to rotate, allowing you to post new content consistently with a single setup. These and many more great automations are included in our local SEO tools.