HOW TO BE PROFESSIONAL WITH A GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE

Marketing Tactics, part 1 from the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (VIC) Conference 2023

What does it mean to be a professional?

There are countless books, videos and Ted Talks on this topic. Being professional means being credible, trustworthy, knowledgable, experienced, educated, qualified, etc. What’s important is that your prospects and clients ‘see’ you as a professional.

So how can you make this happen using your FREE Google Business Profile?

Firstly, yes, it’s free and available for all businesses. Search for ‘How to create a Google Business Profile’, and then follow the prompts. You’ll be guided to set one up for your business in minutes.

And in case you’re wondering if you need a Google Business Profile…

THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE

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Increased visibility

It allows your business to appear in Google Maps and local search results, increasing your online visibility to potential customers in the area.

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Insights

Google Business Profile provides insights into how customers interact with your business, such as how often it appears in search results, how customers find you, and how many customers visit your website or call you from your profile.

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Credibility

Having a Google Business Profile with positive reviews can increase your business’s credibility and trustworthiness among customers. It can also provide valuable feedback to improve your business.

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Local SEO

It can help improve your local search engine optimisation (SEO), making you more likely to appear in local search results and increase your online presence in the community. By keeping the profile up-to-date with relevant, keyword-friendly and valuable content, plus engaging with customers, your business can improve its SEO and attract more qualified customers.

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Free marketing

It allows your business to showcase its products, services, hours of operation, and other information. It also allows you to add photos, videos, and posts to attract more customers and increase engagement.

So yes, it’s a must!

Now, once you’ve uploaded all the relevant information, again following the prompts will make this a breeze; you’ll need to consider the following critical aspects to ensure that you are optimising your online presence.

#1 HOW MANY REVIEWS?

The magic number is 20! So that might be easy to get after a couple of years in business, but you need to ensure they are not old. At least every month, request a review from your clients. In fact, you should have this as part of your Post-Delivery service for all clients. Then you won’t have to remember all the time, which you’ll inevitably forget to do.

Having many good reviews that are several years old defeats the purpose of having them in the first place. Dated reviews don’t build trust with your prospects or create a sense that your business is still operating at its best and that your clients are happy to share great reviews. So many people look at business reviews and make buying decisions from them. Having up-to-date reviews is a must to maintain a high level of professionalism.

#2 WHOM CAN YOU ASK?

Ask your Brand Audience; this comprises your payers, promoters and partners.

Ask your Payers. They are your actual clients who have paid for your products and services.
Ask your Promoters. They are the people in the organisations that help spread the word about your business’s amazing work. Think of your referrers (those who see the problem your payers have before, during and after they need you) and the media you’ve worked with to build your brand (blog posts, articles, interviews, appearances, etc.).

3. Ask your Partners. They are the people who work together on projects to deliver a more comprehensive solution to your clients than you can on your own. For our business, it’s our Graphic Designer, Copywriter, Photographers, Videographers, Web Developers, Social Media Marketers, Business Coaches, etc.

#3 HOW TO REQUEST A REVIEW?

Personalise this process. Yes, it will take longer than sending bulk emails to your clients. But this is the best way to get great reviews and get them fast. So pick up the phone and call every client to kindly request them to write you a short review on your Google Business Profile. And, while you’re there, why not ask them to copy and paste it on your LinkedIn profile as a recommendation?

But the phone call is for you to talk with your client, not leave a voicemail with your request. So only leave a voicemail asking your client to call you back. When they do, then you ask them.

And how do you ask for a Google Review?

Say, “Would you be opposed to writing me a short Google review?”

Which client that’s happy with your service would be ‘opposed‘ to writing you a review? It’s a better way to ask a yes/no question when you want a yes response. Try this next time you want a yes answer from your partner or kids … let me know how that goes! You’re welcome 🤩

#4 REMEMBER TO POST OFTEN!

Did you know that apart from setting the times of operation, address and other details, you can post content, just like you do on Social Media? Yup! Right on your Google Business Profile. This is like having another slice of internet real estate for free! And it’s all perfect for your SEO.

There is a limit, though, of 1500 characters (approx. 210-380 words) that you can add to each image. So you may need to break up your copy over several images. Think ‘Carousels’ on Instagram, where you can have up to 10 images to spread your copy.

But how often should I add content? I hear you ask.

The experts say once a day is preferred, but at least once a week is necessary. If you’re getting started, work on 1-2 per month, and after a few months, see if you can increase this by 1-2 per month. Whatever your posting frequency is, make sure it’s sustainable, or it will quickly drop off your list of things to do, and it will become a thing of the past. Something you started, but it was never maintained. This is an excellent task to pass on to your Virtual Assistant too. Show them once and where to access your content, and then it will get done!

#5 REPLY TO REVIEWS WITH DETAILS

When responding to a positive Google review, it’s essential to personalize the response to show appreciation for the customer’s experience. Start by thanking the reviewer for their feedback and mentioning their name to make the response more personal. Then, highlight the aspects your business did well that made their experience great. Also, remember to include any challenges you may have helped your client overcome, any extras r add-ons that enhanced their experience or pitfalls you saved them from with your expertise.

For example, if a customer left a positive review about a hotel, the business owner could respond by saying, “Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such a glowing review, John! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us and that our friendly staff and comfortable rooms made your trip even better. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back soon!”

Acknowledging the customer by name and highlighting specific aspects of their experience shows that the business values their feedback and cares about providing a great experience.

Your Google reviews and comments are about your client’s experience but are also ‘buying signals’ to your prospects. Your Google reviews are being read by others to help them make a buying decision, so including extra information about how you helped each client adds more value to your prospects and positions your business as a leading choice for them.

There you have it.

Apart from knowing that it’s a dam good idea to have a Google Business Profile for your business, you also have 4 top tips for maintaining it year after year.

So get cracking with your Google Business Profile, build it and maintain it so you look every part the professional you are.

And one more thing. If you want to find other ways to optimise your brand, check out our Brand Scorecards. There’s one for your Personal Brand and one for your Business Brand.

Personal and Business Brand Scorecards

We’ve designed two Brand Scorecards, tailor-made for two specific scenarios: Personal Brand and a Business Brand.

LEARN MORE