How to Grow Google Your Business Profile Audience

Growing your Google Business Profile (GBP) audience is crucial for improving visibility, attracting local customers, and boosting your online presence. With over 5.6 billion searches made on Google each day, optimizing your GBP can help you stand out and reach potential customers in your area. But how exactly do you grow your audience? In this article, we’ll explore practical, expert-backed strategies on how to grow your Google Business Profile audience, while ensuring your profile ranks higher in local search results.

Why Google Business Profile Matters Before diving into strategies, it’s essential to understand why your Google Business Profile matters. GBP plays a key role in local SEO and impacts how potential customers discover and interact with your business online. According to Search Engine Land, "a well-optimized GBP can improve a business’s chances of being featured in Google’s local pack, increasing local traffic." Additionally, studies by BrightLocal suggest that 84% of consumers use Google to search for local businesses. Therefore, having an active and optimized profile is a critical asset for local visibility.

Key Strategies to Grow Your Google Business Profile Audience

Complete and Optimize Your Profile The first and most important step in growing your audience is ensuring your profile is complete and optimized. According to Neil Patel, "A fully filled-out profile helps you rank higher and appear more credible to users." Here's what to include:

• Business Name: Ensure your business name is accurate and matches your branding across all platforms.
• Address and Phone Number: Use consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information across your GBP, website, and social media profiles.
• Business Category: Select the most relevant category for your business to increase your chances of showing up in related searches.
• Website URL: Link to a well-optimized landing page or homepage for better user experience.
• Business Hours: Keep your hours up-to-date, especially during holidays and special events.

Encourage Customer Reviews and Respond to Them Reviews are one of the top-ranking factors for local SEO. Research by Moz shows that reviews account for about 15% of the ranking weight in local search algorithms. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and be proactive in responding to both positive and negative feedback. Responding to reviews not only builds trust but also signals to Google that you’re active in managing your business profile.

According to Matt Diggity, an SEO expert, "Google values businesses that engage with their customers. Responding to reviews regularly shows that you care about customer experience, which can help improve your ranking."

Post Regularly on Your GBP Google Business Profile posts are an underutilized feature that can help increase visibility. These posts allow you to share updates, offers, events, and more. Google rewards businesses that use all of its features, including posts.

You should post:

• Promotions or offers
• New products or services
• Upcoming events
• Seasonal updates or business news

Use High-Quality Images and Videos Visual content is a powerful tool for engaging potential customers. According to HubSpot, posts with images receive 94% more views than those without. Google encourages businesses to upload high-quality images of their products, services, and location. Videos can also help you stand out in search results and showcase your business more engagingly.

Be sure to:

• Add a logo and cover photo: This ensures brand consistency.
• Upload images of your team, office, and products/services: Help customers get a feel for your business.
• Use videos to highlight new products or behind-the-scenes content.

Leverage Google Questions and Answers Google Business Profile’s Q&A section allows users to ask questions about your business. Answering these promptly and accurately can provide valuable information to potential customers while boosting your profile's engagement rate. Google also indexes these questions and answers, so the more helpful and relevant content you provide, the more likely you'll appear in search results for specific queries.

Matt Diggity advises, "Use the Q&A feature as an opportunity to include keywords and address common customer pain points. This not only improves customer experience but also helps you rank better in search."

Add Special Attributes and Services Google allows businesses to list special attributes such as "Women-Led," "LGBTQ-Friendly," and services like "Curbside Pickup" or "Online Appointments." Adding these special attributes can help your profile stand out and reach a more targeted audience.

By offering more specific information about what your business provides, you make it easier for potential customers to choose you over the competition.

Optimize for Mobile and Voice Search Mobile searches now account for over 60% of Google searches, and voice search is also growing in popularity, especially for local queries like “find a plumber near me” or “best coffee shop in my area.” To optimize for mobile and voice search:

• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly: Use responsive design and fast loading speeds.
• Incorporate long-tail keywords: These tend to match natural speech patterns in voice searches.
• Use structured data and schema markup: This helps search engines understand your business information better, improving local rankings.

Track and Analyze Performance Regularly monitoring the performance of your Google Business Profile is key to understanding what’s working and where you can improve. Use Google Insights to track how users are finding your profile, the actions they’re taking (clicks, calls, website visits), and which search queries are bringing in traffic. By analyzing this data, you can adjust your strategies to focus on what drives the most engagement.

Expert Insights on Growing Your Google Business Profile Audience

According to BrightLocal, "76% of people who conduct a local search visit a business within 24 hours." This highlights the importance of local SEO for business growth. SEO expert Neil Patel also emphasizes the need for consistency: "Consistency in your business information across platforms—especially on Google—builds trust with both Google’s algorithm and your audience."

Conclusion: Boost Your GBP Audience for Long-Term Growth

Growing your Google Business Profile audience requires a combination of optimization, engagement, and consistent effort. By completing your profile, encouraging reviews, posting regularly, and utilizing all of Google's features, you can significantly improve your local SEO and visibility. Whether you're a small business or a larger enterprise, these tactics will help you reach more customers and grow your online presence.

To take your Google Business Profile to the next level, implement these expert-backed strategies today, and see your audience grow day by day