Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is your business card more than that if it’s what it’s going to help make a decision as to whether he should or should not do business with you. GBP is the modern-day version of a storefront. It’s essentially a digital business listing that enables you to connect with your customers on both Search and Maps.
An optimized business profile enables you to display your business name, address, high-quality photos, new offers, service, and products along with anything else that makes your business unique. Customers can interact with your listing by asking questions, uploading photos, and leaving reviews. When you provide up to date contact details, customers can also call, message, or chat with you directly. These days, GBP provides an essential role in helping customers find your business and interact with it both online and offline. Take a look at the role of GBP in the local buyer’s journey.
The Local Buyer’s Journey
A lot of people don’t realize is the power to communicate with your prospect during the local buyer’s journey and optimize for this.
Another thing a lot of people don’t think about is the fact that there is a tremendous amount of business intelligence that can be discovered by looking at user-generated content (UGC) that is left on your Google Business Profile.
The context and content left in reviews of customers who have had an experience with and questions and the answers left on Google Business Profile.
You could even take this a step further and take a look at the types of images that people are uploading to your profile. All of these things can help you improve your business, get more out of Google Business Profile, and at the end of the day help a user on the guided journey of doing business with you.
Lastly, how to use Google Business Profile to get ranked. Most importantly, focus on the user experience.
Here is the ranking shortlist:
- A good GBP business name
- The right categories
- Linking to a good page on your website
- Getting solid reviews
The Steps of the Local Buyer’s Journey and Google Business Profile
Step 1. Unaware of You – Your prospect does a Google search. They do not know you or your service. They have no knowledge about you or your competitors’ services. Not only that, they do not know what makes you different.
Step 2. Issue Aware – Your prospect senses that they have an issue but doesn’t know there is a solution. They will not buy from you at this time. The more Google My Business visibility, the more your prospects will move through the next few critical stages.
Step 3. Solution Aware – Your prospect knows the solution they want, but not that your product or service provides it. How you have optimized your profile at this point is important. Do you have product posts and have you filled out your services? Optimize everything to answer questions a user may have at this point.
Step 4. Product Aware – Your prospect knows what you sell, but isn’t sure it’s right for him/her. This is a key time. They know what you offer, but do not have the faith to reach out. Here is where reviews and Google Q&A come into play.
A majority of users will read reviews left within the last two weeks. They will also read your replies and judge you on the content of both. If you are not paying attention to these reviews, learning from them, and also replying to them then you are leaving a lot on the table. Think about your own behavior, when was the last time you made a purchase? Did the reviews help you decide (I see you shaking your head yes)?
Step 5. Aware and Ready– Your prospect knows your solutions and only needs to know the cost. They are ready to buy. Google My Business optimization (with follow-up via calls, email, or messaging) will position you when they are ready to buy.
Out of all the features on Google Business Profile, reviews are the most valuable part when it comes to learning about your business, whether that learning is for you as a business owner or marketer, or if it is for a consumer learning about your business when they are aware and ready to buy.
Gather, manage, and respond to Google reviews
Beyond ensuring that your Google Business Profile is up to date and optimized, online reviews are one of the most important features for businesses to pay attention to within GBP.
If you’ve got a Google Business listing, customers will be able to review you there, and the review will be publicly visible for all to see, so it’s important to take control of the narrative and actively generate, monitor, and respond to reviews.
Google My Business Reviews
According to Bright Local’s Local Consumer Review Survey, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. Furthermore, only 48% of consumers would use a business with a rating of fewer than 4 stars. So this aspect of GBP really needs to be paid attention to.
The star rating is not the be-all and end-all. What matters to a consumer?
- How old are your most recent reviews?
- Are your reviews left by real profiles?
- How many reviews do you have is an indicator of trust.
- Are your reviews written out? Recommendations are nice, but thoughtful reviews are great.
- Did reviewers leave details about the experience?
- Is the overall sentiment a positive one, and if not did you reply in an empathetic manner?
Thinking about how you can optimize each of those areas might seem like an impossible task, but there are some simple things you can take to make sure your review quality and quantity is up to snuff.
Recent and quantity
To meet consumer expectations on how recent you are going to need to consistently ask for them — you can’t just expect a customer to leave you a review. Most will not leave a review unless they had a truly amazing or horrid experience.
Asking for Google reviews can be done in a few ways, depending on what is best for your audience:
- At the point of sale or when service is complete.
- By email, when a sale or service is completed. (I prefer this right after a successful reinstatement)
- By SMS, a follow-up text is welcome.
Regularly requesting reviews means you’ll be able to show recent reviews on your profiles, proving to consumers that you are in and active.
Length, Legitimacy, and Detail
Unfortunately, fake reviews are pretty common, and so consumers’ trust in online reviews has fallen by the wayside. This is normal and in our nature to be distrustful.
The first step to ensure your reviews look legitimate is to make sure they are. That means never, under any circumstances, buying reviews, incentivizing reviews or making sure only 5 start reviews are left. Reviews should be given by real customers not your friends, family or Fiverr.
How can you ensure your reviews look legitimate? Prompt your reviewers with questions when asking them for a review.
Here are some ideas of what you could ask:
- How did we delight you on your appointment/store visit/product/service today?
- How did you find us?
- Who provided amazing customer service to you?
- Which of our stores did you visit today? (if your business has multiple locations)
- When writing your review, please think of others and how it will benefit them?
- How was your service with us? How did it make you feel?
The more real information your reviews have, the more likely they are to look legitimate and show potential customers that you can be trusted.
Not only will questions like these help you receive more legit-looking reviews, but they’ll also encourage consumers to write more detailed reviews.
It does not matter if you are a franchise or single listing operator. You are helping the consumer make an important decision.
