Do You Really Need a Google Business Profile?
If you’re a business owner, you’re probably constantly getting emails from different web companies telling you how everything is WRONG with your website and your social presence. They send big scary emails with red flags all over them about things that you need to fix now now now. One of the things that they’ll mention is your Google Business Listing or Profile.
So what is it, and do you need to claim yours right now? Let’s break it down.
What is a Google Business Profile?
So when you look up something on Google, you might see the right hand side of the screen highlighting the business that Google thinks matches your search. This is called the Knowledge Panel, and the information pulls in directly from your Google Business Profile (as well as other places). This is also where your business’s reviews live, which show up both here and on the Google Map when someone looks up your business there. In essence, this is where all your vitals live – your hours, what you do, what payments you take, if you need an appointment, etc. If someone Googles you, and it says that you’re closed, it may be because your hours are wrong on your Google Business Profile.
What are they really for?
If you have a business where people physically walk in the door, like a storefront or an office building, your Google Business Profile proves to Google that you’re physically there, and not some kind of front or fake business. That’s why claiming it has an extensive (and sometimes obnoxious) verification process to show that you really are the owner and that your business really is where you say it is.
What if I’m a service based business?
If you own a carpet cleaning business, or maybe pest control and you make house calls (haven’t used that phrase in a while), then you STILL need a Google Business Profile, but you designate a specific “service-area” that you’ll travel in. Sometimes businesses that are franchises call this a “territory” – Bob works for region 2 and he can’t cross into region 3, etc. You still have to prove that you’re the responsible person to control the vital info on your business.
What if my business is online only?
Here’s where it gets a little sticky. If you’re a software manufacturer – let’s say Salesforce for an example – the product “Salesforce” doesn’t need a Google Business Profile, because it’s a thing, not a person. You’re not going to physically go somewhere to use “Salesforce.” But the headquarters of Salesforce the Company, where the people work or do the accounting, DOES need a Google Business Profile so that the average Joe could walk in the door and talk to someone.
Let’s use another example – a financial advisor. Frank the financial advisor has a business called Frank’s Finances, with an office in Orlando and one in Tampa. Since those are physical places that a customer would visit, he needs TWO Google Business Profiles, one for each physical location. Even if his company is a smaller offshoot of one of the big corporate offices, say JP Morgan, his two physical Frank’s Finances offices need to have individual Google Business Profiles, and then JP Morgan itself has it’s own corporate Google Business Profile.
Confused yet?
The simplest way to think about it is that the Google Business Profile is the new phone book. Remember those? If you want to find a plumber, you Google it instead of breaking out the big yellow book. The Google Business Profile is what holds all that info about your business in it.
So if you DO have a business where people walk in your door, or where you provide services on site for clients (residential OR commercial), you DO need to have a profile AND you need to make sure it’s accurate. If you sell on eBay, code video games as a freelancer, or make influencer videos in your basement, you do NOT need a profile.
If you’re still confused, or if you need help claiming, verifying, and filling out your Google Business Profile, give me a call or fill out my contact form. It can be confusing and time consuming to set it up, but once it’s ready and live, it just requires occasional maintenance.
