Wondering whether or not it’s really worth taking the time to optimize your GBP (Google Business Profile)? The answer: Definitely.
When our team at First Rank Search Engine Optimization was approached by a local business that wanted to engage our services for GBP optimization only, we accepted the challenge with our usual tenacity and commitment to strategic planning. One year later, our client’s business, which is in the custom furniture repair and restoration niche, is consistently ranking in top positions for multiple targeted keywords and receiving triple the number of phone call actions per month that it was at the start of our campaign.
The business is enjoying drastically increased online visibility as a result of effective and consistent GBP optimization strategies, and we expect this trend to continue.
How has the team at First Rank increased local business leads for this particular client and many others through the strategic management of its GBP profile alone? Let’s take a closer look:
Why GBP Profiles Are Important for SEO
A GBP profile (formerly GMB—Google My Business) is a free Google business listing that helps businesses show up in Google searches as well as across a wide variety of other platforms, including Google Maps. An effectively managed GBP profile provides accurate and essential business information while showcasing optimized images, reviews, and interactive features. It can dramatically boost a business’s odds of achieving a Local Pack ranking and is a critical element of any effective local SEO strategy.
Our Strategy: Simple and Effective
At First Rank, we use a wide range of cutting-edge tools, techniques, and approaches to drive organic traffic to our clients’ websites, but we also know how to leverage SEO fundamentals impactfully. In this case, our approach to GBP optimization was targeted and elegantly simple.
Using research-backed methodology, we were able to track an unmistakable upward trend in our client’s keyword rankings, online visibility, and organic website traffic within just a couple of months:
Business Profile Completeness
We started by evaluating our client’s current GBP profile and then began to bolster it to ensure it was as updated, optimized, and interactive as possible:
- We added a wealth of images, which was particularly important given our client’s niche. Some were from the business account while others were uploaded by satisfied clients as the result of a request we’d sent out to them.
- All images were properly and consistently tagged (GBP tagging options include Interior, Exterior, Products/Services, and Employees/Team). We understand that, in the world of GBP optimization, it’s better to have a few properly tagged images than a glut of untagged ones. But having a large quantity of properly tagged images is the best option of all!
- We filled out existing GBP services with proper descriptions and added additional ones that were missing. We also made sure that each service description had a corresponding service page on our client’s website.
- Regular posts were added to our clients’ GBP, and necessary updates were made on an ongoing basis.
A complete and active GBP profile can contribute to drastic improvements in targeted keyword rankings, such as the ones seen below. Note that the keyword phrase “furniture repair Winnipeg” is up 98 spots!
Engaging With Customers
In today’s digital marketplace, online reviews, ratings, and testimonials are an indispensable currency. We recommended that our client use reputation management software to generate more reviews, which now appear on the business’s GBP profile and can also be featured on its website.
Generally speaking, a local business needs approximately 10 online reviews in order for it to start influencing and impacting search engine rankings. Our client now has more than 50.
Citation Building
Citations are references to a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). In addition to a business’s GBP profile, NAP citations may appear in various locations across the internet, including contact pages, review sites, event sites, online directories, and more.
Consistent citations demonstrate to search engines that a business is legitimate and that its NAP information is reliable and accurate. NAP citation building and management have been integral components of the SEO strategy we’ve implemented for our furniture restoration client.
Category Optimization
Category optimization is an essential element of effective GBP profile setup and management. Businesses have the option to select both primary and secondary categories when setting up their GBP, and at First Rank, we recommend basing the selection of the primary category on what the majority of competitors have selected as their primary category.
Many businesses stop there, but at First Rank, our team recognizes the opportunity that also selecting secondary categories provides. Adding more targeted keywords and services to the profile via secondary category optimization is a savvy and strategic way to boost rankings. This is exactly what we did for the client featured in this case study, with excellent results.
Our Results: Unprecedented Visibility and Rankings
Since working with us to optimize its GBP profile, its online visibility has measurably increased in various ways.
It is now maintaining overall higher rankings for targeted keywords, including consistent #1 positions over time:
Its mobile impressions (the number of times a website appears in search results) have tripled in just one year, as have its website and phone call actions!
Work With First Rank for GBP Profile Optimization
As revealed in this case study, GBP profile optimization can have powerful benefits for local businesses when carried out with expertise and professionalism. Create an accurate, interactive, and fully optimized Google Business Profile and experience the incredible difference it can make for your business!
Ready to learn more about how your business can benefit from working with the exceptional First Rank team? Contact us directly today!
