GBP: A Beginner's Guide to Google Business Profile and Posts

Introduction

Are you looking to improve your business's online visibility and attract more customers? If so, then you need to know about Google Business Profile (GBP).

What is GBP?

Google Business Profile is a powerful, free tool for businesses to enhance their online presence and engage with customers. With this tool, businesses can claim and manage their business information on Google Maps, Search, and other Google platforms, ensuring that their information is accurate and up-to-date. 

Through GBP, businesses can also interact with customers by responding to reviews and messages, as well as posting updates and offers to keep customers informed and engaged. Overall, GBP is an essential tool for businesses looking to optimise their online presence and attract more customers.

Why is GBP important?

Google Business Profile is important for businesses because it allows users to manage their online presence and appear in relevant search results. By having a well-optimised GBP profile, businesses can increase their visibility in local search results and attract more potential customers.

GBP also provides valuable information to potential customers, such as business hours, website links, customer reviews, and more. This level of interaction and engagement is essential for building trust and loyalty with customers, which can ultimately lead to increased sales and revenue. We talk more in depth about the importance of GBP in this resource: What Is Google Business Profile & Why Is It Important?

Google Business Profile also provides a powerful performance tool that enables businesses to track how their listing is performing on Google. This performance tool provides valuable insights into how customers are finding the business, including information such as the number of times the business appeared in search results, how many clicks the business received, and where the customers are coming from.

Businesses can also monitor how customers interact with the business, such as the number of phone calls, website clicks, and requests for driving directions. This performance data is crucial for businesses to understand how their GBP listing is performing and to make informed decisions about how to optimise their listing for better visibility and engagement.

To round it out, using GBP can have several benefits for your business, including:

• Improved online visibility: When people search for your business or related keywords, your GBP listing will appear in the search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
• Increased customer engagement: With GBP, you can respond to customer reviews and messages, and even post updates about your business to keep customers informed.
• Better search engine rankings: Having an up-to-date GBP listing can improve your chances of appearing higher in search engine rankings.

‍

What Are GBP Posts?

One under-used feature of GBP is its 'posts' feature. Posts are a way for businesses to share updates, news, and promotions about their business directly in search results pages (SERPs). 

These posts are a great way to catch the attention of potential customers who are searching for businesses like yours. GBP posts can include images, videos, and even a call-to-action button that links to a specific page on your website. They are an effective way to promote events, showcase new products or services, and provide updates on special offers or deals.

Why are GBP posts important?

Google wants businesses to create posts as it enhances their search results and makes Google a more valuable resource. By adding a post, your business also takes up more real-estate space on the SERP.

Consistently creating GBP posts can help improve your business's visibility in search results, as it signals to Google that your business is active and engaging with its audience. This can lead to higher rankings in SERPs, ultimately driving more traffic to your website and generating more leads and sales. Additionally, regularly posting updates about your business can help keep your customers informed and engaged, leading to increased brand loyalty and customer retention.

‍

How Do You Add A GBP Post?

Now that we understand what GBP posts are and why they're important for businesses, let's dive into the process of adding a GBP post. While it may seem daunting at first, the process is actually quite simple and straightforward. In this section, we will walk through the step-by-step process of adding a GBP post to ensure that your business is utilising this valuable tool to its fullest potential.

Follow these steps to get posting on GBP:

1. Log in to your GBP profile.
2. Click on 'Add Update.'
3. Choose the post type you want to create (e.g. Update, Offer, Event, Product).
4. Add up to 10 photos or videos that are landscape-oriented (recommended size is 1200 x 900 pixels).
5. Write your post content (keep it relevant and try to include keywords). The maximum length is 1500 characters, but it's best to keep it below 40 words.
6. Add a call-to-action (CTA) button with a relevant link to your website.
7. Preview your post to make sure it looks good, then publish it.

It's important to keep in mind that GBP posts have a limited lifespan in search results pages, disappearing after seven days. However, these posts can still be viewed on your GBP profile at any time. This means that you should strive to be consistent with your posting schedule to ensure that your business is always visible to potential customers.

‍

Conclusion

In conclusion, GBP is a powerful tool that can help improve your business's online presence and attract more customers. By creating regular posts, you can enhance your search engine rankings, engage with customers, and keep your business information up-to-date. So why not give it a try today? If you have any questions or want to know how Paddle Creative can help, get in touch.

‍