How to Attract More Visitors to Your Google Business Profile

1. Optimize your profile

Just having a Google Business Profile won’t be enough to attract customers to your listing. To stand out from competitors and have the best chance at being featured, you’ll need to: 

• Complete your profile. This includes your business name, address, phone number, and service area, as well as any relevant optional fields like your website address. 
• Add high-quality photos. Like before and after images or pictures of completed jobs that showcase your work, products, or services. 
• Write a business description. Highlight what sets your business apart or what makes it unique, like your skills, the services you offer, or the customers you work with. 
• Update your hours. Include your regular business hours as well as special hours, like whether they change over the holidays. 
• Ask for customer reviews. Collecting reviews adds legitimacy and trust so potential customers can see what others think of you. 

Remember to keep your profile current by updating it with new information to stay relevant and reflect accurate business details. For example, if your hours change, you expand to a new city, or you offer new services.

2. Ask for reviews

Reviews play a big part in attracting visitors to your Google Business Profile. They show potential customers you have a real service business with happy clients and highlight the services and experience you offer. 

Ask happy customers to leave a customer review to help fill out your profile and build trust and confidence with leads who are looking for a service provider like you.

Home service pro, David Brooks of Contractor Rhino, advises asking for detailed reviews to help boost your profile in local search results, “You want customers to be as descriptive as possible. Instead of just saying, ‘Hey, these guys did a great job,’ you want them to say, ‘Tom’s Plumbing Company in Tampa did an amazing job with my new toilet installation.'”

And when they follow through, don’t forget to respond by thanking them for their feedback.

In fact, you should respond to all reviews, even when they’re negative. This shows you’re willing to engage with customers and are dedicated to finding a solution to their problems. It also keeps your profile active, which can help with visibility in search results.

3. Leverage Q&As

Depending on the type of business you have, your Google Business Profile may include a Q&A or frequently asked questions section. 

If it does, make the most of it by actively monitoring it and responding to questions, like: 

• What services do you offer?
• What are your business hours?
• How much do you charge?
• Are you available for emergency services?
• Do you offer free quotes or estimates?
• What areas do you serve?
• How do I book an appointment?

Answering these questions directly can be all it takes to turn someone from a lead to a client because they clarify information, offer reassurance, and demonstrate your excellent customer service skills. 

Plus, they add more content to your profile, boosting visibility and helping potential customers find the information they need faster.

4. Take advantage of SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is when you use certain words and phrases to increase your chances of appearing in search results when someone searches for your business or services on Google. 

And since Google Business Profile is a Google product, using SEO to your advantage is essential to building a successful listing. By including relevant keywords in your profile, like your services, industry, city, and business name, you can boost your chances of showing up when someone searches for them. 

For example, a plumber in Fresno would want to include certain keywords in their profile to attract the most relevant customers, such as: 

• Fresno, California
• Plumbing, plumber
• Emergency plumbing services
• Local plumber in Fresno
• 24/7 plumbing
• Plumbing repair, pipe repair, drain repair

Include keywords in your business description, service list, and review responses to enhance visibility. 

This way, if a potential client searches for “24/7 plumbing in Fresno”, “emergency plumbing service, Fresno, California”, or “plumber for drain repair in Fresno”, your profile has more potential to be seen.

5. Invest in Google Local Services Ads

If you have a budget to use, Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are an effective way to get more eyes on your Google Business Profile. 

They work by featuring your Google Business Profile at the top of search results when someone searches for what you offer in your service area. 

Unlike traditional Google Ads, LSAs only charge when a customer contacts you directly through your ad, making them a wallet-friendly option. 

They also pull information right from your Google Business Profile, making them easy to set up. But that means you’ll need to ensure your profile is accurate, up-to-date, and optimized to get the most out of them. 

The only downside to Google Local Services Ads is that they’re only available for certain industries and in certain areas.

6. Use Google posts

Google Business Profile posts keep your profile active and highlight important news, like: 

• Special offers and promotions
• New services 
• Changes to your service area or hours
• Events, like customer appreciation BBQs

These posts appear both on your profile and in local search results, keeping potential customers informed and up-to-date about relevant business activities. 

You can also use photos and videos in your posts, showcasing work you’ve done, answering common questions, or sharing sneak peeks about upcoming projects. 

Just make sure your posts are free of typos and misspellings and follow Google’s post content policy or you risk having them removed.

David suggests creating a post at least once a week to share news, offers, or updates, but avoid adding phone numbers or website links inside the posts to best align with Google’s policies.

7. Set up online booking

If you integrate with online booking software, like Jobber, prospective customers can book appointments with you straight from your Google Business Profile. 

For example, with a booking integration, if a potential client searches for “plumber in Willowick, Ohio” and your profile pops up, they’ll see a “Book Online” button to help them take action faster.

Then, customers can book directly through your profile where Jobber will help them to: 

• Choose the service they need
• Select the day and time they want to book you for
• Add additional details, like photos, comments, or questions

8. Get listed in local directories

Your Google Business Profile can benefit from other local listings, like Yelp and the Yellow Pages. 

When you’re listed in multiple directories, it builds credibility, expands your online presence, and adds to your local SEO efforts, giving your profile a boost. 

For your Google Business Profile to benefit, the information you use across directories (business name, address, and phone number) must be the same. Otherwise, Google can get confused and won’t realize the listings are for the same business. 

Your business name, address, services, and area need to be consistent. If you abbreviate “Road” to “Rd” or “Street” to “St”, or use a slightly different business name (like Green Lawns Inc. vs. Green Lawns incorporated), your profiles may not be linked to the same company.

9. Add Google Business Profile to your website

Linking your website and Google Business Profile comes with significant benefits, like driving traffic between the two platforms. 

Not only should you link to your website in your Google Business Profile, but you should also link to your profile from your website. That way, you can direct reviews to the right place and create a stronger connection between your site and profile. 

Another way to incorporate your Google Business Profile with your website is by embedding Google Maps on your contact or about page. This signals to Google that you have a legitimate physical location, enhancing local SEO by clearly defining your service area. 

If you don’t already have a website, you can use a platform like Jobber Websites to create a branded site in minutes and connect it to your Google Business Profile to showcase reviews.

10. Encourage user-generated content

User-generated content shows potential customers that you have an active business and engaged community. And it adds new voices to your content so you aren’t the only one talking about your services. 

Using a Google account, customers can share photos to your Google Business Profile outside of a review. These can be photos of completed work, your team working, or even a happy customer if they want to share one. 

Customers can ask questions in the Q&A section of your profile, or interact with posts you share. 

It helps to demonstrate that your customers are real people who have used your services. Not just profile pictures and usernames on a screen.

11. Enable messaging

If it makes sense for your business, enable messaging on your Google Business Profile. This will allow potential customers to communicate with you directly through the platform for faster responses. 

And since Google tends to favor profiles with more features, adding messaging means your business is more likely to be featured when people search for your services.

12. Monitor competitors

If your Google Business Profile isn’t attracting as many visitors as you’d like, looking at what your competitors are doing can offer insight into how to optimize your listing. 

For example, do they have lots of great reviews? What about pictures of finished work? Are they active in their Q&A section? Or is their profile optimized for SEO?

Wherever you see gaps between their profile and your own can indicate where you should focus your efforts to drive traffic.

13. Use calls-to-action

Google Business Profiles come with optional calls-to-action you can use to encourage potential clients to take the next step. 

For example, you can choose from: 

• Call Now
• Get Offer
• Book Now
• Learn More

Which you use depends on what you want leads to do, like visit your website, call your office, or take advantage of a promotion. Adding a CTA offers users clear instructions for how to proceed, preventing them from getting hung up on finding your contact information or trying to find your website.

14. Track performance

Google Business Profile provides analytics so you can monitor performance and make adjustments to your strategy. 

For example, you can track: 

• How many people view your profile
• Where visitors come from, like ads, or searching directly for your business name or services in your area
• What actions they take, like making a call or going to your website

This information shows you what you’re doing well and what could use some attention. That way, you can optimize your profile strategically instead of wasting time on guesswork.