

Zach Williams
Owner & Founder, Venveo
A Google Business Profile, commonly abbreviated as a GBP, is a critical part of any SEO marketing strategy. It provides a simple, yet effective way of communicating key aspects of your business, such as your name, address, phone number, and services provided. Additionally, a GBP allows you to present key aspects of your business to first-time searchers while maintaining a strong SEO presence on Google.
Your local business needs a presence on Google and there’s nothing better than a Google Business Profile.
Commonly abbreviated as a GBP or in the past, a GMB (Google My Business), a Google Business Profile is exactly what it says on the tin - a Google profile designed to show off basic aspects of your business to eagerly searching customers.
A practical, yet simple way of getting eyeballs on your business, a GBP is critical for anyone looking to build a successful SEO marketing campaign for a variety of reasons. Not only does it expand your presence on the digital web, but it increases your chance of being chosen by searchers with a need for what you can provide them.
This isn’t just speculation either. Google itself confirmed that businesses with complete profiles receive up to 7x more clicks and that 29% of customers are more likely to complete a purchase from a business that has a complete profile.
Let’s dive into exactly what a GBP provides and why it’s essential for your local SEO strategy.

Name. Address. Phone number. In the marketing world, that’s what we describe as the three basic parts of your business that must absolutely be correct on any listing that you have, no matter what the cost.
Your Google My Business displays these numbers prominently where eager customers can see them as they search for your business for the first time. It’s a simple step, but having these be right in front of your prospective buyers gives them a degree of confidence they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

No one wants to take all the time to drive over to where they think they’ll be getting their problems finally solved - only for it to be closed.
Time is precious in this day and age, and no one wants their time to be wasted. Displaying your hours on your GBP is a key indicator of trust that will prove to potential clients that you care about their time.
Search engines love consistency and with consistent hours, your SEO strategy is strengthened through something as simple as telling people when you’re open.

Names are important, but people need to know exactly what you offer. Some names are simply vague, which is why a GBP profile allows you to display the exact type of business you offer.
Unfortunately, in the case of business, looks do matter. But that’s where your GBP comes in.
Images are a key part of a GBP profile and lucky for you, that’s something that you can very easily control. Want to show off a part of your facility? Have some key products out in the field that you want to display? A GBP can help with that.
Uploading images not only shows the parts of your business that you want your clients and customers to see, but it also proves that you have something relevant and proven. Anyone can “start” a business, but it takes an actual working business to have something to show.

No matter how far technology progresses, one of the safest ways to still find customers is through positive word of mouth. Friends recommend you to their friends, a family becomes a regular, the list goes on.
Nowadays, reviews are a key way of getting a positive word of mouth without anyone having to say a word out loud. GBPs provide a perfect way to display reviews without needing to set up a complicated hosting site or integration within your website.
Social media posts are a surefire hit with SEO marketing, but what if someone’s just looking through their Google search and not interested in scrolling through your Instagram or Facebook?
GBP offers a posting feature that allows you a space to put forward your latest releases, special deals, or even just weekly posting about your offerings. Designed to be convenient and front and center, it gives you all the benefits of social media without ever having to create an account.
Nothing’s worse than wasting your money on marketing strategies that don’t work. Additionally, you’ll want up-to-date analytics on how you’re performing so you can adjust accordingly.
Having a GBP profile gives you another set of analytics and data that your SEO marketing campaign solely needs. You’ll know who’s searching for you, what they’re searching for, and what’s missing so that you can focus on the areas that matter most.
So you know what a GBP can provide, but why do you need it? Why not just provide my website, you may ask?
You might have one of the best websites in the world, but a proper SEO campaign needs more than just a single site to get you ranked on Google. You need much more to get to the top and a GBP is a perfect place to start.
With a GBP, you provide customers with an easily digestible and comprehensive summary of who you are and what you do, while also giving yourself another citation that pulls up your SEO rankings.
Let’s face it - you’re a local business dedicated to serving your customers and community. You don’t always have the time or the energy to take care of this key marketing task.
That’s why Venveo is here to help. Our team is trained in Google Business Profiles, able to expertly spot flaws that you may not have noticed or optimize your profile to be the best it can be.
Venveo specializes in devising SEO marketing strategies for local businesses and our proven growth strategies can take any company to the next level. Reach out to us today or view the rest of our website to learn more about how we can help.