Common Google Business Profile Mistakes
Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is the easiest tool for businesses to manage their online presence. It is a free tool that can be used to create your Business Profile on Google. This helps in making your business reach more customers. It provides with you with an online platform for displaying important information about your business, including contact information, description or a link to your website.
Some of the common mistakes that people make regarding Google Business Profile listing are:
1. Not verifying your listing: Your listing will not appear in Google Maps on local search results if your Google Business Profile is not verified.
2. Incomplete information: Providing incorrect or incomplete information is another mistake that people commonly make regarding Google Business Profile listing. It can be incorrect or incomplete address, phone number or business hours that leads to confusion for the customers.
3. Poor quality photos/No photos: Not including any photos or including poor quality photos on the Google Business Profile can make it harder for the business to stand out in search results.
4. No reviews/negative reviews: Not having any reviews or having negative reviews on your Google Business Profile can negatively affect your business. People may not visit your website or make use of your products or services if there are more negative reviews.
5. Not responding to reviews: Response that are given to both positive and negative reviews are important or else the customers may feel ignored and lead them to looking for other better options.
6. Not keeping the business profile updated: People usually don’t update their business profile regularly. Not updating your business profile or not renewing your profile information can lead to inaccurate information. This can affect the visibility of your business in search results.
7. Not marking business as permanently closed: If your business is closed permanently, make sure to mark your business as permanently closed. It means that you no longer need that listing for your business. If a potential customer visits you and later finds out that you are permanently closed, they may become upset when they discover that they wasted their time.
8. Map pins in the wrong place: Most of the times, map pins are shown in the wrong place in the Google maps. This is because the pins are not pointed properly while setting the address of your business profile. This can again affect your business negatively as if potential customers can’t find your location, they may just assume that your business is closed and go elsewhere.
9. Not adding a video: This is something that most of the businesses forget while listing their business on Google Business Profile. But videos are really important. A good video gives the customer an idea of what your business looks like and what to expect when visiting.
10. Missing Information: If your Google Business Profile listing is missing vital information regarding your business such as website URL, phone numbers, hours etc, it will be difficult for your customers to know when you are open or how to contact you.
Some of the steps you can follow to protect your Google Business Listing account are:
1. Use a strong password: Use strong password which includes letters, numbers and symbols and keep it unique.
2. Enable two-step verification: Enable two-step verification which provides an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a code in addition to your password when you sign in.
3. Keep your information up-to-date: Ensure that your business information is accurate and up-to-date, including your business name, address, phone number, and website.
4. Limit access: Only give access to trusted individuals who need it, and regularly review the list of users with access to your listing.
5. Avoid clicking on links from unknown or suspicious sources.
6. Monitor your account activity regularly Monitor your account activity regularly for any suspicious activity or any changes that you did not make.
7. Don’t share your login information : Make sure you keep your login information private and avoid sharing it with anyone.
By following these steps, you can protect your Google Business Listing account and keep your business information safe.
