Business owners aim to draw potential customers to their site through better online visibility and reach. The best way to gain both is to have their business profile listed on Google My Business.
Google My Business helps small businesses grow by featuring their business listing on Google Maps and local search results. This helps your business gain better customer engagement.
In November 2021, Google My Business (GMB) renamed itself Google Business Profile (GBP). Google Business Profile is easy to install and manage even in multiple locations. This is of great benefit to retail chains with stores at different locations, a company with several branches, or a brand with many franchise outlets.
Advantages of using multiple locations for Google Business Profile
While listing your company in Google Places for Business, having multi-location visibility helps. GBP listings for multiple locations are of great advantage to both local businesses and retail chains.
For local businesses with different outlets, multi-location marketing is their main strategy. Separately listing each physical location gives the business better visibility, It also has a better chance of featuring on the Google local search results.
With the help of the GBP tool, the business owner can list the additional locations, update them, and get them noticed. Multi-location businesses can separately manage each of the locations and increase traffic to each.
A service-based business can highlight its list of services with these multi-location listings. Service-area businesses have the opportunity to flaunt their area coverage by creating varying listings for the different areas they service, provided they aren’t too close together.
Multiple-location businesses gain a distinct advantage by using GBP. They get individually noticed while strengthening the brand equity at large.
The role of GBP in multi-location marketing
Multi-location companies can avoid costly marketing efforts by using GBP.
This Google tool plays a vital role in enhancing the online presence of your store or business. Using GBP insights, you can create a positive customer experience. It helps you identify the right marketing channels that customers prefer. By using only these channels, you can cut your ad spend in half.
Whether you’re a large chain with many branches or franchise outlets of a single brand, Google Business Profile is the perfect tool for your business services.
Use the multiple-location facilities for getting noticed in your neighborhood. With GBP, you can get positive online reviews and gain social proof, build your credibility online by answering common queries related to your business, and gain prominence or visibility for your business with photos. Do this well and you will top the respective Map results by listing multiple locations on GBP.
There are seven simple steps to make the best use of GBP for your multi-location business.
7 Steps in managing multiple locations on Google Business Profile
People who are choosy about a brand would like to look to head to the nearby store. Having your store in the neighborhood is not enough. If you have not created a business listing for it on Google, your store will go unnoticed online. So, create a business profile via GBP.
Next, if your brand has outlets across several locations, list them all on Google Maps, one by one. This will ensure your brand gains prominence online across Google Maps. Its search ranking will also improve in the local search results.
A chain of restaurants or a brand of clothes may have store outlets at multiple locations under the same brand name. This kind of multiple-location business must take advantage of GBP by listing each location on Google Local. This ensures that they feature on the most relevant search.
Sometimes, your business type may have 2 different kinds of operations in the same location. Then, you must list each under a different business category. For example, if you run a pastry shop in a grocery store, list each one under a separate category for that location.
1. Add complete information about your business
Create separate Google Business Profiles for each location on the Business Profile Manager.
Input complete details about each business location. Add its physical address, business hours, photos, etc. You will also have to specify the business category, business description, and other details.
You can upload the information in bulk with Google’s Bulk uploading system. Under your Google Account, create a Location group for all your business locations. Then, create a spreadsheet with all your location information using Google Sheets. Upload this spreadsheet to the GBP account. Request for bulk verification.
Perform the verification process by postcard or mail, phone, or email.
Furnish as much information as possible about each of your locations. This is the best way to take advantage of GBP for ranking high locally.
2. Build your business with Google Posts
Google posts are the best way to establish contact with customers.
There are 4 Google post types- What’s new, Events, Offers, and Products. You can create any of the above posts by selecting the posts tab from the drop-down menu on the left of the screen. Specify the type of post and start interacting with the prospective customers.
However, Google does not allow you to post for all locations at once. You have to create a Google post for each location. If you want to post simultaneously for multiple locations, you must use a 3rd party software.
Use social media tools to schedule Google posts. Tools like OneUp and Social Champ help you schedule social media posts. Now, you can use them to schedule Google posts for multiple locations. Bulk upload all photos, videos, and GIFs for profiles at once easily using these tools.
3. Manage GBP access across multiple locations
Managing the GBP of a multi-location business is not so easy. The access and control of all locations are with one owner or marketing manager.
Sometimes, a location owner or any of the current users may want to update the information for a specific location. For this, they need the access credentials.
Use location managing support of GBP to gain access to store locations. Now, you can change group ownership to take control of the location. Alternatively, use an email address to submit all locations and share this email with the organization’s users.
Never use email addresses with individual names for Google Business Profiles.
4. Use high-resolution photos for your GBP profiles
To optimize your Google business profiles, you must upload photos. Ensure these photos are of the right size, format, quality, or resolution.
Google defines several photo categories to help you add photos to your profiles. Some of them are interior, exterior, team, and at work. These include product photos, logos, and cover photos. Format the pictures in JPG or PNG format and upload them in 720 x 720 mm resolution.
Google also permits you to upload commercial videos for GBP. The video should be of 10-second duration or 100 MB size and be of 720p resolution.
Remember to post unique photos for each location.
5. Handle all business reviews
Customer reviews are vital for any business, so make the most of them.
GBP allows consumers to post reviews for each profile. you may get both positive and negative reviews. You will feel elated about positive reviews. Yet, always learn to appropriately respond to the negative ones.
Most consumers trust Google reviews to make their buying decisions. This is why you must properly reply to each review. Learn to avoid fake reviews and take remedial action for the negative ones.
Remember, a good Google business review is social proof of your business credibility.
6. Use Google insights to boost your online presence
GBP insights tell you what makes your business tick.
GBP classifies the searches as Direct Search, Discovery Search, and Branded Search. Insights tell you how many customers see your business on Google Search and Maps. It also indicates which of their actions has led them to your site. It could be a phone call, email, or the customer pressing the directions button.
7. Uploading more than 10 locations- the facility of bulk upload
GBP offers a big advantage for multi-location businesses. Google allows you to upload more than 10 locations at a time. With the bulk upload facility, you can upload all the locations at once. Google even gives you a sample spreadsheet template to help you organize and submit the location details. Once you download this, you can fill in the information on the template and import the details.
GBP is the cornerstone of the marketing strategy of every digital marketing agency. Follow the above steps in harnessing GBP for all your multiple locations.
Make the Most of Google Business Profile
The Google Business Profile helps you rank your business in multiple locations or ZIP codes. This gives you better chances of relevant searches. GBP helps you appear more in Local Pack listings. Using GBP for multiple locations helps you maximize your local presence.
One way you can gain the loyalty of many happy customers is by featuring great online reviews. Trustmetrics shines here because you get to completely manage your reviews with our tool instead of logging in to your GBP account every time. You can collect new reviews and reply to existing ones. Our tool also automatically syncs your reviews and replies.
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