In today’s digital-first economy, the key to making money is getting noticed. If people can’t find your business online, they might go to a competitor instead. The Google Business Profile (GBP), which used to be called Google My Business, is one of the best tools for local businesses, but not enough people use it.
A Google Business Profile is more than just a digital listing; it’s a free marketing tool that can help you get local customers, build trust, and even directly increase sales if you use it correctly. If you only use your profile as a static online directory, you’re missing out on money.
You can make money with your Google Business Profile, and this blog post will show you how. We’ll show you how to get people to interact with your profile and give you tips on how to make it better.
Why Having a Google Business Profile Can Help You Make Money
Let’s talk about why GBP is important before we talk about strategies.
- People are looking for local businesses and services on Google more than 46% of the time.
- Customers are 2.7 times more likely to trust a business if they find a full GBP profile.
- Encourages action: Listings with photos and reviews get 42% more people to ask for directions and 35% more people to visit websites.
- A lot of people decide to go to or call a business based only on its Google listing.
Your GBP acts like a digital storefront when it’s set up correctly, attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers before they even visit your website.
Step 1: Make your business profile as public as you can.
You need to make sure that GBP is fully optimized and finished before you can start making money with it.
Important Steps:
- Claim your profile and check it to make sure you are in charge of the information about your business.
- All platforms should have the same NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information for local SEO.
- Pick the right types of businesses: Be clear. Choose “Italian Restaurant” or “Vegan Restaurant” instead of just “Restaurant.”
- Put up high-quality pictures of your store, your team, your products, or your services. People will be more likely to trust you and talk to you if you show them these pictures.
- Change the hours of your business. Even on holidays and when things are busy, make sure they are correct.
- Add features, products, and services: Show everything you have to offer.
Tip: Companies with full profiles are 70% more likely to get customers who live nearby.
Step 2: Use reviews to make more money
Customer reviews are more than just comments; they help businesses make money. 88% of people trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from friends and family.
How to Look at Reviews:
- Ask happy customers to write reviews of the things they bought or the services they used.
- Answer all reviews, whether they are good or bad. You can be trusted if you respond in a professional way.
- Share and post reviews on social media.
- Use keywords in your answers, like “Thank you for choosing our plumbing service in Dallas!”
Positive reviews help you get more leads and sales by making people trust you more and getting you into Google’s Local Pack.
Step 3: Post to Google often
Google Posts are like small social media updates that are more likely to lead to sales because they show up right in your GBP.
You can use a lot of different kinds of posts:
- Offers and promotions include sales, discounts, and deals that are only good for a short time.
- Product highlights: Show off the new arrivals or bestsellers.
- You can make announcements for events that are happening in your area, online, or in person.
- Tell people about your business or area of expertise and give them tips.
“Sign up for our free 7-day trial today!” is something a gym could say. There are only a few spots left!
You can include CTAs (calls to action) in these posts, such as “Call Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Get Offer,” which will take you right to ways to make money.
Step 4: Turn on direct messaging and bookings.
A lot of customers want to talk to businesses right away. People who want to buy from you can message you directly on GBP without having to go to your website.
- Messaging: Answer questions quickly and turn them into sales.
- Adding a booking button: If you own a salon, clinic, or other service-based business, link your scheduling software so that customers can book directly.
- Order Online: Restaurants can add delivery and ordering right from GBP.
Businesses that let customers book right away make more money than those that make them click a few times.
Step 5: Let people see what you have to offer
You can add services and products to a special section of your Google Business Profile. You can use this in Google Search and Maps, just like you would a small online store.
The Best Ways to Do It:
- Give a lot of information about each product or service.
- If you can, please include prices.
- Take good pictures of the things you sell.
- Show off things that are in style or that people like.
This helps customers make decisions about what to buy and speeds up the process, which leads to more sales.
Step 6: Use what you learn to keep track of how well you’re doing.
In GBP, Google gives you Insights that show you how people are using your profile.
You can keep an eye on these numbers:
- How people find you, whether they look for you directly or through a search engine.
- Things they do, like calling people, going to websites, and asking for help.
- When people are most likely to check out your profile.
- How many more people look at your pictures than your competitors’ pictures?
For example, if you notice that a lot of people use their phones on the weekends, you can offer special deals on the weekends to get more people to buy.
Step 7: Use Q&A to respond to customer questions
In the GBP Q&A section of your profile, customers can ask you questions. Don’t just leave it there; use it to add value.
How to Use Q&A Smartly:
- “Do you deliver to homes?” is an example of a question and answer that everyone can understand.
- Check your questions often so you can answer them right away.
- Be sure to say what makes your product or service different in your answers.
People who are thinking about buying can save time and make it easier for them to do so with well-organized Q&As.
Step 8: Use local SEO to bring more people to GBP
Your Google Business Profile and local SEO work together. The better both are, the more money you will make.
Helpful tips for local SEO:
- For example, “best hair salon in Miami” is a keyword that is specific to your area.
- Get links from local blogs, directories, or community websites.
- Make sure that the NAP information on all of your sites is the same.
- Check that the information on your website is different for each location and links back to GBP.
This makes it more likely that you will show up in Google’s Local Pack, which gets a lot of visitors and sales.
Step 9: Use GBP to pay for ads
Did you know that you can connect your GBP to Google Ads to make it easier to find? Local search ads put your business at the top of the results page, along with your profile information, reviews, and buttons that let people do something.
- Google Maps and search results show ads.
- Customers can call, come in, or get directions from the ad.
- Makes it more likely that people who are “ready to buy” will become customers.
This is very helpful for businesses that are in competition with others, like restaurants, clinics, and home services.
Step 10: Always keep your profile up to date and active.
Making a GBP and then forgetting about it is the worst thing a business can do. Having an active and up-to-date profile lets Google and customers know that your business is honest and reliable.
- Change the holiday hours.
- All the time, put up new pictures.
- Change things every week.
- Always read reviews, questions, and insights.
If your profile is more active, it will rank higher, get more clicks, and make more sales.
Final Thoughts
Your Google Business Profile is more than just a digital business card; it’s also a great way to make money. You can turn people who are just looking around into loyal customers by optimizing your site, talking to them, showing off your products, and using reviews, posts, and bookings.
In short, here are the most important things to remember if you want to make money with your GBP:
- Make sure your profile is fully finished and set up for success.
- Get reviews from customers on a regular basis and respond to them.
- Post, make offers, and update often.
- Let people send messages, place orders online, and make reservations.
- Use SEO and data to improve your plan.
If you keep working on it, your Google Business Profile can help you reach more people, build better relationships with customers, and make more money.
