50% of Google Business Profiles include incorrect information – is yours one of them?

Google

November 30, 2023 | by Deb Messina

We all know how often we reach for our phone to look up information about a local business. Studies show that 86% of us do it regularly. As consumers, we are looking for all kinds of information – with the intent of making a purchase of one kind or another.

It’s our expectation that we’ll find the name, address, phone, and website for whatever business we are looking for – at a minimum. Current photos, reviews, a list of services, and more help tip the scale in favor of one business over another. That makes your Google Business Profile a pretty powerful tool – if it’s accurate.

Did you also know that nearly 50% of all Google Business Profiles are incomplete, inaccurate, or even worse – unclaimed? Is yours among them? If so – you are losing customers and cash flow.

Optimizing Your Google Business Profile

Optimizing your Google Business Profile is a pretty easy process – that starts with “Claiming” your profile. It’s as easy as searching for your own business on Google and when it comes up there will be a box on the right side of the screen with your business information.

If you haven’t yet claimed your business – you’ll see a notice that says “Is this Your Business?”. Claim it (right now) before someone else does. You’ll walk through the steps to authenticate who you are and can then correct or update any inaccurate information.

If you have already claimed your business – you’ll see the information that your customer will see. when they Google your business. Now’s the time to take a look at that information and decide if what’s there is complete, accurate, and up to date.

Step-by-Step Guide for Optimizing Your Business Listing

This is such an important topic – I went looking for guidance I could share with you. I found a great article, you can find it here: How to Optimize Your Google Business Listing in 2023

You might want to do what I did – I printed out a copy of the article to use in optimizing my own Google Business Profile.