Google defines a Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) as: “an easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google. To help customers find your business, you can verify your business and edit your business information.”

Simply put, a Google Business Profile is a “home page” of sorts within the local search hierarchy that allows a company to create a unique local profile for their business that contains all of their business information including the business name, address, phone number, customer reviews, photos, and more. Better yet, a Google Business Profile is completely FREE.

Google Business Profiles have become so ingrained within our everyday activity that we access them every day without even cognizantly realizing. Think about it. It’s just after dinnertime on a Friday night and you have a craving for a pizza pie from someplace new, something different, a place you haven’t tried before. Are you going to open the yellow pages? In 2024, doubtful. You open Google and do a search for “pizza place near me”. The majority of consumers gravitate right to the 3 listings within the Google Map Pack (also known as the 3-pack). You open one of the listings and browse their menu and the photos of the choices that they serve. You see something you like, but since you’ve never ordered from the place before and are not familiar with it, you want to make sure it’s reputable. You open up the reviews and see that all of their reviews are good. You click through and order your meal. Simple, right? As a consumer myself, I cannot tell you how many times a day I open up Google and Google Maps to solve my issue at hand.

The fact of the matter is that many people are making their choice on where to go based upon the results that pop up in their Google Maps search. The opportunity to connect with customers through Google Maps is practical and cutting edge and an everyday part of our lives.

What you may not realize is that there are specific algorithms that determine what Google Maps displays within that Google Map Pack when a consumer performs their search for a local business to serve their intent. It is a crucial component to the modern market, and you might be surprised to learn just how much business you are missing out on without a Google Maps and Local SEO strategy.



In short, according to Google:

Why is having a Google Business Profile important? How can it help to grow my local business?

Ok, so now we know what a Google Business Profile is, so how can it help grow my business? Let’s look at a few statistics that may help to illustrate its importance and how a local business can use it to achieve and exceed their business goals:

Opportunities and Traffic

Google remains the world’s most used search engine with an over 90% share of the market. 46% of Google’s two trillion searches per year are local searches with local intent. Even with the growth of social media, consumers with what is known as “buyer intent” still use Google as their go to when they are looking to commit. Most people do not open up Facebook or Instagram with the intent of finding an accountant, a chiropractor, or service contractor, just to name a few examples. They open these platforms and other social media channels to browse videos, communicate socially and casually browse. That’s not to say that some do not use social media with some type of buyer intent, but when consumers are actively seeking a service, service provider, or are looking for a business “right now” (buyer intent), the large majority of those consumers use Google. SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which is utilized in both local and organic search strategies is the largest driver of traffic to content sites, beating social media by more than 300%. 

What does this all mean? There is a significant amount of opportunity within the local search market that businesses can capitalize on to grow their business and their digital real estate (their business website and GBP). At Sun Tzu SEO Agency, we use the term “digital real estate” regularly, because in essence, which is exactly what your business website, GBP, and areas on the website that are allocated to your business are. Just like a physical home, your website is your property. It’s imperative that it is built on a proper foundation and regularly maintained.

Buyer Behavior and Intent

• “Open now near me” searches have skyrocketed 400% over prior years.
• Map apps drive 30-40% of local business discovery.
• 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else.
• 49% of users say they use Google to discover or find a new item or product.
• 62% of consumers will disregard a business if they can’t find them online.
• 90% of consumers who search for a local business will make a purchase within one week of their initial search.

So, what does this tell us? A few things. That the Google Maps app is extremely important for your business’s visibility and promotion and that users are using the Google platform more frequently and regularly than ever before. More and more consumers are opening up Google and searching for businesses that are local to them. Additionally, most consumers do not necessarily have a specific business in mind when they are searching so again, there are significant opportunities that exist to be seized upon.  “Even if a consumer does not make a purchase immediately, 90 percent will make a purchase within one week of their initial search.” 90%! That’s a pretty significant figure and is a great indicator of the importance of increasing your business’ online visibility within local search results. Finally, with 62% of consumers indicating that they disregard a business that cannot be found online, so having and maintaining a comprehensive and optimized presence online is imperative to the success of any local business.

Business related statistics

• 61% of businesses say that generating traffic and leads is their number one challenge.
• 50% of business owners have seen incorrect information in their local listings.
• 64% of small businesses have a local SEO presence.

Clearly, as with most businesses, generating leads and traffic is a challenge. Having an optimized Google Business Profile and incorporating local SEO into your strategy is imperative. While businesses can certainly optimize and manage their GBP on their own, partnering with and having a knowledgeable, dedicated and committed agency working with you to grow your business can be a huge benefit and elevate you above your competitors. A knowledgeable and dedicated SEO agency like Sun Tzu SEO Agency that is familiar with all of the intricacies involved in GBP optimization can help you navigate your business to the top of the rankings. 

With 64% of small businesses having a local SEO presence, your competition is utilizing this to your advantage, so why aren’t you? Since competition remains high, and is likely to become even more competitive, teaming with a digital growth agency can help take your business to the next level. The most important thing that you receive in return? Time and peace of mind. Crafting and implementing a solid SEO strategy, whether local or organic, takes diligent and informed research and time. We give that time back to you and your business that you would otherwise have to dedicate to learning the SEO realm and working on implementing a strategic plan. We all offer your business peace of mind knowing that you have an ally that is 100% dedicated to your success and your growth. “Good enough” isn’t good enough for Sun Tzu SEO. Far too often, we’ve come across businesses working with a digital marketing agency that is “doing ok” and receiving average results, which simply isn’t good enough. You deserve the best return on your investment, and we are dedicated to providing that to your business.

The importance of reviews

• 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
• More than 50% of consumers won’t use a business that has less than a 4-star rating.
• People are willing to pay 22% more for a local product or service if the business has a good online reputation.

- “In the Old Days” -

Traditionally, most local businesses and service providers relied on referrals and personal recommendations as their main source of driving new traffic and new customers. In the days of the yellow pages that contained little in-depth information about a business from an objective outside source, word of mouth and recommendations from another person who had previous dealings with a business or company was king. Makes complete sense, since someone is sharing their actual interaction with the company, which puts a potential client at ease that the business has provided well in the past. With the evolution of the internet, online reviews from other customers and clients have become increasingly important. Instead of just relying on those within a person’s social circle to provide a review or referral for a local company, potential clients can now go online to research reviews from consumers in all facets of society to determine trust of a local business they are interested in utilizing. Now, personal reviews and recommendations are still very much important and always will be, particularly in certain service areas such as home services, but consider this: Think of online reviews in the same vein as a personal referral. Developing quality online reviews gives you a whole new network of referrals to build upon.

The importance of having and maintaining a good online reputation cannot be stressed enough. Just like “the old days”, your reputation will precede you. Whether you have a good reputation or a bad reputation, it will follow you. Your online reviews are a builder of trust for your potential customers and clients. If a prospective consumer researches your company online, and you have all 5-star reviews, they are much more likely to inquire further and pursue your services. As the statistics indicate above, more than 50% of those consumers won’t do business with you if your business has less than a 4-star rating. So, building your reviews is important, but it’s also important that you respond to those reviews and address any negative reviews that you receive. Google (more specifically, the Google algorithm) likes to see business’s that have regular interaction with their GBP and consumers. Consumers like this as well, since they know that a business is attentive and responsive to their customers. If you do happen to receive a negative review, respond to it. Do your best to resolve it. If you are unable to do so, there are steps that can be taken to address them. A knowledgeable SEO agency can assist you with reputation management and mitigating the impact of negative reviews.

Some SEO and ROI statistics

• In searches where the local map pack is displayed, the top position (#1) captures about 44% of the traffic (clicks), and that 44% converts at an astounding 500% conversion rate.
• 40% of local SEO campaigns achieve a 500% or better ROI.
• Local SEO leads have a nearly 15% close rate.

If you are considering whether investing in a Search Engine Optimization strategy, the statistics show that, implementing a proper crafted and researched local SEO strategy can have a significant impact on the growth of your business and will provide you value for your investment. The higher your business is able to rank within google search results, the more visibility and traffic your business will receive and in turn, the more your business will grow. The most important indicator when deciding on the value of SEO implementation, for both local and organic SEO, should be whether you are receiving a high return on your investment (ROI). While the price of these services, to some, seems rather costly, if a business is receiving a 500% (or higher) return on that information, it would seem worth the investment.

So now that you know a properly completed and well optimized Google Business Profile can bring significant value to your business and lead to significant business growth, it's time to get to work on your Google Business Profile!  We will be adding future posts with step by step instructions on how to properly claim and verify a GBP, how to properly complete a GBP, and how to optimize your GBP as well.  Alternatively, if you would rather partner and work with a knowledgeable Digital Growth agency to take care of elevating your online presence that is dedicated and committed to achieving and exceeding your business goals, get in touch with us here at Sun Tzu SEO Agency. 

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