How to edit Google Business Profile
Learn how to edit your Google business listing by updating your business information on your Google Business Profile.
How To Edit Your Google Business Listing
Local business owners often get overwhelmed with the features Google provides in their free business listing on Google Maps, while in reality, things are very simple.
I often get asked this question: How do I edit my Google business page and make updates for my customers?
Your Google Business Profile is crucial for your online presence because it helps potential customers find you on Google Search and Maps. Therefore, it’s vital to know at least the basics of how it works and the actions you must implement to update your information regularly.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of editing your Google Business Profile. Believe me, it is easier than most of you think!
How Can I Edit My Google Business Profile?
To edit your Google Business Profile, first log in to your GBP dashboard on Google Search using your Google Account.
After you successfully log in, choose the edit profile icon, and you will see something like this:
You can do various things here, like adding photos or videos, editing products, and reading reviews, but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on editing your Google Maps listing’s basic information by clicking on the Edit Profile button.
You have plenty of options from there, which we will describe below.
1) About Your Business
On the About Your Business section (or About), there are 4 important options you must pay attention to, which are the following:
i. Business Name
You select the real name of your business. Keywords in name dramatically increase local search rankings, but keyword stuffing may also get your listing suspended.
A change to your business name usually raises the risk of suspension.
ii. Business Category
Here you choose the primary and secondary categories of your business. The main category will be shown on Google Search and Maps and you must get them right because they are a crucial ranking factor. Changing them may cause a risk of suspension.
iii. Description
Most business owners forget to write anything at all, which, of course, is wrong, considering that a catchy description of your products or services and their main selling points is a great conversion factor that may get you more customers.
I’ve also witnessed suspensions because of changes in description, even though there is a low chance here.
iv. Opening Date
That’s a huge conversion factor, but only if you’ve been in the business for a long time. I suggest mentioning it if you have served customers in your area for more than five years.
2) Contact Information
Make sure to click on the Contact Information section (or Contact) because there are plenty of options to edit.
i. Phone Number
This is your business phone number and the one you use to verify your business in case Google allows you to use that verification option.
When you’re a service area business without a storefront, you should register a local phone number that proves your business operates in the local area. You have the option to hide it.
If you change it, prepare for a sweet suspension.
ii. Website
This is where you add your official website’s URL, whether you created using WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any other website builder.
iii. Menu Link
Only applicable to restaurants type of businesses, where you input the link that transfers you to your website’s menu URL.
iv. Social Profiles
Google integrates the option to add URL links to your social media pages. That’s a great way to show people your activity on other social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok because, the reality is, that’s where most people spend their time watching videos and learning more about businesses.
3) Location And Areas
On the Location and Areas section (or Location), there are 2 important options to edit:
i. Business Location
Personally, the most important thing to do right from the start, which will influence your rankings for the rest of your local seo campaigns, is the location of your business.
You show the address of your store with the correct pin placement on Google Maps so that customers can find you in the local area, otherwise, they will get lost in the road trying to find a ghost business.
If you are a service area business, hide your address, and don’t forget that any changes here will surely cause suspension.
ii. Service Area
This is only applicable to service-based and hybrid types of businesses. You include the area where you go to serve your customers.
A good tip here is to include all the neighborhoods with their postal codes rather than mentioning only the generic geographical area.
Just don’t go too far by including areas more than 2 hours from your location, because it’s against Google’s guidelines.
4) Opening Hours
On the Opening Hours section (or Hours), which is often neglected by most business owners, there are 3 options to edit:
i. Hours
These are the main hours your store operates on a daily basis, and they’re usually set at one time.
You must give 5 minutes of your time to set this right because it is the main way to inform customers when your doors are open to the public.
It would be a pity if they visited you only to find out your entrance is closed.
ii. Special Hours
Special Hours refers to adjusting your operating hours because of holidays of the year like Christmas or Easter.
If you are closed these days or you get to lay low for a while and enjoy your two-week vacation, you should inform your customers about these changes.
iii. Add More Hours
Add more hours refers to specific alterations to your regular business hours due to a special occasion, such as delivery hours, online store hours, takeaway hours, and more.
Specifying them will hugely increase your customer service during these times.
5) More
In this last section, you may edit Google business details that appeal to certain groups of potential customers and are often exclusive to your business.
For example, you should select the Identifies as women-owned if you are a woman who owns the business, LGBTQ+ friendly if the environment is super friendly to people of the LGBTQ+ community, and has a wheelchair-accessible toilet for persons with disabilities.
Conclusion
When business owners ask me how to edit a Google Business Profile, my answer is to fill in all the details in the edit profile option and pay close attention to changes that may cause their listing to be suspended.
Reality is your Google Business Profile is like your store in “online mode” and you should keep it up-to-date with accurate information so that people can find you and learn more about your business.
You can update your Google My Business listing anytime, so I advise you to just go to your listing’s dashboard and make the necessary changes.