Your Google Business Profile is a free business listing that Google uses to determine your business relevance for searches both on google maps and the 'map pack' section on the Google Search page.  Building your Google Business Profile properly is important to ensure you get listed.

As we work with new clients we see many problems:

• Clients have no registered Google Business Profile
• Clients lost access to the profile - a former employee had access and all access is now lost
• Google Business Profile is marked as closed
• Address is incorrect
• Service Area does not match the business location
• The profile has no reviews

Avoiding the problems above and having accurate information is the first step to a strong Local SEO effort.

The good news is that Reputation module of MarketPulse not only monitors reviews left on your profile, but has a simple editor where you can make improvements.

First Steps for good Local SEO

1. Claim your profile and go through the Google verification process
2. Write a good about what your business offers, make sure it has keywords (terminology that customers use when they search)
3. Pictures are great - engaged customers who also post pictures is even better
4. Phone number is always self explanatory. Use the main business number and stay consistent using this number in all your business memberships: trade associations, chambers of commerce, other business listing sites.
5. Category: put the most reasonable categories - more is not always better.
6. Address and Service Area - this is more complicated so we wrote an article for it
7. Q&A section - your Google Business Profile has its own Q&A section.  Read this article for more info.
8. Social Profiles - list out exhaustively all the social profiles your business has.  If you have none, aspire to create at least 3.

Ongoing Local SEO

Now keep up the momentum by following these key steps:

1. Reviews are important.  They are a signal to Google that you are still in business
2. Remember the Q&As section?  Add more on occasion - like 1 or 2 every month
3. Remember the photos section? engage with your clients and encourage them to leave a photo, they can also get 2 for one by including a picture in the review that they leave.

Next Steps

1. Add your business in Microsoft's Bing Places for Business

References

• Local SEO 
• Google Business Profile Q&A 
• Local SEO