New Google Business Profile featured rolled out: Profile Strength

Does this new Profile Strength feature affect your GBP ranking or visibility?

Last summer, we noticed Google quietly testing a new feature on GBP- a feature called Profile Strength. After some testing it quietly went away, until now. This feature was rolled out starting on some GBP profiles starting 2/17 and we are now seeing it live on all profiles.

Is your GBP now incomplete?

Like a lot of the changes we see from Google this one has been causing some hubbub in the home service owners community. It seems to insinuate that your profile is weak or not completed correct, which has understandably concerned business owners that rely on the strength of their GBP to drive calls to their business.

Here’s what it looks like:

Like anything new Google rolls out we had to test this extensively on multiple different accounts.

We’ve discovered that this seems like another attempt by Google to get business owners to try features that you may not want or simply don’t need.

In almost every case we tested, a business profile is marked “incomplete” until you purchase an ad through Google Ads via your GBP…which is a feature that anyone already doing PPC doesn’t need.

3 ways to maximize your Google Business Profile

1. Run PPC Ads- If you’re not running Google Ads to support your business yet, you may want to consider it. This is becoming a world where you do need to pay to play to get to the top more quickly as far as GBP (maps) rankings. Not having ads won’t hurt you, but another company could show up above you just because they are throwing more money at ads.
2. Focus on getting reviews- However you choose to get reviews, just do it. Whether it’s through a paid service like Podium or pulseM, or by manually reaching out with emails/texts to ask people for reviews…it’s incredibly important to always be building your reputation. This is especially important if you’re opening a new or second location, or have a new brand.
3. Add lots of pictures- Build trust with potential customers by adding pictures of your team working on the job, pictures of work they’re doing, office parties, training or charity events. This gives your company a face and builds your brand. When you add them to your GBP, also post on Facebook (or if you’re a client, shoot them to us and we’ll get them posted).

Rolling with the punches from Google is just one aspect of your digital marketing strategy. Hope this info helped!