Almost all local businesses are making an effort these days to stand out and gain more customers. Increasing footfall and improving customer loyalty are the two core objectives for every business. But have you ever wondered why some businesses perform better than the others? Ever tried figuring out why your competitor’s website is ranking higher compared to your? There can be several reasons and this article will address the commonly reported issues.
Boostify360 analyzed more than 2 million Google Business Profiles to find out what are the top factors behind higher Google rankings. Before we get down to the statistics, here are four things that you must know about GBP ranking:
Good Business Description
A solid description will help properly guide/educate the customer by presenting an overview of the products or services. The most commonly asked questions are: (1) how long should the Google Business Profile description be?, and (2) how many keywords should it contain? A good description is encompassing and exactly covers the core services or product details while a bad one is generic.
Good ✔️: “Innovative tech solutions driving efficiency and growth. We specialize in custom software development, ensuring seamless integration for businesses seeking a competitive edge.”
Bad ❌: “We do stuff. Buy our things. We’re kind of like other companies, but not really. Whatever.”
The above statistics were collected suggest that Top 3 positions on Google were held by business with excellent descriptions. These top 3 listings had excellent product or service descriptions. The position 4-10 were held by businesses whose level of detail was slightly lower. Finally, the bottom positions were held by businesses with incomplete business descriptions or the descriptions have grammatical errors.
Accurate Website Address
This is one mistake a lot of business owners make on a regular basis and it’s quite basic: forgetting to add the right address. Forgetting to add address is like committing a financial suicide. The customers will be led off to a wrong location or if the address is not present at all, the customers will get frustrated. Same is true for website links. Also double check that all the URLs are working and none of the link is leading to any error page. Make sure that the address is accurate! 
The top 3 listings have an active URL in their Google Business Profile. Position 4-10 had added a URL but it was not leading to landing page. Positions 11-20 did not have any URL which contributed towards significantly lower traffic.
More than 44% of the Profile don’t have an address.
Without an address, the business is not findable and certainly a local business can not afford to lose customers. Avoid this common mistake at all costs.
Length of Business Description
Boostify360 recommends you to not write more than 750 characters. It should be concise and should give the visitor a detailed overview about the business – no aspect should be missed. One primary keyword and one second keyword should be present as well to rank better on the SERPs.
Number of Reviews
This is one of the core determinants while opting for any service/product. Good reviews equals good reputation and can really go a long way into helping the user make the final purchase decision. It is a good idea for customers to review the product/business post-service.
Discerning customers read through reviews – make sure the service or product quality is at par. Ask customers for reviews.
The top 3 positions had complete Google Business Profile. All the elements (Name, Address, Phone Number) were present along with variety of pictures that conveyed meaningful information regarding the business. Position 4-10 had a minimum of one element missing from the GBP whereas position 11-20 had more than one NAP elements missing.
Quality Pictures
Quality of pictures can make a huge impact on visitors/customers for some businesses. Restaurants, gyms, hospitals, schools, etc. need to be cautious only to put the best images. These images serve a hook and compel the customers to try out the service. For instance, you operate a taco stand. It is a good idea to put pictures of the locality, the stand, and the food. Here is a generic example of good vs bad pictures:
Checkout our Google Business Profile Optimization Guide – Free Checklist.
Summary: Here’s What Local Businesses Should NOT Do!
Make sure your local business is not losing clients because of the following 5 mistakes:
❌Poor business description.
❌Wrong address.
❌Broken URLs.
❌Not having enough Google Reviews.
❌Not putting quality
Here’s what To-Do instead:
✔️ Write a strong description.
✔️ Cover all products or services.
✔️ Use no more than 750 characters.
✔️ Optimize with keywords.
✔️ Put Quality Images.
✔️ Add Accurate Address.
✔️ Place working URLs.