An optimized Google Business Profile can be one of the biggest drivers of your coffee shop’s success. 81% of people research online before they visit a store in person. A Google Business Profile gives your coffee shop a chance to be one of the first things a potential customer sees when they search “coffee shop near me.”
Not only that, but a solid business listing on Google can make a huge difference when it comes to coffee shop local SEO.
In this post, you’ll learn
- what a Google Business Profile is
- how to create a Google Business Profile for your coffee shop
- how to optimize your coffee shop’s profile
What is a Google Business Profile
A Business Profile on Google (formerly Google My Business) is essentially a business listing on Google. It allows you to control how your local business shows up across Google search and Google Maps. This is important for coffee shops because Google accounts for a large percentage of all North American internet traffic.
A Google Business Profile will allow coffee shops to:
- keep their online information up to date
- interact with their customers
- attract new customers
These profiles are great for businesses that serve customers at a specific location or within a specific service area. That means coffee shops are the perfect candidates.
And the most important part about a Google Business Profile: it’s free! There’s no reason not to take advantage of this incredible marketing opportunity for your coffee shop.
The Google 3-Pack
The Google 3-Pack refers to the way that Google displays the top three results for a local business search. It includes the three local businesses that Google thinks are the best match for the user’s search based on their relevance, prominence, and distance from the user.
Getting your coffee shop into the local three-pack can be a huge win for your business. Businesses that appear here earn a much higher percentage of traffic. Furthermore, many Google searches today are resolved without even clicking on any results. That means that simply showing up in front of people at the right time may be all you need to do to help them decide where to go for a cup of coffee.
Creating your Google Business Profile listing
Creating a Google Business Profile listing for a coffee shop is quick and easy. To begin, visit https://business.google.com/create/new. This is where you get started creating your profile. If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll have to create one. Don’t worry, that’s free too.
Once you’re here, start typing in the name of your coffee shop and click on the full name whenever it appears. If your shop doesn’t appear and you can’t find your business, click “Add your business to Google” to get started.
Once you’ve started, the process is pretty quick and easy. Follow the prompts and enter the appropriate information about your coffee shop.
At the end of this process, it will be time to verify your coffee shop. To verify your business, Google will send a postcard in the mail to your coffee shop’s address. The postcard will have a verification code for you to enter and verify your business. Some businesses will have the option to quickly verify their profile through a phone call, email, or text message.
Whether you verify your business quickly or have to wait on a postcard, you can start working on your coffee shop’s Google Business Profile. If you’re still waiting on a postcard, the changes you make won’t appear in any search results until the business is verified.
Optimize your Coffee Shop’s Google Business Profile
Once you’re logged into your Google Business Profile, there are some things you can do to improve it. It’s important to take these steps to optimize your profile so that you can maximize the impact that your business listing has. Optimizing your profile will help you move up the local rankings and land in one of those coveted top 3 positions.
The Google Business Profile dashboard may seem overwhelming at first. There are certainly a lot of different buttons and features. The first thing you should do to optimize your coffee shop’s Google Business Profile is to visit the “info” tab.
Fill out all information sections
Once you’re in the info section, fill in all the relevant information that you can. The more information you give Google about your coffee shop, the better they’ll be able to rank your business. Make sure to connect your coffee shop website, fill out the hours of operation, and write a compelling description.
Bonus tip: when you’re filling out the information sections, try to include keywords that you want to rank for in search engines. Don’t just stuff the keywords in there, but add them in when it makes sense to. This will help with the local SEO for your coffee shop.
Respond to reviews
Social proof is a huge part of how humans make decisions. The things that people say about your coffee shop online can have a massive impact on your business.
One of the best ways to manage your online reputation is to stay on top of reviews. Every time you get a review, you should respond to it. If it’s a positive review, thank the person for their support. If there’s a negative review, thank them for their feedback and try to make the situation right. People will be able to see your response to a bad review on your Google Business Profile. That means you have a chance to show other potential customers that your coffee shop cares about customer service.
Consider setting aside time periodically to respond to your customer reviews. Not only with this help your online presence, but it will also help you keep a finger on the pulse of what your customers are saying. Your responses should be prompt, so make sure you do this at least once a week.
Use FAQs
Once your coffee shop is verified and listed on Google, you’ll be able to see a “Questions & answers” section underneath your business listing. This section features a small “Ask a question” button that users can use to ask questions about your coffee shop.
But it’s not just random users that are allowed to ask your business questions. You can ask questions, too! You should use this Google Business Profile feature to ask and answer frequently asked questions about your shop. This may sound a bit strange, but it’s an excellent way to serve potential customers.
Think of it this way: if frequently asked questions aren’t already asked and answered, someone who has one of these questions will have to type out the entire question and then await your response. Using the question & answers section to preemptively answer questions can prevent frustrating scenarios like this.
Make posts
You can use posts on your coffee shop’s Google Business Profile to connect with existing and potential customers within Google Search and Maps. Posts can really be about whatever you want!
Posts can contain text, photos, or videos. Customers will be able to see your posts toward the bottom of your business listing under “Updates from [Your coffee shop name].”
All your recent posts can be found there. If you haven’t posted recently, they may just see a link to “View previous updates on Google,” which will show them older posts.
The different types of posts within the Google Business platform are Covid-19, Offers, What’s New, and Events. Each type of post is formatted a little differently and requires you to input slightly different information. Some things that a coffee shop might want to share through posts are shop announcements, menu updates, events, or special offers.
Note: Google may reject posts that contain a phone number.
Like most other platforms, consistency is key when it comes to posting on your Google Business Profile. You may not see instant results after your first post, but consistent posting is an excellent way to connect with customers and optimize your listing.
Manage your Google Business Profile and more with Marketing Backend
While a Google Business Profile is one of the most important listings for your coffee shop, it isn’t the only one. There are tons of different online platforms and directories where people may be searching for coffee shops to visit. If you don’t appear in all these places, you could be missing out on tons of additional revenue each month.
It can be hard to keep track of all these different platforms. And with managing employees and keeping customers happy, you’re already stretched thin. You don’t have time to manually create and update all these different listings every week.
That’s why we offer coffee shops an all-in-one digital marketing dashboard. From our dashboard, you can access our listings management solution. Here, you create your listing once, and we’ll sync it to all the relevant online platforms and directories. You won’t have to worry about whether or not your coffee shows up where people are looking. And with one place to manage all your listings, you can trust that your online presence is consistent across all channels.
