Google Business Profile: the most underrated marketing tool in Iceland

When somebody in Reykjavík searches for a service you sell, the map often sits above every ordinary result. Three businesses get into that box. Your Google Business Profile decides which three.

It is free, it takes about two hours to do well, and it is still half finished at the majority of Icelandic businesses.

What matters most

1. The right primary category. This is the single biggest setting. Pick the category that describes the core of what you do, not the one that sounds most impressive.
2. A full service list. Every service with a short description. This is the text Google reads to judge whether you match the query.
3. Photos that are recent and real. At least ten, including the premises, the people and the work. Stock photos do nothing for you.
4. Opening hours that are correct, holidays included.
5. A web address that points at the right page, not always the front page. If the query is about one service, send them to that service page.

Reviews

How many you have, the average score and how recent they are all affect ranking. Ten reviews from the past year weigh more than fifty from 2019.

The simplest way to collect them is to ask at the right moment: right after the job is finished and the customer is happy. Send a direct link, not instructions. People will not go looking for you.

Reply to every review, the bad ones included, briefly and without getting defensive. The replies are visible and people read them.

What most people forget

• Posts. You can publish short updates the way you would on social media. One a month keeps the profile active.
• Questions and answers. You are allowed to add the questions you get asked most and answer them yourself.
• Products and services with prices. These show up directly in the search result.
• Checking whether anyone has suggested edits to your information. Google lets the public do that, and changes can go through without you noticing.

The link back to your website

The information in the profile should match your website exactly: same name, same address, same phone number. A mismatch weakens both. If you also have LocalBusiness schema on the site, the two confirm each other.

Frequently asked questions