The power of Google Business Profiles for SMEs

If local marketing were a fruit bowl, your Google Business Profile is the banana. It's easy to grab, surprisingly energising, and cheaper than the exotic fruit, but just as effective. For SMEs, it is the channel most likely to put you in front of customers today who are searching nearby and ready to act. Google’s own research shows that 76% of people who search for something “near me” on their phones visit a related business within a day. That is proximity plus intent working in your favour.

“The closer you get to your customer’s moment of need, the less you have to shout.” — Every happy SME, eventually.

Why a Google Business Profile is still the “lowest-hanging fruit”

Before we go on, a quick note apologising for the fruit analogies. This is the last one, unless we completely run out of juice. A Business Profile costs nothing to set up, and you manage it directly in Google Search and Maps. That alone makes it a gift for time-poor teams, especially marketing teams whose official time zone is ‘ASAP’. More importantly, it feeds the exact places people look when they are deciding where to go, from the local results box with pins and stars to Google Maps itself. When your details are complete and accurate, you make it effortless for people to call, get directions, browse photos, read reviews, and click through to your site.

Two quick reasons it matters right now. First, Google continues to fold more profile editing and features into Search and Maps, which tells you how central profiles are to the local experience. Second, Google’s own local ranking guidance is refreshingly clear. Relevance, distance, and prominence, supported by accurate information and strong reviews, help you show up more often. Add a tracking layer to prove the value of this work by placing a UTM tag on your website link in your profile so you can see those clicks in Analytics and in your CRM. We will explain UTMs briefly a little later.

“If you have to choose between a billboard and ten glowing reviews, pick the reviews. They don’t get stolen or blow away in the wind.” — Inospace proverb

The Inospace story, and what other SMEs can copy

We manage more than 40 locations across South Africa, so getting every profile accurate and verified was not a side quest, it was a whole game. Bulk tools were our friend. We used Google’s spreadsheet-based import to keep categories, URLs, hours, and attributes consistent across parks. It saved days of clicking and reduced mistakes.

Once the locations were approved, we moved from set-up to momentum.

· We focused first on collecting client reviews across our parks.

· We published regular updates and photos to show what had changed and what was available.

· We implemented tracking with UTM tags so that leads from profiles flowed cleanly into our CRM.

Direct leads attributed to profiles

· April: 15

· May: 15

· June: 17

· July: 20

· August to date: 10

That is 77 direct, attributable leads in under five months, before counting the indirect assists where someone finds us via a profile, looks around the site, and converts later. From April to July the monthly count rose 33%. Quality has been strong, and the brand lift is real when a prospect sees accurate information, compelling images, and social proof in one place. If you want to see how the wider ecosystem looks, explore our Inospace locations

How to set it up properly, then make it work

Claim and verify

Start by claiming your listing, then complete verification. Methods include postcard, phone or email, and video. You will be offered options based on Google’s checks for your business type and location. Here is the official overview of verification methods.

Make it unmistakably you

Choose the most specific primary category, then add relevant secondary categories. Keep Name, Address, and Phone consistent with your website and the major directories. Add opening hours, including public holidays. Complete services or products and a clear, human description. Edit guidance lives here: How to edit your profile.

Show, do not tell

Upload exterior and interior photos, your team, your products or spaces, and a short walk-through video so people recognise you when they arrive. Follow the photo and video guidelines.

Keep it fresh

Use Posts for news, events, limited offers, and useful updates. These sit inside your branded panel, so they are a tidy way to stay visible without another channel to manage. How-to here: Create posts.

Build reviews, then keep at it

Ask for honest reviews regularly. No incentives and no gating. We encourage replies to every review because customers notice them. At Inospace we are improving our own reply rate and still see the benefits of steady review collection. Google’s tips live in the Business Profile help hub.

Side note on UTMs

A UTM tag is a tiny label you add to a link, for example ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=profile. Add it to the website and booking links in your profile using this utm url builder. This lets Analytics, Search Console, and your CRM attribute visits and leads to your profile, so you can make decisions with facts rather than hunches. You can also compare this data with the built-in Profile Performance view.

“What gets measured gets managed.” — Probably your CFO (…but also Peter Drucker.)

Real-world wrinkles in South Africa, and how to handle them

Postcards go missing

We've all seen those pictures of the post office. That gift you sent Grandma is never reaching her and chances are the Google postcard isn't either. If your postcard doesn’t arrive, don’t panic. If you have repeated failures, use the “Get help” route in the Help Centre and note the delivery issues. In many cases a different option becomes available after you flag the problem.

Can you switch to video verification

Sometimes you will see “Try a different method” in the verification flow. If you do, select it and choose video. If you do not see that option, contact support and explain the postcard problem. Support can enable video verification if your business qualifies. For video, simply follow the prompts of what to record. Requirements are listed in Google’s video verification help.

Support is… support-ish

There is no general hotline. Most help is via the Help Centre, email forms, and community forums. Be patient, document everything, and nudge politely.

How it all works together

Think of your profile as the front door, but the house still matters. When you combine a complete Google Business Profile with focused local SEO and geo-targeted ads, you create a simple flywheel.

1. Discovery: Your profile appears in local results and on Maps when people search for what you do near them. Local pages and listings on your site, for example “warehouses in Paarden Eiland”, reinforce that relevance, and your ads keep you visible for the most valuable queries and nearby audiences.

2. Consideration: Your photos, reviews, posts, and key details help people feel confident you are real, close, and capable. Your ads and organic listings echo the

same language, and your location pages answer the practical questions. If someone is not ready, they have still learnt who you are, which makes retargeting ads and second visits more effective.

3. Conversion: Clear calls to action in your profile and on your site, for example Enquire now or Call now, make the next step easy. Because your links carry UTM tags, the click is attributed correctly in Analytics and your CRM. You can see which locations, messages, or images are moving people from local search to lead. That lets you double down on what works and tidy up what does not.

Two practical tips make the engine smoother. First, align creative and language across channels, so the experience feels consistent whether someone starts on Maps, Search, or an advert. Second, plan a light but regular update rhythm. Two profile Posts a month, a photo refresh once a quarter, and a short internal routine for collecting reviews will keep the whole system humming without stealing your week.

A quick, practical wrap up

· Claim and verify, and switch to video if postcards keep disappearing.

· Complete everything, including categories, hours, services, and a clear description.

· Add strong photos and a short video so people recognise you on arrival.

· Ask for reviews regularly. We are improving our reply rate, and still recommend replying where possible.

· Post updates twice a month.

· Track with one well-placed UTM on your profile links, then watch the Profile Performance view and your CRM.

· Pair your profile with location SEO and geo-targeted ads. The results compound because the channels support each other rather than compete.

Bottom line. For SMEs, a strong Google Business Profile helps you look bigger than your budget and closer than your competition. It is free, it is fast, and it is where local intent lives. Start there, keep it tidy, and let the rest of your marketing amplify the momentum.