If you really want to attract more clients and grow your roofing business, Google Business Profile Management is an essential tool. By creating and optimizing your GBP, you can increase your online visibility and make it easier for potential customers to find your business. In this article, we will discuss the importance of Google Business Profile Management for roofers and provide tips on how to optimize your profile for maximum exposure.

The Importance of Google Business Profile for Roofers

First and foremost, having a Google Business Profile is crucial for any roofer who wants to be found online. With over 5 billion searches made on Google every day, having a strong online presence is key to reaching potential customers. A well-managed GBP can help roofers stand out from the competition and increase their chances of being discovered by new clients. Besides increasing online visibility, a well-optimized Google Business Profile can also improve a roofer's credibility and reputation. By providing accurate and up-to-date information about your roofing business, you build trust with potential customers and establish yourself as an expert in the world of roofing. The right Google Business Profile can be a powerful tool for roofers!

Creating and Verifying Your Google Business Profile

To get started with Google Business Profile (GBP) management, roofers need to create and verify their GBP account. This process involves setting up business information and going through a verification process.

Setting up a Google Account

The first step in creating a GBP account is to sign in to Google My Business (GMB) using a Google account. If your roofing business does not have a Google account, you will need to create one. Once signed in, you can add your business information basics like business name, address, phone number, website URL, and business category. It is important to ensure that the information is accurate and up-to-date as it will be displayed on the GBP.

Adding Accurate Business Information

It is important to make sure all your business information is correct when setting up your GBP. If you have any previous business information or old profiles floating around the internet, you may want to have it deleted, or at very least, have the info updated. Potential customers will quickly lose interest and confidence in your business if they start noticing inconsistencies in their search results.

Verification Process

After setting up the business information, you will need to verify your GBP account. Google will send a verification code to the your business address, which you will need to enter in your GMB account. Alternatively, you can choose to verify the account through business email or via phone verification. Once the verification process is complete, your GBP account will be live and visible on Google search and maps. Keeping the account up-to-date and checking regularly to ensure accurate information is displayed to potential customers is something you will want to stay on top of.

Optimizing Your Roofing Business Profile

As a roofer, optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) is essential in attracting potential customers. Here are some tips for optimizing your GBP listing.

Selecting the Right Primary Category

Choosing the right business category is crucial as it helps Google understand what services you offer. Make sure to select the most relevant category for your roofing business. For roofers, the primary category should be something like "Roofing Contractor." If you specialize in other services, you can also add additional categories that describe your offerings, such as "Gutter Cleaning Service" or "Roof Repair Service." Be specific and try to use phrases potential customers would search for when looking for a roofer.

Adding Service Areas and Business Hours

A helpful feature that should not be overlooked when setting up your GBP is the ability to define your service area. Making sure to include the cities and towns you serve can help attract nearby searchers. Customers traditionally like to use local providers and you have a greater pool of potential clients if you pay attention to your areas of availability. You can also specify the radius around your business location that you serve. This will help your business appear in local search results for relevant queries.

Accurate Contact Information

There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than searching for contact information for a needed business and then finding that the phone number is wrong or that the business has moved and the address was never changed. Potential and existing customers will lose confidence in your business quickly if they can not get in touch. Take the time to make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date. This includes your hours of operation as well. Always provide open and close times and stick to them.

Showcasing Roofing Services

Adding photos of previous projects to your GBP is an excellent way to draw in searching clients. Try to take well-lit, large, well-framed photos of your completed works when you can and add them to your Google Business Profile periodically. Roofing businesses that have great images appear in their google searches are attention grabbers. PRO TIP: Include your logo on a sign in the picture for added SEO benefits. Also when uploading the file to Google, save the file name to whatever it is the photo is

Managing Reviews and Ratings

Google Reviews are an important component of a roofing business's online presence. With over 90% of consumers reading online reviews before making a purchasing decision, it's crucial to have a strong online reputation. Here are some tips for leveraging Google Reviews to improve your roofing business's reputation management.

Encouraging Customer Reviews

The first step in leveraging Google Reviews is to encourage your customers to leave reviews. You can do this by:

Asking customers to leave a review after completing a job

Including a link to your Google Business Profile in your email signature

Adding a review request to your invoice or receipt

Providing excellent customer service to increase the likelihood of positive reviews

Providing excellent customer service to increase the likelihood of positive reviews

When requesting reviews, it's important to be clear that you're asking for an honest review. You should never offer incentives or compensation for leaving a review, as this is against Google's policies.

Responding to Negative Reviews

Negative reviews are inevitable, but they don't have to hurt your business's reputation. Here are some tips for handling negative reviews:

• Respond promptly and professionally to the review
• Apologize for any issues the customer experienced
• Offer to make things right if possible
• Take the conversation offline if necessary to resolve the issue

It's important to respond to negative reviews publicly to show that you're actively addressing customer concerns. This can actually improve your business's reputation, as potential customers will see that you're committed to providing excellent customer service.

Maintaining a High Star Rating

As a business owner and a customer, you are already aware of star ratings. Customers feel comfortable with 4 and 5 star ratings and those stars will weigh heavily in the decision of service providers. To keep a high star rating for your roofing business reputation, make sure you ask for customer reviews and respond to customer questions quickly and professionally. Google assigns star ratings from the average star reviews left by consumers. The more, high star reviews you get the better your star rating.

Leveraging Google Posts and Q&A

Google Posts are a powerful tool for roofers to showcase their business on Google. By creating and scheduling regular posts, roofers can keep their Google Business Profile up-to-date and engage with potential customers.

Creating Engaging Google Posts

When creating Google Posts, it is important to keep them relevant to your business. This means highlighting your services, promotions, and unique selling points. Use high-quality images and clear, concise language to grab the attention of potential customers.

Here are some ideas for relevant Google Posts for roofers:

• Promote seasonal services, such as snow removal or gutter cleaning
• Showcase before-and-after photos of recent projects
• Highlight customer reviews and testimonials
• Offer discounts or promotions for new customers
• Share industry news or tips for maintaining a healthy roof

Answering Questions from Potential Clients

As a roofer, it's essential to manage your Google Business profile to attract potential customers and build a positive reputation. One crucial aspect of profile management is monitoring and responding to customer interactions. Your Google Business profile displays your phone number prominently, making it easy for potential clients to contact you. You should strive to answer calls promptly and professionally, as missed calls can lead to lost business. Consider using a virtual phone system to manage incoming calls more efficiently. Virtual phone systems can route calls to different numbers, set up voicemail, and provide call analytics to help you track missed calls and call volume. When answering calls, be sure to identify your business and greet the caller warmly. Listen actively to their needs and provide helpful information. If you need to put the caller on hold, ask for their permission first. And always thank them for calling before ending the call.

Providing Excellent Customer Service

Your Google Business profile is often the first point of contact for potential customers. Excellent customer service makes a positive first impression. Respond as soon as possible to messages and reviews left on your profile. Address any concerns or questions with empathy and professionalism. If a customer leaves a negative review, respond calmly and offer a solution to the problem.

Consider creating a customer service policy to ensure consistency in your interactions with customers. Your policy should include guidelines for responding to inquiries, handling complaints, and following up with customers after a roofing project is complete.

Improving Local SEO and Visibility

For roofers, having a strong local SEO strategy is the best way to attract potential customers in your local market. Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to appear in local search results. By implementing local SEO strategies, roofers can improve visibility in search engines and increase your chances of being found by potential customers. Local SEO is particularly important for roofers because most customers prefer to work with local businesses for their roofing needs. By optimizing your website for local searches, you increase their chances of appearing in the local pack, which is the top three results that appear in Google's search results for local searches.

Local Search Ranking Factors

The most important things that lead customers to your Google Business Profile listing in search engines are:

• Relevance
• Distance
• Prominence

Do you offer what the customer is searching for? Are you in the search area? Is your business highly rated? 

You can maintain these 3 factors by making sure all your business information is accurate, your service areas are defined and you treat your clients well and ask for reviews.

Gaining New Customers through Local Pack

Local Pack, in short, is the map that pops up when you search for a business or service. That map has a few of the local service providers marked and you can make sure you are one of them. By maintaining your GBP and high star rating, you better your chances of being on that map when a local customer searches for roofing services you provide.

Keyword Research and On-Page SEO

One of the most important aspects of local SEO is keyword research. By identifying the keywords and phrases that potential customers are using to search for roofing services in their local market, roofers can optimize their website for those keywords and increase their chances of appearing in local search results. To conduct keyword research, you can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to identify relevant keywords and phrases for your local market. You can then optimize your website content, including page titles, meta descriptions, and content, for those keywords.

In addition to optimizing their website, roofers can also optimize their Google My Business profile by including relevant keywords in their business descriptions, services, and reviews. By implementing these local SEO strategies, roofers can enhance their online visibility and attract more local customers.

Utilizing the Mobile App

A mobile-friendly website is a great way for roofers to reach potential clients who are searching for roofing services on their mobile devices. You should ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices, with a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. You should also ensure that your website is easy to navigate and provides all the necessary information about your services. This can include information about their experience, certifications, and past projects. You should also include a contact form or phone number that potential clients can use to get in touch. Make sure that your contact information matches your GBP. In addition to maintaining social media presence and developing a mobile-friendly website, roofers should also focus on online reviews and Google AdWords to further strengthen their online presence.

Conclusion

Leveraging your Google Business Profile allows a great opportunity to improve your roofing business's online reputation. Google gives your business the opportunity to grow brand awareness, reach new customers, and build an online presence. Used to its fullest potential, your GBP listing is a great way to showcase your business in the roofing industry.

Update: as of 2023, our internal BRM research by trial and data analysis shows that some of the most critical components to ranking highly on Google Business Profile are:

1. Consistency of reviews - we encourage our customers to gain a consistent amount of 2 or so reviews a week as opposed to a bunch of reviews at once which Google may not accept.
2. Authentic photos of actual jobs, customers, etc WITH your logo included
3. Having a verified legitimate business address (not home-based, UPS store, or the like) but an actual business address. 

This SEO service is part of our flat-rate monthly fee included for all clients.