Forecast of companies with Google profile

Looking ahead is always challenging, but we can make one prediction about Google's offerings with complete certainty: there will be more changes.

The pandemic has had a huge and possibly lasting impact on how customers shop and connect with businesses. By some estimates, this has propelled the digital marketing industry forward around the world by an average of six years. Undoubtedly, this has created mountains of customer data, all still being studied and will soon be used to implement new strategies. And as customer behavior continues to change, so does Google's response and product offerings.

Whether we like it or not, businesses of all sizes will need to constantly pay attention and change with the platform when necessary if they want to continue to reach new customers.

What doesn't change in your Google profile? №2

Frequent attribute updates

There is a wide range of other "attributes" that companies can add to their profile to share information with applicants, from details of wheelchair-accessible bathrooms to identification as "due to women" or "veterans". These parameters are regularly expanded, so it is desirable to check them periodically. During the pandemic, many new attributes related to contactless payment and delivery were added, for example.

You do not need to pay (at the moment)

The profile is free, although you will be given many opportunities to learn about and use paid Google Ads. Undoubtedly, these ads are very useful for some companies, if they are properly targeted. But you can still talk a lot about your business on Google without spending a dime - yet. Some experts believe that Google will one day try to make these lists paid, but there is no concrete evidence that this will happen in the near future, if at all.

What doesn't change in your Google profile? №1

No matter what it's called and no matter how you access it, the importance of having a Google profile with the most accurate and complete information will not change in the near future. Here are some things to keep in mind when managing your profile.

The main category is key

One of the most important information in your profile is your business category, especially the main category. Google offers more than 3,000 categories to choose from and regularly adds new ones. Lists like this can show you what's available and let you know about recently added categories. If you're not sure what to use, try to find the terms for which you want to place well, and see which categories your competitors use in the map section. For example, if you have a store that sells and repairs bicycles with the right equipment and clothing, you may have originally called your business a "store." However, you can get more queries by changing your main category to "bike shop" and including additional categories like "bike repair shop" and "sporting goods store".

You should also keep in mind the features for certain categories, which are only available to companies in certain categories. For example, if you want to publish a menu, Google says you need to be listed as a food and beverage company.