Following on from our Social Media for schools blog post recently we thought we’d look in a little more detail at Google Business profile (formerly Google Local Entries).  We were surprised at the number of schools who attended the training that had not actually claimed their Google Business profile.

Anyone searching your school will more than likely see your Google Business profile before anything else.  They may not even go to your website but simply look at your google search return (what comes up when you search your school).  Your Google Business profile contains important basic information such as your location & contact number but it also shows any reviews that have been submitted plus you can now post to your entry allowing you to add some valuable content about your school.

How to Claim Your Google Listing

If you search for your school in Google, your website should come up in the main body of the screen and then on the right hand side, your Google Business Listing should be visible:

If you can’t see it or you don’t have access just yet then you will need to claim your entry by going to Google Business.   You can create an account with any email but best practice would be to use generic email created to manage your school’s social media rather than an individual account.

Once your account is created type in your school name and check that the rest of the address is correct.

Verify and then confirm your school.  You will be sent a post card with a verification code that will need to be entered online.

If your entry has been claimed before, Google will show you a snippet of the email address that owns your entry, you many recognize the email or it may be an old or defunct email from a past employee.  If this is the case you can request access either as an owner or as a manager.

How to Improve Your Google Business profile

Are the pictures of your location attractive?  Sometimes the Google image of the exterior of your school isn’t the most attractive.  You can upload your own images, or try to move the Google pin to show off your school from a more attractive angle rather than showing the back alley way or your bins!

Do you have any reviews? Encourage supportive parents to give reviews.  Do take note that you may end up with a random score like 4.8 (even if all your reviews are 5 star) due to their algorithm.  Your Google Business profile will gather the ratings from other websites such as Facebook and Yelp.  Your school should be monitoring your entry for reviews as part of your online reputation management.

Summary

• Google Business is the dashboard by which you manage your Google Business profile and Google Posts, Insights and Google AdWords.
• Google Business gives a location of your business on Google Maps plus a brief overview of your business
• Google Business Post is a snippet of information that you can post to your entry, these posts only last one week but can add some valuable content to your entry.

You may also be interested in our article on How To Manage Negative Reviews.

 If you need any help with your Google Local entry do contact us at mel@reddesk.co.uk