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As a business owner, you want to maximize your business's digital presence in every way you can.
Your BBB Business Profile is where potential clients see your BBB letter grade, BBB Accreditation status, customer reviews, pictures of your work, videos for your business, brands you sell, and so on.
Not only does your BBB Business Profile help your company showcase your brand as being reputable and trustworthy, but for Accredited Businesses, potential clients and customers can contact you directly from your page to request a quote for products or services.
For clients to see your Business Profile, they need to find it. Showing up in the first few pages of search engine results is great. But showing up in multiple places of search engine results? Even better.
How can you help more people find your Business Profile?
Search Engine Optimization - otherwise known as SEO- is something to consider for your Business Profile. A major ranking factor for your listing is content. In layman's terms: the better the quality of your Profile is, the better your chances are of ranking higher in organic search engine results such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
So, what can you do to optimize your BBB Business Profile?
- Quality content. A robust, fully complete BBB Business Profile helps with SEO, helps your company stand out from competitors, and provides potential customers with the information they need to make an informed decision about doing business with your company.
Be sure to include the following on your BBB Business Profile:
- Company logo
Use a web-ready (72 dpi) .png, .jpg, or .gif logo image of a 1:1 ratio or 400 x 400 pixels. - Business overview
Make sure that the overview/nature of the business description is clearly and concisely written, at least 150 characters, unique (does not copy your website text), and is written with proper grammar and spelling. Consider including one or two keywords, so long as they are relevant and flow naturally within the description. Refrain from keyword stuffing the overview description; this will not improve the SEO of your BBB Business Profile. Also: do not make marketing claims in this section, such as "the best" or "the only." This is not an area to sell your goods and services. It is an area for you to explain what your business does. Do not include HTML, scripts, ads, or followed links in this section, as they will be removed. - Category
Carefully select your primary business category and only target relevant products or service categories. - Contact information
Ensure contact information includes your company address, phone number, email, website, and the names of the owners, managers, or any relevant staff. Be sure the contact information matches all other online directories and social media. - Services or products
Provide a list or description of the products or services you sell that make your business unique or that differentiate you from your competition. Do not list the name brands of every product, as this may be seen as spam by search engines. - Hours of operation
List the hours your business is open or when to contact your company for more information. - Service area
Your business may reside in a specific location but provide services within a larger region. Be sure to clarify the range of your service area for customers on your BBB Business Profile. - Pictures & videos
Ensure you have copyright ownership and permission to publish all images and videos you include with your BBB Business Profile. All photos and videos should be web ready. Photos should be in a 16:9 ratio or 640 x 360 pixels. Do not hyperlink images. - Links to your social media accounts
You invite potential customers to engage with and continue an ongoing relationship with your brand by providing links to your social media accounts.
- Company logo
- Consistency is key. Maximize SEO for your business by making certain the name of your company and your address match and are consistent on EVERY online listing, including your profile on BBB.org. For example, if you list your address as ‘Main St.’ on BBB.org., be sure not to use ‘Main Street’ on your Facebook page or Google My Business Profile.
We can’t promise that your business will be number one or appear on the first page in search engine results. But having a robust BBB Business Profile is an opportunity for your business to gain more exposure and potentially more clients.
For more information on which Business Profile modifications are available to all businesses and only to Accredited Businesses, or for help updating your BBB Business Profile, contact your local Better Business Bureau using the BBB Locator.
Find more business resources at BBB.org/BizHQ.