by Dipa Gandhi
Well, Google’s always keeping us on our toes. Just a couple of days ago, Google fully rolled out its new “Profile Strength” widget on the Google Business Profile (GBP) dashboard.
So What’s This All About?
Notice the green circle in the image above. This full green circle represents a complete profile. When you see a complete green circle, you have nothing to worry about. There is also a visual to indicate that more information is needed on a GBP.
Take a look at the GBP below, it looks like the profile is nearly complete, but after clicking on “Complete Info”, it takes you to another screen which implies the profile is not 100%. What was missing? The Ads credit hasn’t been claimed. Tricky, right?
It appears this may be Google’s way of trying to monetize the Google Business Profiles. Those who are Google Business Profile savvy would know whether or not their profile is as complete as possible without having to advertise with Google Ads.
Let’s take a look at another GBP that is less complete. If your profile strength is red in color and it appears to be 75% complete, this is an indication that there is room for improvement.
The red makes it look like your GBP is lacking, but there are times when the “Complete Info” is clicked and the user is taken to a screen like the one below. Options are given to you can choose to keep the messaging off. It’s not necessary to leave the “accept messages” option on in order to have a more complete profile.
However, if you see any of the images below on your profile, there are opportunities to make it more complete. Just specifying which services your business actually provides, or adding a description, will make your profile more complete and optimized.
Key Takeaways
Once you’ve created your Google Business Profile, you’ll want to make sure you optimize and monitor it on a regular basis. With Google always implementing changes, there may be new features you can include to strengthen your profile, and you’ll also want to be sure your profile isn’t negatively impacted by any of Google’s changes.
If your profile strength is yellow and nearly a complete circle:
then the only hindrance from it being fully complete with the green circle might be that you have not claimed your Google Ads credit, which is perfectly fine. As long as you know you’ve fully optimized your GBP, you are safe to ignore what “Profile Strength” shows.