In today’s digital world, students use search engines like Google to explore and compare colleges. Whether they’re doing academic- and scholarship-related searches or simply trying to get a virtual preview of student life, prospects and parents alike expect to find what they need at their fingertips.
If you’re a college or university, it’s imperative your institution shows up in those results—and with the correct information—right away. That’s why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become increasingly competitive and important, even for branded searches where your institution is more likely to dominate. Luckily, updating your Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business) can be incredibly helpful in boosting your presence on Google.
What is Google My Business?
Google defines Google Business Profile as a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses, brands, artists, and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By claiming, verifying, and editing your school’s information, you can help student prospects and parents find you and ensure proper information appears in the exact moment they are searching for you.
Here’s an example of what a GBP listing looks like, complete with an image of the school, map, and street view of the location. Just below that is the Google Knowledge Graph, which includes important information such as address, phone number, and reviews.
Here’s what it looks like on a phone:
Why schools should claim, verify, and update their Google My Business listings
Here are just some of the benefits of updating and optimizing your GBP:
- You have control over what Google users see and give them the opportunity to call, visit your website, get driving directions, or read reviews all with the tap of a button.
- You can read and respond to reviews from students and parents. And prospective students see these reviews too, which can help boost interest in your school!
- You can share photos of campus, events, current students, school apparel, etc. and put the most appealing photos right in front of prospective students when they’re on the SERP.
- You can publish Google Business Profile Posts to market priority programs, highlight your institution’s value propositions, or direct users to register for upcoming events like open houses and information sessions.
- There’s space for more copy! You can use your school’s slogan for brand purposes or to optimize it for certain keywords or industries.
- Insights are available! Within your GBP on desktop, you have access to the “Performance” section, which reveals how many people searched for your institution, called directly from the listing, clicked through to the website, or checked driving directions.
- It’s FREE!
Ready to claim your college’s Google Business Profile and capture more traffic? Take a look at the GBP optimization checklist.
How Can Google Business Profile Support Your Marketing and Enrollment?
If you’re like many of the admission and marketing professionals I’ve met with, you’re wearing 10 hats, and managing your school’s Google Business Profile listing just isn’t one of them. But it can be with just a little time and guidance—and the benefits are definitely worth it. If you need help, please reach out to us! We helped the University of La Verne optimize their GBP across multiple campus locations. Here are the results:
- 18,400 new website users interacted with a Google Business Profile property (50.14% of La Verne’s site users).
- 169 users who filled out an RFI interacted with a GBP property.
- 43 users who applied to La Verne interacted with the GBP property.
- 106 users who signed up for an info session interacted with a GBP property.
- Users who interacted with a GBP property were two to three times more engaged than any other campaign.