How a Google Business Profile Supports SEO
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is more than a directory listing—it’s your digital storefront for local search. In this episode, Samantha and guest expert Jona Hysa break down how GBP and website SEO work together, what to update (and how often), and the quick wins that help the right people find you: clear keywords, accurate services, defined location, fresh posts, and review strategies that actually support search.
Key Takeaways
Your Google Business Profile and website SEO work in tandem—optimize both with the same niche keywords and services.
Accuracy wins: keep location, hours, services, and offers current or risk confusing both Google and prospective clients.
Define a real service area; vague, wide regions or PO boxes hurt local visibility and Maps results.
Treat GBP like a social channel—share new posts, blogs, and updates there whenever you promote them elsewhere.
Guide reviews: ask clients to mention the specific service and outcomes using the words your ideal patients search.
AI surfaces what’s most current and consistent—out-of-date profiles or bios can misroute referrals and suppress visibility.
Jona Hysa
Jona is a Social Media & SEO Strategist. She helps you reach 58% more accounts In just 2 Weeks with her 3-Step Visibility Framework STRATEGY - STRUCTURE - CONSISTENCY™️. She is also the Founder of Moving Women Forward Community™️. If you're finally done with your ideas and expertise sitting in the “planning drawer”, join Jona's monthly brainstorming and accountability co-working sessions, with a defined and structured roadmap to your marketing, social media and SEO efforts.
Transcript
[00:00:00] Samantha: I am Samantha Mabe, website designer and founder of Lemon and the Sea, and this is Elevate your practice. If you're a holistic health practitioner ready to grow your practice without wasting time on things that don't work, you're in the right place. Each week I share a website, SEO, and marketing advice along with guest experts so you can bring in the right clients and feel confident about how you are showing up and serving the people that you help. Let's get started.
Why Your Google Business Profile Matters for Local SEO
[00:00:39] Samantha: Today I'm talking with Jona Hysa about making sure your Google Business Profile is supporting your SEO and your business. This conversation is really helpful, whether you already have a Google Business Profile set up or if you're just starting one. We talk about what you need to do to make sure that you are sharing relevant information and keeping things up to date. And we also talk about why your Google Business Profile works alongside SEO to make sure the right people are finding your business so that they can become clients. We also have a discussion about SEO and AI search engines to continue on my previous episode about that topic.
[00:01:31] Jona is a social media and SEO strategist, she helps you reach 58% more accounts in just two weeks with her three step visibility framework: strategy, structure, and consistency. She is also the founder of the Moving Women Forward Community. If you're finally done with your ideas and expertise sitting in a planning drawer, join her monthly brainstorming and accountability sessions with a defined and structured roadmap to your marketing, social media, and SEO efforts. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and check out her tips on optimizing your Instagram profile on her website and in the show notes.
[00:02:10] Hi, Jona. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Meet the Guest: Social + SEO Strategist, Jona Hysa
[00:02:15] Jona: Hi, Samantha. Thank you for having me and for the space. It looks amazing. Let's have this conversation.
[00:02:21] Samantha: I read your official bio, but can you tell us a little bit more about where you're located and what it is that you do?
[00:02:29] Jona: Right. Amazing. So I am Jona with a y Sound. It's an Albanian name for those that might wonder where is it from? I'm a social media and SEO strategist for small businesses. I work primarily with wellbeing brands. I'm based in London, uk. The accent is not there yet, but it's an combination of Albanian, Italian. I've lived in Italy for over 20 years. I'm born in Albania, and moved to Italy, and now I'm in London for, I think around 14 years now.
[00:03:03] Samantha: So how did you get started doing social media and SEO strategy?
[00:03:09] Jona: People might think that they don't go hand in hand. But at the end of the day, you might know very well this Samantha, there is a synergy between the two, right? They work together in combination. First of all SEO as we know, it's about being optimized, so getting found on Google. People say, 'okay, but my website is optimized, but I'm not getting traction anyway.' Or 'I'm not getting any leads, or people are not visiting my website.' Yes, it's there, the job is done, fair enough. But are you promoting your website on social media?
[00:03:43] People don't think of the website when they do social media, but if you have your website in mind when you do your social media, it is guaranteed basically that it'll be boosted better, you will be found even sooner on Google. You'll be ranked higher. And that's how the things work altogether.
What Is GBP Doing for You (and Why Local = Maps)
[00:04:01] Samantha: Today we're focusing on the Google Business Profile, which is another piece of getting people to find your business, and it helps with lots of the other work that we're doing. A lot of my clients in the health and wellness space know that it's important, but they don't really understand why it matters. So can you tell us like why a Google Business Profile and why setting it up correctly is important especially for people who are local businesses?
[00:04:35] Jona: Local business forget that local means map. So once upon a time, we used to go in the shops, right? How it was made possible? It was made possible by seeing your competitors, optimizing your shop window, attracting the right people, the ones that you wanted to sell your products or services. Say you are offering, I dunno, a bakery. Two Bakers offering different products, you are attracting different types of visitors. So one is, let's say family, friendly, and they're looking for kids' birthday cakes. And the other ones is a brunch style cake. So therefore they walk by and they come to you. So this is how you are making your shop window attract those specific target audiences.
[00:05:17] Now everything has moved online. So that shop now has disappeared, not the actual shop, but has moved from a physical shop with the window and people working in it. There might be bakers that still have a physical shop, but most of the business now are online. Therefore, once they've moved online, how you are making sure that the same visitors are coming to your shop, to your profile to see what you have to sell them.
[00:05:45] A simple example. Let's think of people who are finding me. So I had a lead but when they approached me, they said, ' we know you are local. We are looking for someone who is local. How can you help us boost our social media?' They looked for the services that were on my page, on my profile, and everything that comes in between. I'm not physically downtown offering my services with a physical shop, but I'm digitally having this window shop where you can come and find what you're looking for.
[00:06:18] Samantha: I've had a few clients that want to work with someone local as well, and for what you and I do, they don't need to work with a local person. But I think it can make people feel better, even if it's a service that's offered online, because you understand their area. And there are people who. Solely work with local clients, whether it's a storefront or they just come into some kind of an office space. So it is very important for Maps. That's what I like to tell people is it shows up on Google Maps, it shows up on Google itself. There's a lot of places that this profile is going to display your information. Google is taking that information and they really are using it to share your business with people.
[00:07:05] Jona: Absolutely. And people also forget that by having the opportunity, it's a free platform, right? It's available for you. You go to grab it 'cause it's an opportunity that you're having to reach better people in terms of your target audience, so whoever is interested in your service or products. Therefore, it's there, use it.
Core Setup: Keywords, Categories, Services, and Products
[00:07:24] Samantha: You have some key steps that you follow to optimize your Google Business Profile. Can you walk us through what those are and maybe point out some things people tend to miss when they're setting that up?
[00:07:39] Jona: So yes, having a Google profile, it's not enough. Now, I don't want to scare your listeners, but it's not enough in terms of just checking your address, putting a phone number, that's not going to work in terms how they're going to reach you. they will not find you through a phone number, but they're going to find you from those important keywords that we mentioned at the very beginning.
[00:08:02] So the combination of everything altogether will make them reach out to you and you will be better visible and better placed amongst your competitors. Therefore easier to be contacted by those that are looking for your services. So put those keywords, those important keywords that your target audience is looking for.
[00:08:25] If you're a baker, again, they're looking for bakery near me, or they are looking for birthday cakes, right? In this case for me is digital marketing. They're looking for digital marketing or digital marketer. So those keywords are there. Other clients we worked, they've been in the wellbeing space, so working with the clients, it is really important that they stand out. If you have competitors that offer the same service of products.
[00:08:52] For example, if you're an acupuncturist, that must be across your profile. So it must come out as a keyword. If I'm looking for someone like you, acupuncturist in the area, I'm definitely finding you because you are doing the work, basically, right? So your profile is better optimized.
Service Area vs. Address
[00:09:08] The second step, try to update your services or products. If you have information related to those service or products that is changing, it's important that you update that profile as well to reflect those changes. If you, once upon a time offered acupuncture for pregnancy, you are no longer offering that, but you're offering acupuncture for wellbeing, then it must reflect that change across your profile.
[00:09:33] I'm gonna go back to Maps, just one moment. So I've seen some problems with clients when they've had a PO Box or a location that is not relevant to what they do. If you are going to put a location that is not defined location, like UK- I'm not saying London, I'm saying UK wide, then that is hard for me as a customer that I'm looking for those service or products, I'm not going to come to you to do the acupuncture whilst my neck is sore. I'm looking for someone who is on the spot, local, can help me immediately. Therefore, location wise, it must be really specified. Where is the location? Where are you? You're not gonna travel miles to have just one session.
[00:10:19] Samantha: When I set mine up, and I know this has happened to other people, I don't necessarily want people to know what my address is because I work from home. But you can choose your area to display instead. But if you go too wide and it's the same thing with SEO, people aren't going to know where you're located. You want to make sure, especially on the maps, that you're actually nearby. You're 30 minutes away, not two hours away.
[00:10:51] Jona: Absolutely. It'll depend on the type of business model, but the better the map is defined, the better your pin corresponds to the actual physical location, the better it is for your potential plans to reach you.
How to Maintain Your GBP
[00:11:08] Samantha: Do you have any advice on how often we should be updating our profile? Is that something that we need to do frequently or is it something that we just need to make sure that like the hours are accurate and the keywords are accurate?
[00:11:23] Jona: This question, it's a very common question actually. It has come up in different conversations. So I host this accountability sessions and members ask, 'well I want to stick to my work, right? I want to define the frequency in terms of what I'm going to do this month.' The answer is if you are changing, or you are shifting, or you are removing, or you are launching something new, whatever change you are having in your business: a launch, a cancellation, whatever updates you think that are relevant, that you are already promoting those across social media platforms, you change that across your Google profile.
[00:12:06] First, you are going to confuse your audience, your potential clients, right? So you are doing something, but on the other hand, you have changed business model. With that in mind, they go together. I strongly advise that once you announce those changes across your social media platforms, or you implement them in the business, doesn't matter if you haven't announced them yet, it is important that they get reflected in your profile.
[00:12:30] Samantha: I think that's really important. It's the same thing when a store hasn't updated their hours and so you go and you're like, 'oh, well your Google profile said that hours were this and now you're not open.' And that can make someone not want to come back. So it's important to just make sure everything is consistent.
[00:12:51] Jona: Imagine in real life, right? You had your store open, physical store or an office, whatever office space you have. You are not going to get a potential client or a passerby will come and knock on your door, but you can't 'cause you have closed down. So you are making them aware that something is happening, so they know where to find you.
How Your Google Business Profile Impacts SEO
[00:13:11] Samantha: So how does your Google profile connect with SEO? I know you mentioned at the beginning, and I've heard it a lot, people are starting to say that SEO doesn't really matter. So can you address that as well?
[00:13:26] Jona: ' SEO doesn't really matter.' I think it's for those that have not understood properly the benefit of SEO. But you cannot understand the benefit of it if you are not implementing it, right? So if you're not optimizing your website, or if you're not optimizing your Google profile, no one knows what it is about. There is limited information. You are not seeing any leads, right? Let alone potential clients coming through the door. That's why you haven't seen the benefit, but it goes like, is it the egg or is it chicken before? So which one do we choose? You cannot choose one or leave the other. they go hand in hand. In this case, You haven't seen the results, so you don't know the benefits because you have yet to implement. But once you have implemented then you'll be able to see the benefits, so the leads and potential customers reaching out to you.
[00:14:18] Samantha: And it sounds like the SEO, the keywords you're using on your website to describe what you do, are the same things you would be putting in your profile to describe what you do. So acupuncture for pregnancy or for wellness. You're consistent across whatever platform. It's just that the Google profile is gonna tie a little bit more closely to a location than your website or social media might.
[00:14:47] Jona: That's absolutely the case. Yes. You don't want to confuse your potential clients by having one information on your website and totally something else on your Google because you could not be bothered to update or change anything on your profile.
[00:15:02] Let's say everything on your website is very much up to date. That's perfect. But your Google is saying something else. It's called Google optimization, so you cannot optimize one and leave the other. They are the pair, I want to call them the little pair, so they work together, partners, and they go hand in hand.
How AI is Impacting Google and SEO
[00:15:24] Samantha: Do you find with AI and all of these other terms that people are trying to optimize for, that any of that is impacting Google profiles? Or is your Google profile impacting how you show up in those AI search results?
[00:15:43] Jona: The impact is, again, your profile must reflect you at the current moment, at the current status. If your profile or your website is offering information of 10 years ago because you were doing some leadership coaching, which is great, but nowadays you have switched jobs. You're a therapist now, right? So you are not coaching, you are offering treatments. Now, if your website is still with the information of a leadership coach, you are working through word of mouth, that's fine. But you are not reaching as wide as you want to. The same with Google. You haven't updated your Google profile, you're still a leadership coach. Might be the same address, doesn't matter.
[00:16:25] Now, AI will pick up the information that you have on your current website and on your Google. It's picking up that you're a leadership coach, but you've got nothing to do with a therapy. It doesn't even know that you have a therapy room or a therapy space where you offer all these tailored solutions to your clients. So which one are you? How is AI going to to address that information? It's picking up something that's totally irrelevant to what you're doing right now.
[00:16:52] Samantha: I think it's a good reminder that all of the information AI is gonna pull from is the work you're already doing with SEO and your social media and your marketing, because that's where it gets the information about your business. I just did a search for a client. She wanted to know how she was showing up in AI and it was saying, 'oh, it says she works in, both Virginia and Florida.' Well, she doesn't but I think it was still on her Facebook profile that had not been changed. So it's pulling information from all those places and if it's not accurate, it's going to give people inaccurate information or it's not gonna show them, ' this person offers acupuncture' because they can't find that anywhere.
[00:17:42] Jona: Absolutely. AI or Google SEO, they work together with the actual information. AI is not gonna pick up information that was five years ago because that's not how it works. It works with most relevant and latest information. It's not gonna go research for you 10,000 years ago. Yes, it might get some details, but it'll do the same for others as well. So you'll be able to send out your information, your content. They are all combined and boiled down to what is happening now and what you're offering now.
Quick Wins: Use Posts and Share Your Blogs on GBP
[00:18:13] Samantha: If somebody already has their Google profile set up, what are a few quick things they might be able to do to make sure they're showing up and to get some more engagement, to get more people seeing their business?
[00:18:27] Jona: I'd recommend that they share if they're writing an article, a piece of content with information. It will help massively with optimization and everything else behind Google search. So it's really good that you have that blog added to your Google profile.
[00:18:43] Samantha: It sounds like you're sharing it the same way you would share it on social media, like 'I have this new post.' That's not exactly what you would say on Instagram, but just the same way you're promoting your content elsewhere, you are also sharing it to your Google Business Profile.
[00:18:58] Jona: Absolutely.
How Google Reviews Help You Rank in Search
[00:18:59] Samantha: Do you have any insights into Google reviews and how they impact a Google Business Profile?
[00:19:07] Jona: Right. So yes, Google Reviews act as a new piece of content. People offer neglect that part of Google SEO because they don't look for reviews. They don't ask for reviews. They have to serve a purpose. So the purpose is, again, the little keywords that your clients are using across the review. So if it mentions that they enjoyed a session with you, but there is no mention of what this session is about. Now they've said almost nothing for Google 'cause Google is picking up information, but if it's not relevant to your profile, Google will almost discard it and say, 'okay, this is just an additional random blah blah words,' that are not important to me, therefore, I'm not going to pick them up and show them on Google search. Then that review has done nothing basically.
[00:20:02] So it's a good practice, if you ask your customers or clients, 'please would you mind giving this review?' Then you direct them in the right direction, like that you enjoyed the acupuncture or the benefits you have out of the acupuncture session, then that's an additional beneficial step for you to grow your ranking across Google.
[00:20:24] Samantha: I thought it was interesting when I was looking for a service and I looked at their reviews, they will actually pull out those keywords to tag them. I was looking for an ear piercing and it was also a tattoo shop, but I can click and say, 'okay, I want reviews that are related to this. I don't care about the reviews related to the tattoo artist' 'cause that's not who I'm going to see. And so I think it is really important for people to remember. Like even those keywords are helping Google to figure out what you do. They're helping Google to show the relevant information to people who are searching. And all of that works together to then help bring people to your business.
[00:21:04] Jona: Absolutely, absolutely. In between the two or more competitors, that's how you're going to stand out in the digital space. So everything with a strategy in mind, even those reviews.
[00:21:16] Samantha: So is there anything we haven't covered that you wanted to mention before we wrap up?
[00:21:23] Jona: I'm sure small business owners are overloaded with information, they're overloaded with things to do and the list goes on and on. So the first step is to go into your profile, right? Have a look from the very beginning to the end of what information have you input in your profile? And first of all, clear out what is no longer doing any service to you, doesn't have a purpose and just decluttering the space. Clear out those irrelevant pieces of information or content that you have on your website 'cause even if they're old and obsolete, they're not going to help you with Google. Google is always on the lookout for fresh information, fresh content.
[00:22:05] And then the next step to build up your structure around your Google is, well, today I'm posting on social media about this and this and that. I'm launching a new program, or I'm launching a group coaching, whatever you're doing at that moment, Then at that moment, it's the right time to put that information on your Google profile. Start with one, whichever you're doing, and then you will carry on with a second bit of content that you are planning to to launch or planning to publish whatever you're doing, but one step at a time.
[00:22:38] Samantha: It sounds like you start with that foundation, make sure everything is up to date on the profile, and then you're just maintaining it by posting, sharing your content on a regular basis so that Google what you're doing and what you're about and that you're still working and that you're still relevant.
[00:22:56] Jona: Yes 'cause you're posting that on social media, right? I'm hoping, I don't want to hear people are not doing that. But if you are posting that on social media, why not post it on Google? It acts almost the same. It has a different value, but it's there for you. So it's the same piece of information that you're not going to recreate or find a new piece of content, right? You are repurposing what you've got.
Connect with Jona
[00:23:19] Samantha: So where can people connect with you if they want to learn more and see what resources did you have available?
[00:23:27] Jona: All right. Let's talk about Google, right? If people Google 'Moving Women Forward Community,' they will find my page. and with my page they will find all the relevant information that is either on my Google profile or on my website. We host accountability sessions, so it's where we talk when we target and build up your strategy, structure and consistency in a proper framework. So we do that monthly. We have different businesses so you will still have the space there to accommodate you and help you move forward in the digital space.
[00:24:04] Samantha: Thank you so much for coming on today and talking about this. I know it's a topic that a lot of people know they need to address, and this gives them some really good steps to take to make sure they're gonna show up on Google Business Profile and that it's set to actually serve their business.
[00:24:21] Jona: Amazing. Thank you so much for having me, Samantha.
[00:24:23] Samantha: Thanks for listening to Elevate your Practice. If you enjoyed today's episode, follow the show and leave a review. It helps more practitioners find these tips and start growing their practices with confidence. And don't forget to check out the show notes for links and resources from today's episodes.
[00:24:44] I'll be back next week with more strategies to help you build a thriving practice.
