How to Optimize Your College or University’s Google Business Profiles to Drive Organic Traffic
You may not have heard of the term “Google Business Profile” (GBP) before, but you’ve likely seen many of these profiles in search engine results. This is the panel that appears on the right-hand side (on desktop) when you do a branded search. If you go to Google right now and type your institution name in, you’ll see it appear. These profiles contain photos of your institution, address, phone number, website link, and a button to get directions, to name a few elements.
Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly known as Google My Business, is an important asset to your higher education institution because it represents your brand on Google search and Google Maps. Optimizing your GBP helps your university, college, or academic department be more visible to your prospective students when they search for your institution or institutions in the region. Learn how to incorporate GBP in your search engine optimization strategy to elevate your brand presence in organic search!
What Google Business Profiles does your institution have?
Before we dive into the optimization process, you should understand that your institution may have several profiles on Google. These include the main institution-level profile, sub-level profiles for schools, colleges, and departments within your institution, and profiles for different campus locations.
The main institution-level profile on the Search Engine Result Page (SERP) is distinct from the sub-level profiles. On the SERP, you will notice that the institution-level profile usually is combined with the Knowledge Panel, displaying information such as the cost and acceptance rate, but it doesn’t have photos and directions. On the other hand, the sub-level profiles include profile photos and buttons to visit the website, get directions, and make a phone call.
Below is an example of Carnegie Mellon University’s institution-level profile and its sub-level profile—Tepper School of Business.
