By Clint Sanchez · Published · Updated · 5 min read
Quick answer
A Google Business Profile gives you five free links to your website: the website button, an owner answer in Questions and Answers, a product listing with a call-to-action URL, a post with a pasted link or a call-to-action button, and the appointment URL. Each comes straight from Google and costs nothing. Google shut down the free websites it once built from these profiles in March 2024, so the profile itself is now the link source.
Key takeaways
- The website button on a Google Business Profile is the single most important link in the whole listing.
- The Questions and Answers section is the spot most businesses leave empty; an owner answer can point to the page on your site that covers the question.
- Google posts show up in Search and Maps and can carry either a pasted URL or a call-to-action button link.
- A call-to-action button in a post usually converts better than a plain pasted link, but neither lets you set the anchor text.
- The appointment URL should point only to a booking or contact page, never to a payment gateway like PayPal or Stripe.
- After publishing, double-check the website URL on the profile; a known glitch can swap it for a Google-hosted address.
For a Denham Springs or Baton Rouge service business, the map pack is where the phone calls come from, and the website button on the profile is the path from that map result to your quote form. Most local profiles have the website field filled in and nothing else, which leaves the products, posts, and appointment links sitting empty.
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Do you want to get more backlinks and traffic to your business website? If so, then I have some good news for you.
Google Business Profile is one of the best ways to get more traffic and free backlinks from the most authoritative search engine in the world. In this post, we will cover how to optimize your GBP profile to dominate local search results with GBP backlinks.
The Easiest Local Search SEO Strategy for Building Backlinks
The backlink profile of a business is an integral part of the local SEO ranking factors. Quality and diversity are important to earning high-quality, varied links that will drive traffic to your site.
One way you can earn new quality backlinks for your website is through your Google Business Profile listing.
The good news is that GBP is not only free, but it’s also one of the most powerful ways to get high-quality links.
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Adding links from your Google Business Profile listing should be the first step in your link-building strategy.
Five ways to use GBP as a backlink source
You may not have considered this one, but it is the most critical link in all of Google Business Profile.
This backlink leads visitors to your website by clicking on the website button on your GBP profile page and helps you rank for local organic rankings if done correctly.
So when visitors find your business on GBP and click on the website button, they will be redirected to your website, where you can entice them with a coupon or free offer.
The benefit of this backlink is that it’s reliable because people always need what businesses have in store for them, so there is little risk involved with relying on this particular type of link.
Plus, the link is directly from Google, so it’s already getting a lot of authority from being the most popular search engine.
The backlink is also easy to implement because you just need to create an account with Google Business Profile and add your website address in the profile settings.
Tip: Double-check the website URL on your public profile after every edit. There is a rare glitch where the URL shown in the information section is swapped out after you hit “publish,” so open the listing and confirm the website button goes to your domain.
Learn more about our local SEO strategy that works every time.
Google Business Profile Questions and Answers
This post originally covered the free website Google let you build inside the dashboard. Google shut those sites down in March 2024, so that link is gone. The spot most businesses still leave empty is the Questions and Answers section.
Anyone can ask a question on your profile, and anyone can answer it. As the owner, you can also ask the questions your customers ask most and answer them yourself, and the owner’s answer sits at the top.
When an answer needs more detail than a few sentences, point to the page on your site that covers it. Keep it relevant: a pricing question can point to the pricing page, a service-area question to the service-area page. Google treats unrelated links, phone numbers, and sales pitches in answers as spam.
Three steps to seed your Q&A
- Open your public profile in Google Search or Maps and choose “Ask a question.”
- Post the question in the customer’s words, then answer it from the same account, with the full URL of the relevant page where it helps.
- Upvote the owner answer, and check the section monthly for new questions and stray answers from strangers.
GBP Products
Another easy way to build links from your GBP profile to your local business website is by adding products to your GBP page.
Add products by going into the URL of your Google Business Profile profile and looking for “products” on the sidebar which should be located under “tools.”
Create a new product, fill out all required fields, choose a CTA and add an appropriate URL to your product or service page.
If you’re a pure service-related business, don’t hesitate to use this feature.
Google Business Profile Posts
If you’re not using your GBP profile’s posts feature, you’re missing out on one of the easiest ways to create backlinks.
The posts feature allows you to post updates about your business directly onto GBP, which will show up on Google Search and Google Maps.
This is an excellent way for people in your area to stay updated with what’s happening at your company.
Posts can be used as a news source for potential customers in your area or to share upcoming events at your company with existing clients within driving distance. It provides you the opportunity to reach out and connect with them without being too pushy.
You can use posts to drive traffic to your website and gain backlinks.
How to get backlinks from Google Business Profile Posts
There are two easy ways to get backlinks from your GBP posts.
- The first way is to copy and paste the URL into the post body.
- The second way is to add a Call To Action (CTA) to your post and link it to the appropriate page on your website.
We prefer to use the second way because CTA buttons typically produce higher conversion rates than plain text links.
Unfortunately, neither method allows you to dictate the link’s anchor text.
Appointment URL
Another way to get GBP backlinks is through the appointment URL.
The GBP dashboard enables you to add an appointment link.
This appointment link will be publicly visible on your profile and should only apply if the customer can either set up an engagement or contact you for more information.
It would be best if you didn’t use this URL with any other purpose in mind, especially something that requires a payment gateway like PayPal or Stripe because it could compromise both sides of security measures put into place by Google.
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About the author
Founder & Lead Developer · Denham Springs, LA
Clint has built and marketed websites for 26 years, since founding BlakSheep Creative in 2000. He is also a 29-year firefighter and a 23-year member of IAFF Local 557, which is where the bias toward plain answers over sales copy comes from.
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Common Questions About Google Business Profile Backlinks
Short answers to the questions that come up most on this topic.
Do Google Business Profile links count as backlinks?
How do you add a link to a Google Business Profile post?
Can you still build a website from a Google Business Profile?
Can a service business use the products section?
What should the appointment URL link to?
Why should you check the website URL after publishing?
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