When dog trainers ask me which marketing tactics I recommend for their businesses, my first answer these days is almost always to ask about their Google Business Profile (GBP).

Why?

Because your Google Business Profile is a low maintenance marketing tactic that can have an outsized impact. It helps with visibility, credibility, and tends to catch potential clients right at the perfect moment… when they’ve just done a search specifically for a dog trainer nearby.

What dog trainer wouldn’t want to come up at the top of the search results in that moment? It’s the moment when a potential client is most ready to buy; when they’ve decided they’re ready to look for actual solutions to their problem, rather than just doing background research or looking for DIY solutions.

So, what IS a Google Business Profile? And how can dog trainers capitalize on this free tool?

What is a Google Business Profile?

A Google Business Profile is a free tool, provided by Google, to help you manage your online presence across Google Search and Google Maps. It allows you to display key information about your business — information on your location or service area, your phone number, your website, your hours, and photos or offers to capture a potential client’s attention.

Having a Google Business Profile that you keep up-to-date and post content to occasionally increases your chances of appearing in local search results and gives you access to specific profile-related analytics, which can give you insight into how clients find you.

It is NOT the same thing as having a website — but it works alongside your website and can help direct potential clients there.

When someone performs a search on Google to help them find a local business within a given category, the first results are typically Google Business Profile results. These show above standard search results (websites that meet the search criteria), though below paid ads, in what is called the “Map Pack.”

What is the Map Pack?

We’ve talked about that a bit before, in our post on Local SEO for Dog Trainers, but the Map Pack is a listing of 3 businesses located near by geographically that Google thinks are a fit based on your search query (what you asked it to find).

For example, this is at the top of the page when I search for “Dog Trainers Near Me” from my office in Burlington, NC:

Each of the listings on the left are a Google Business Profile for a local dog training business near me. For those with facilities, you can see it has a link to jump straight to driving directions via Google Maps; for those that are service-area businesses, it has a button to link to their website. In both scenarios, clicking on the business’ name will open up that business’ Google Business Profile to the right of the map.

Where else does your Google Business Profile Show Up?

Google Business Profiles appear when someone puts a local, intent-driven query into Google to find nearby services, products, or locations (think searches that end with “near me”) but there are a few other, equally value, times they show up.

• Discover Searches: If someone does a search for a product or service type rather than a specific name (“Italian restaurant,” “car repair,” “dog trainer”), Google will often show Google Business Profile results then.
• Transactional & Action-Oriented Searches: If someone puts into google a command like, “Order pizza” or “emergency dentist,” it can also show Google Business Profile results.
• City/Location Specific Searches: If a search includes a specific location (“dentist in Denver,” “dog trainer in Miami”) the results will often include Google Business Profile listings.

Last, but not least, your Google Business Profile will also show up to the right of other search results if someone does a google search looking for your specific business.

If your profile is filled out with all the relevant information and has photos, it can make for a great “first impression” for a potential client while also building trust — most people using Google Search trust Google Reviews. Since it shows your contact information, your hours, your location, your overall review rating, and more, this can often be a powerful tool in helping a client decide to reach out.

What Are the Parts of a Google Business Profile?

Now that you know why you should have one… what are the parts of a Google Business Profile? And how can you optimize those sections for your business?

Basic Information: When filling out your profile, you’ll want to start with the basics. That’s going to include contact information (like your phone number and website). When setting up your profile, fill out as much information as you can.

Reviews: Your Google Business Profile allows clients to leave you reviews — and the number of those reviews can have a direct impact on how you show up in search. It’s worth it to spend some time asking past clients to leave you a review… and you can always re-use your reviews as testimonials on your website.

(Not sure how to ask for reviews? Modify my script on collecting testimonials without being awkward! After you get something good, ask the client if they’d be willing to copy-paste it into Google!)

Photos and Videos: One of the pieces of your profile that will need some regular maintenance is the images you upload to your account. The photos section of your profile is a great place to include pictures of your team and a service area map… and then periodically, add photos of client dogs as well! While Google doesn’t publish all the metrics that go into its algorithm, it IS believed that the meta data on the images you upload is a factor they consider when optimizing your profile… so it’s worth it to upload pictures taken at different places within your service area, if you’re a service-area business.

Description: Your Google Business Profile has a space for you to include a description of your business — and my recommendation here is that you think about what keywords you want Google to take into consideration when it decides which clients to send your way. Are there key services you want to mention? Types of dogs you work with? You want to weave together information that’s helpful for a person in deciding if you will be able to help them AND information for Google that helps it know which people you are the best fit for.

Posts: Like most marketing tools these days, your Google Business Profile also gives you the option to put up regular posts. Unlike most marketing options these days, more is not more here… Instead, experts recommend posting 1-3x a week, max. This is why I say that Google Business Profiles are way lower maintenance than most marketing tactics: you really can see a significant difference just checking your profile once a week and adding a new photo or post. Each post also allows you to include a link or a button, so you can link back to your website or to a services page when promoting a particular service you offer.

Q&A Section: The Q&A section of your profile is another chance for you to include information that Google can use to determine which people it should send your way. Think about questions someone is likely to have when trying to choose a trainer and add those here — this is the place to include a question about methodology, specific services (do you offer…?), types of ages/breeds, and service area (do you travel to…?). For more ideas, check out my post on 20 Questions to include in your Google Business Profile Q&A Section.

Service Category: For the business category section of your profile, the obvious answer is “dog trainer” and “pet trainer” — but Google updates the options here fairly often, so it’s worth the occasional scroll through them to see if there’s anything else that might apply. This is the biggest indicator Google will use to determine which service-based searches it should send your way, so it’s worth choosing things that make sense for your business.

Products/Services: There is also a “Products/Services” section of your profile. This is a good place to break out specific things you sell and list them individually. Think “Dog Training Classes” and “Private Lessons” though rather than trying to list out individual classes here to keep thinks manageable.

Why Dog Trainers Especially Need A Google Business Profile

As locally based businesses that need a regular influx of new clients, dog trainers have a lot to gain by claiming and maintaining their Google Business Profiles.

A good profile can help build trust — which is important when trying to gain new clients — and having your profile show up right at the moment of peak urgency for a client (when they do a google search for immediate help!) gives you a huge leg up. Reviews also matter deeply for dog trainers; fantastic reviews can really help sway a potential client into reaching out (and bad ones can make them stay away).

Add in that most dog trainers have yet to really optimize or focus on their Google Business Profile, and there’s real opportunity here for the trainers who do.

Getting Started with Your Google Business Profile

If you haven’t set up your profile yet, the first step is to claim and verify your profile with Google.

Once that’s done, choose the right primary category (if you’re reading this, it’s probably “dog trainer”), and add some real photos. Again, team photos and an image of your service area are a good starting place — but client dogs and other images (aka more than just your logo) are also a good idea!

Write a clear description, focused on your ideal client and weaving in keywords that Google can use to get an idea who you are and what you do.

Actively request reviews from past and current clients… and then respond to the reviews you do get.

Add the occasional post (again, once a week here is FANTASTIC!), and audit your profile quarterly to make sure all the info is still accurate.

Why Local Dog Trainers Need a Google Business Profile

Already have a profile and you just haven’t looked at it in a while? Take this as your reminder — spend 15 minutes today and just review your account. Make sure your profile is fully filled out and add a post and reply to any reviews… then toss a few minutes on your calendar to add another post next week.

I’ve seen clients see results in as little as 3 weeks… which is why when dog trainers ask me which marketing tactics I recommend my first answer these days is almost always to ask about their Google Business Profile.

As a busy business owner, you don’t need to be everywhere. You can’t possibly do ALL the marketing things. But if you’re serving local clients and you’re not actively managing your Google Business Profile, you’re likely leaving clients (and visibility) on the table. There aren’t many things in marketing that I consider low-hanging fruit… but your Google Business Profile is one of those few.