Tips & Tutorials

What is a Google Business Profile?

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses of all sizes. One of the most effective and accessible ways to boost your visibility is by creating a Google Business Profile (GBP). This free tool from Google allows your business to appear in local search results, Google Maps, and even the coveted “local pack” — the list of businesses displayed prominently when someone searches for services like yours. Whether you’re a small local shop or a growing enterprise, a Google Business Profile can help customers find you, trust you, and choose you. Here’s why you should set one up and a step-by-step guide to get started.

Why You Should Create a Google Business Profile

1. Increased Visibility: When someone searches for a product or service near them (e.g., “coffee shop near me”), a well-optimised Google Business Profile ensures your business shows up in the results. This is especially critical for local businesses competing in crowded markets.
2. Builds Credibility: A complete profile with photos, reviews, and accurate details signals trustworthiness to potential customers. People are more likely to engage with a business that looks professional and transparent.
3. Free Marketing: Unlike paid ads, a Google Business Profile is completely free to set up and maintain, offering a cost-effective way to reach your audience.
4. Customer Engagement: Features like reviews, Q&A, and direct messaging allow you to connect with customers, answer questions, and address concerns in real time.
5. Actionable Insights: Google provides analytics through your profile, showing how people find you (e.g., search terms, clicks, or map directions), helping you refine your strategy.

Final Thoughts

Creating a Google Business Profile is a simple yet powerful way to connect with customers and grow your business. It’s not just a listing — it’s a dynamic tool that puts you in front of people actively searching for what you offer. By following these steps and keeping your profile optimized, you’ll stand out in local searches, build trust, and turn clicks into customers. Set aside 15-30 minutes to get started today, and watch your online presence take off.

Need help brainstorming content for your profile or analyzing competitors’ listings? Let me know!

Don’t have an SSL Certificate? Google is going to flag your website as ‘Not Secure’!

We turn to the internet for everything. From selling to buying, it is the introduction of an E-world. With this dominating trend, online security has become a necessity.

Undoubtedly, Google loves its users and therefore, is coming up with every possible way to make us feel secure here on the internet. With its recent announcement, earlier this year, Google will flag all the unencrypted internet by the end of 2017.

Google will flag 2/3rd of the web as unsafe.

This means if your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, it will display a ‘Not Secure’ in the URL bar.

When Do You need to Worry About SSL?

Websites with any kind of text input will need an SSL certificate.

1. Does your website takes text inputs in the form of login panels, contact forms, search bars, etc.
2. Is your website on HTTP://?

If it’s a YES to both these questions, you need to install SSL to avoid any risks or warnings. If you don’t implement SSL, your visitors will see a “Not Secure” warning in Google Chrome on visiting your site.

What are some of the benefits?

1. Protection Against Hackers

HTTP is the text protocol which sends information between your device and the website you’re visiting. HTTPS is the secure version of this. It encrypts information between the two, so anything sent between the pair is scrambled, rendering it virtually unreadable.

This is essential if you’re inputting sensitive details like your password, or credit card info. But equally, it protects you from man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks: this is when a third party (i.e. a hacker) is intercepting transmissions between two clients.

You might not consider this a major issue. However, without encryption, a cybercriminal can display a fake webpage. Links on this false site could download something malicious onto your computer, like malware.

2. Chrome will display your website properly

While it’s not a fabric flag, it is a warning displayed by Google Chrome. Any readers trying to visit a site which doesn’t have an SSL certificate will instead see a page alerting them that the connection isn’t private.

Bear in mind that Google Chrome is the most popular mainstream browser. People like its interface and love that its largely very secure. For much of its life, Chrome has loaded encrypted pages with a padlock and green “Secure” message displayed.

In 2018, Google switched its stance on the issue. Instead of viewing HTTP as the standard model for sites, Chrome will expect HTTPS as default and only show non-secure sites reluctantly, i.e. after warning users it’s not safe.

We expect other browsers to follow suit.

3. Improved Search Engine Rankings

We’ve established that Chrome won’t like your site without SSL; Google, as the search engine, won’t either.

Many rely on search engine optimization (SEO) to achieve a higher ranking on Google. But search for anything, and the chances are the vast majority of results on the first page will have HTTPS addresses. Ask any SEO experts, and they’ll tell you that it’s vital for sites to be on the first two pages of results. Comparatively few look beyond that.

Anything (legal) you can do to stay ahead of the competition – particularly by prioritising security –is crucial.

With an SSL Certificate, not only will readers trust you more, but search engines will too. This results in more readers, and the more popular your blog becomes, the higher it’ll rank on Google! It’s a win-win.

What should you do? Next steps.

Step 1:

Contact your Web Host and purchase an SSL certificate for your website.

Step 2:

Contact Taffy Design and let us know once the SSL is activated – this should take less than 24 hours.

Step 3:

Taffy Design will execute our Standard Wordpress Maintenance Package and install and configure a complementary SSL plugin.

Step 4:

Once the SSL is configured, Taffy Design will re-submit your website to Google and Bing search engines.

All done! Your website will be secure & trustworthy with better SEO performance.