Case Study: GBP Website

Overview

This case study analyzed 3 different websites and keyword rankings to test if creating a GBP website with backlinks to the site would have a positive or negative impact. A GBP website refers to a website created within a Google Business Profile. The GBP site largely auto-populates information from the GBP profile and provides limited customization options. We analyzed clients’ domain ratings, 3-pack ranking, organic ranking, and geogrid data before the GBP site was created, 24 hours after the creation of the GBP site, and 1 week after the creation of the GBP site. The study did not find any significant positive or negative impact on any of the data collected.

Other digital marketing aspects were halted during testing towards the beginning of the case study (24-hour periods only). Other variables are at play with the later data sets as other digital marketing avenues were started back up.

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to determine if creating a GBP website has an effect on domain rating and local and/or organic rankings for the GBP and website.

Hypothesis

If we create a Google Business Profile website for our clients, then this will improve the client’s main website’s organic and local search rankings, as well as improve the domain authority of the main website.

Data

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Data Set 1 – Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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Ahrefs Ranks

4/12/22

4/15/22 (24 hours)

4/21/22 (1 week)

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Geogrids

 

*Screenshot of deeplinks added to business.site page

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Data Set 2 – Trusts & Estates Lawyer

3-Pack/Organic Search Results Data

3-Pack

Organic

3-Pack

Organic

Ahrefs Ranks

Before (5/18/22)

24 Hours After (5/19/22)

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1 Week Later (5/25/22)

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Geogrids

 

 

*Screenshot of deeplinks added to business.site page

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Data Set 3 – Personal Injury Lawyer

3-Pack/Organic Search Results Data

3-Pack

Organic

3-Pack

Organic

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Ahrefs Ranks

Before (5/10/22)

24 Hours After (5/13/22)

1 Week Later (5/20/22)

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Geogrids

 

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*Screenshot of deeplinks added to business.site page

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Analysis

Analysis of Data Set 1 – Medical Malpractice

Overall, there was no noticeable change or benefit to the firm’s rankings or main site due to publishing a GBP site. We measured 3-pack rankings, organic rankings, domain rating, and geogrids all before the site was published, 24 hours after the site was published, and 1 week after the site was published. 3-pack rankings had no long-term change for any of the 5 keywords measured. Organic rankings saw a mix of positive and negative changes for some of the keywords, most notably ‘Car Accident Lawyer’ moved from 10th to 5th after 1 week. Domain rating increased from 29 to 30 after just 24 hours and remained at 30 after 1 week. GEO grid data was inconclusive, though, it was common for many keywords to see negative effects after 24 hours and then return to the baseline after 1 week. Based on this study, publishing a GBP site did not have a noticeable positive or negative effect on the client’s rankings. It is recommended that we continue to test further with more clients. Based on Ahfrefs data the business.google site was not indexed.

Analysis of Data Set 2 – Trusts & Estates

One noticeable change for the firm was organic rankings for “Estate Planning Lawyer.” Rankings for this specific keyword improved from 8th to 7th after 1 week, and the geogrid rank also saw a small improvement. However, organic rankings for 3 of the 6 geoed terms declined by 1-2 spaces. This change was not apparent in the geogrids. The domain rating remained the same after 24 hours but dropped from 36 to 35 after 1 week, contradicting the domain rating improvements we saw for the firm in Data Set 1. Based on Ahfrefs data the business.google site was not indexed.

Analysis of Data Set 3 – Personal Injury

The firm saw a major improvement in their 3-pack ranking for the keyword “Truck Accident Lawyer,” moving from 12th to 3rd. However, organic rankings for “Truck Accident Lawyer” saw no improvements. The same is true for the geoed keyword “DC Truck Accident Lawyer”: 3-pack results improved largely, while organic results were stagnant. Geogrids showed similar results, the only keywords with noticeable improvement were “Truck Accident Lawyer” and “DC Truck Accident Lawyer.” The domain rating for the firm saw no change after 24 hours but improved from 49 to 50 after 1 week. Based on Ahfrefs data the business.google site was not indexed.

Conclusion

After analyzing three different test firms and their data sets, there seem to be no major changes that can be directly attributed to creating a GBP website. The data often contradicted itself, showing an improvement in one area for one client and then a decrease in a similar area for a different client. There were no consistent, major changes, either positive or negative. While this study shows that creating a GBP site was not an important ranking factor, the GBP site creation did not cause any negative ranking effects. Therefore, GBP websites can be built to create a backlink, but it isn’t an overnight game changer.