What is a Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile is the free listing Google shows for a business on Google Maps and in local search results, with its address or service area, hours, phone number, photos and reviews. The owner can claim and verify it to edit those details.
Cited from the66th.com/glossary/google-business-profile
How a Google Business Profile works
An owner creates or claims the profile, then verifies it, which tells Google the owner is authorized to represent the business. After that the owner controls the core details: name, category, address or service area, hours, phone number, website and photos. Customers add reviews, and the owner can reply to each one. Creating the profile is free, according to Google.
A business that customers visit shows its address. A business that travels to customers, such as a plumber or a cleaner, sets a service area instead, and Google's guidelines tell a plumber who works from home to clear the home address from the profile.
| Field | Example entry | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Example Plumbing | The name on the van and the invoices, with nothing added |
| Primary category | Plumber | Matches the profile to searches for the service |
| Service area | Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane | Shows where the plumber travels while the home address stays hidden |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 7 am to 6 pm | Tells searchers when they can call |
| Reviews | 112 reviews, 4.8 average | Shows buyers what past customers said |
Why Google cares
Google's help page Tips to improve your local ranking on Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, which the page also calls popularity. Relevance is how well a profile matches the search. Distance is how far the business is from the person searching. Prominence is how well known the business is, and Google says it draws on how many websites link to the business and how many reviews it has.
The same page says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
What it means for your business
For a business that serves people in a place, such as a clinic, a trade, a restaurant or a studio, the profile is how it appears on the map when someone searches for its service nearby. A buyer can read the reviews, check the hours and call from the profile without opening the website, so a wrong phone number or old hours reach buyers before the website does.
A business that sells only online, with no local buyers, needs little more than an accurate listing for its own name. For local businesses, the profile is where our Google Business Profile optimization work starts.
Common mistakes
- Adding keywords or a city to the business name. Google's guidelines say the name should reflect the business's real-world name, and unnecessary information in it can get the profile suspended.
- Listing a virtual office as the address. Google does not allow a service-area business to list a virtual office unless staff work there during business hours, so set a service area instead.
- Creating a second profile for the same business. Google's guidelines allow one profile per business, because duplicates cause problems with how the business shows on Maps and Search.
- Leaving reviews unanswered. Google's local ranking tips say a reply shows customers you value their feedback, and reviews count toward prominence.
Related terms
Sources: Google Business Profile, Get Listed on Google; Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google; Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google.