Google Business Profile
Google's free business listing that shows your name, location, hours, phone, photos and reviews in Google Search and Maps.
A Google Business Profile is the free listing Google shows for your business in Search and Maps. It includes your name, address or service area, phone number, hours, website, photos, services, questions and answers, and reviews. It used to be called Google My Business.
Why it matters to a small business
For local businesses, it’s often the most important online listing you have. It decides whether you appear in the local pack, the map results at the top of local searches, and it’s where many customers call or get directions without ever visiting your website. Google’s AI features also draw on it.
A strong profile is complete, accurate and active:
- Correct name, address, phone and hours, matching your website. See NAP consistency.
- The right primary category.
- Real photos of your work, team and premises.
- Steady reviews, with replies from you.
Google’s guidelines for representing your business set the rules. Breaking them, for example by adding keywords to your business name, can lead to suspension.
Who should own it
The primary owner should be a Google account the business controls, not an employee’s personal account or an agency’s account. Add others as managers.
Example
A pet groomer notices her profile still shows last year’s holiday hours. She updates the hours, adds new photos, and replies to recent reviews. Calls from the profile, which she can see in its performance view, become a number she checks every month.
Learn more
Rather talk it through?
Call our team, or send a note and we’ll reply within one business day. No pressure and no jargon.