Local Search

Google Business Profile GBP

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A Google Business Profile is the free listing that controls how a business appears in Google Maps and in the local results of Google Search. It holds the name, address, phone number, hours, categories, photos, services and reviews that searchers see before they ever reach the website.

For most local businesses the profile is seen far more often than the website. It is also the only asset here that a competitor or a member of the public can suggest edits to, which is why it needs checking rather than setting once.

Formula

Profile completeness × Review signal × Category accuracy

Where It Lives

Google Business ProfileThe listing itself, and its insights
Google Search ConsoleBranded and local query performance

What Drives It

Category accuracy
Review count, rating and recency
Photo freshness
Hours and holiday hours
Services and products listed
Q&A answered

Benchmark

A complete profile typically earns around seven times the clicks of an incomplete one; businesses with photos see materially more direction requests.

Common Questions About Google Business Profile

Do I need a shopfront to have a profile?

No. A business that travels to its customers registers as a service area business, hides the street address and defines the areas it covers. Plumbers, electricians, mobile groomers and most trades run this way.

Can competitors change my listing?

Anyone can suggest an edit, and Google sometimes applies them without asking. Suggested edits to hours or categories are worth checking monthly.

Related Metrics

free, one business day

Want to know what is holding your Google Business Profile back?

Give us your website and we will send back the specific pages hurting your Google Business Profile, in the order worth fixing. You will have it within one business day, free, with no obligation.