If you sell to people nearby, your Google Business Profile is the most valuable free thing Google gives you. It is the box with your name, hours, photos and reviews that appears beside the search results and on Maps.
For a lot of local businesses it gets more attention than the website does. It is also the thing most often filled in once and never looked at again.
It used to be called Google My Business. Google renamed it to Google Business Profile, and these days you manage it directly from Search and Maps rather than a separate dashboard.
What it does
- Puts you in local results. When somebody searches for what you do "near me", Google picks from verified profiles. No profile, no appearance, however good your site is.
- Lets you answer people in public. Reviews and questions are both visible, and so is whether you reply. A business that answers its reviews reads differently from one that ignores them.
- Shows you what people did next. Views, clicks, calls, requests for directions. It is the clearest picture you get of local demand, and it is free.
- Carries posts. Offers, events, opening changes. They appear in Search and Maps and they expire, which suits seasonal things well.
- Needs verifying. Usually a postcard, sometimes a call or a video. Tedious, and it is what stops anyone else claiming your business.
What actually moves the needle
Accuracy first. Wrong hours over a bank holiday costs you more than any post will earn you. Check them before every holiday period.
Then photos, and real ones. The interior, the team, the work. Google shows them prominently and stock images are obvious.
Then reviews, steadily. Asking every satisfied customer is worth more than any other local SEO tactic we know of, and it costs nothing.
The most common mistake
Two profiles for the same business, usually because someone created a second one and forgot. They split your reviews and confuse Google about which is real. If you suspect a duplicate, search your business name on Maps and look carefully.
If you would like us to set one up properly or clean up what is there, that is a short job.
Builds websites and the systems behind them for small businesses in Spain and the Netherlands. Writes down the things clients ask twice.
