What it means
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is your business's free listing on Google and Maps. It's the box that appears when someone searches your name or what you offer: your name, rating, hours, phone, address, photos, buttons to call or get directions, and your customers' reviews.
It's free. To manage it, you have to claim it and verify it with Google.
What it does for your business
It's your first impression, before your website
Many people see your listing before opening your site, or without ever opening it. If it's incomplete, that person decides based on the little they see.
It turns a search into an action
From the listing, someone can call, get directions, or visit your website with one tap.
It's where your reviews live
Your customers' opinions show up there, next to your name. Replying to them shows someone is looking after the business.
How having it done right would help you
- Google understands better what you do: the right category, description, and services, so it can match you to the right searches.
- Your hours, special days, phone, and address are up to date.
- Real photos of your shop, your work, and your team, so customers know what to expect.
- Reviews: asking for them without breaking the rules and replying to the ones you get.
- Posts on your listing (news, services, notices) so it looks active.
What nobody can promise you
A complete listing doesn't guarantee you'll show up first or get a number of calls. Google orders local results by relevance, distance, and prominence, and says there is no way to pay for a better position. What is in your hands: having it verified, complete, and up to date.
You also can't offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews: Google prohibits it. How to ask the right way is explained in this article.
“Your Google listing is your first impression. Keeping it complete, correct, and up to date is up to you.”
Source: Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google. General explanation; Google does not publish every detail of how it orders results.
Want to review how your listing looks today? No promises: we look together at what's complete and what's missing.
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