Google Business Profile

The free Google listing that controls how your business appears in Google Search, Maps, and the local pack. The most important free marketing asset for any service business.

Also known as: GBP, Google My Business, GMB

Google Business Profile (GBP) — formerly called Google My Business (GMB) — is the free Google listing that controls how your business appears in Google Search, Google Maps, and the “local pack” (the three businesses that show up at the top of “[service] near me” searches).

For a local service business, it is the single most important free marketing asset on the internet. A well-optimized GBP often produces more leads than the business website itself.

What’s on a Google Business Profile

The key fields:

Why It Matters Disproportionately

Google’s local pack is the most valuable real estate in local search. When someone searches “plumber near me” or “HVAC repair Austin,” the three businesses in the local pack get the lion’s share of clicks — typically 60–80% of all clicks for the search.

Three factors decide local pack ranking:

  1. Relevance — does your business match the query?
  2. Distance — how close is the searcher?
  3. Prominence — how active and well-rated is your business?

You can’t change distance. Relevance is mostly fixed. Prominence — driven heavily by review velocity and GBP completeness — is the lever you actually control.

What to Optimize

The highest-ROI GBP improvements for service businesses:

  1. Complete every field. GBP has dozens of optional fields. Filling them all signals to Google that this is a real, active business.
  2. Add photos weekly. Fresh photos signal active business. Photo views also factor into ranking.
  3. Get reviews relentlessly. Recent review velocity is the biggest local pack ranking factor. Auto-text customers a Google review request after every paid job — see our review velocity entry for why.
  4. Respond to every review. Both positive and negative. Google rewards engagement.
  5. Post weekly. Use the “Posts” feature to share updates, offers, or work samples. Old profiles slowly lose ranking.
  6. Use the “Book” button. Businesses with a working Book button see up to 40% more appointments.

Common Mistakes

For more on local SEO and reviews, see review velocity and the Review Management feature page.

Related terms

Close Rate

The percentage of leads (or quotes) that convert to paying customers. The single most important sales metric for a service business.

Customer Acquisition Cost

The total spend required to acquire one new paying customer. Compared against lifetime value to determine whether your marketing is profitable.

Lead Magnet

Free content or a free tool offered in exchange for a contact's information. Used to capture leads at the top of the funnel.

Local Pack

The block of three businesses with map, ratings, and contact info that shows up at the top of local Google searches. The most valuable real estate in local SEO.

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