What is a Google Business Profile?
A Business Profile lets you control how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. The service used to be called Google My Business. The profile itself costs nothing. Ads in Google Maps or Search are a separate, paid Google Ads product.
According to Google’s guidelines, businesses may create a profile if they have a location that customers can visit during the stated hours, or if they travel to their customers, as tradespeople do. These service-area businesses hide their address and specify the area they serve instead. Virtual offices, meaning mailing addresses without any operations on site, are not eligible.
How Google ranks local results
For the order in Maps and in the map results of Search, Google names three main factors:
- Relevance: how well does the profile match what someone is searching for? Complete information and suitable categories help here.
- Distance: how far is the business from the searcher or the location searched for?
- Prominence: how well known is the business? This is based, among other things, on how many websites link to the business and how many reviews it has. More reviews and positive ratings can improve its local ranking.
According to Google, a better position cannot be bought. You cannot change the distance, but you can influence relevance and prominence. Our local SEO page explains how this works together with your website.
Creating and verifying your profile
You create a new profile or claim an existing one if your business is already listed on Google Maps. You then verify that you are authorised to represent the business. Google decides which method is available, depending on factors such as business type and region. Possible methods include:
- a code by phone call or text message to the business phone number,
- a code by email,
- a video recording showing the location, signage and proof that you manage the business,
- a live video call with Google support during business hours.
Verification tells Google that you are authorised to represent the business. Performance data is also only available for verified profiles.
Maintaining your profile properly
- Real name: the name must match the name you use on your signage and stationery. Additions such as “Best Dentist in Manchester” breach the guidelines and can lead to suspension.
- Few, precise categories: choose as few categories as possible, as specific as possible. The main category should describe your core business.
- One profile per location: duplicates cause problems in Maps and Search and should be merged or removed.
- Up-to-date opening hours: including special hours on bank holidays.
- Photos and services: real pictures of your premises, team and products, plus a list of your services.
- Reviews: ask all customers for a review and reply objectively, including to criticism. According to Google, incentives such as discounts for reviews are prohibited.
- Consistent data: name, address and phone number on your website and in directories should read exactly as in the profile. On the website, marking them up with structured data also helps.
What the performance data shows
For verified profiles, Google’s performance overview shows, among other things:
- Views: how many people saw your profile in Search and Maps,
- Searches: which search terms people used to find your profile,
- Calls, directions and website clicks: how often someone called, requested directions or opened your website.
What happens after the click to your website is not shown there. So add UTM parameters to the website link in your profile. You will then see in Google Analytics 4 how many visits and enquiries come via the profile.
Would you like to complete your Business Profile and be found more easily in local search? Then get in touch with us or read more about our local SEO!
