What Is Google Business Profile? A Complete Guide for Local Businesses
What Google Business Profile is, who is eligible, what it includes, how verification and management work, what it costs and why it matters.
Contents
If you've ever searched for a restaurant, a doctor or a hardware store and seen a panel with a map, star ratings, opening hours and a "Call" button, you've seen a Google Business Profile. For many local businesses, it's the most important piece of their online presence, and it's free.
This guide covers what the profile is, who can have one, what it contains and how to manage it well. For the step-by-step optimization process, see how to optimize a Google Business Profile.
A plain definition
Google Business Profile (GBP) is Google's free listing for local businesses. It appears in Google Search and Google Maps and lets a business show its essential information, collect reviews and receive calls, direction requests, website visits and bookings.
It was known as Google My Business until November 2021. If you still hear "GMB", it means the same thing (Google My Business vs Google Business Profile).
Who is eligible
Google Business Profile is for businesses that make in-person contact with customers during their stated hours. That includes:
- Storefront businesses customers visit: shops, clinics, restaurants, salons, offices.
- Service-area businesses that travel to customers: plumbers, cleaners, mobile mechanics.
- Hybrid businesses that do both.
Online-only businesses, rental or for-sale properties, and businesses without real-world customer contact generally aren't eligible. Google's guidelines also set rules for practitioners (such as doctors or lawyers) and for departments within larger organizations.
What a profile contains
| Element | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real-world name, as on your signage | Keyword stuffing here breaks the guidelines |
| Categories | One primary, plus additional categories | The strongest relevance signal you control (choosing categories) |
| Address or service area | Where you are, or where you serve | Underpins distance and eligibility |
| Phone and website | How customers reach you | Drives calls and website visits |
| Hours | Regular and special hours | "Open now" matters in Maps |
| Description | Up to 750 characters about the business | Helps customers understand you |
| Services and products | What you offer | Supports relevance and decisions |
| Attributes | Facts such as accessibility or payment options | Customers filter on them |
| Photos and videos | Uploaded by you and by customers | Heavily influences choice |
| Reviews and ratings | Left by customers, with your responses | Influence both prominence and conversion (reviews strategy) |
| Posts | Updates, offers and events | Show the profile is active |
How you create, claim and verify a profile
- Search for your business on Google or Google Maps. A profile may already exist, created from public information or by a customer.
- Claim it or create it, signed in to the Google account you want to manage it with (ideally a business-owned account).
- Verify it. Google confirms you're the legitimate business. Methods vary by business type and region; video verification has become common. Google may ask for more evidence for some categories.
- Complete the profile before and after verification.
Verification matters: unverified profiles have limited management options and are easier for others to edit.
How you manage it
Single-location businesses can manage their profile directly in Google Search (search for your business name while signed in) or in the Google Maps app. Businesses with many locations and agencies use the web-based Business Profile Manager, which also supports bulk tasks such as bulk verification for 10 or more locations.
Owners and managers
A profile can have several users. Owners have full control, including adding and removing users. Managers can edit most information. Best practice: the business itself should hold primary ownership, and agencies or freelancers should be managers. If you ever part ways, access is simply removed.
What it costs
Nothing. Google makes money from advertising (Google Ads and, in some categories and countries, Local Services Ads), but the profile itself is free and its organic visibility cannot be bought.
What has changed recently
Google regularly adds and retires features. In the last few years it retired the simple websites businesses could build from their profile (2024), discontinued profile chat and call history (July 2024), and has been replacing the public Q&A section with an AI-powered "Ask" experience in Maps. The lesson: features come and go; accurate information and a good reputation last.
Business Profile, website and other listings: who does what
| Google Business Profile | Your website | Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, directories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where people see it | Google Maps and the local results in Google Search | Organic results, links from the profile, direct visits | Apple Maps and Siri, Bing and Copilot, directory searches |
| Who controls it | You, but Google and the public can suggest edits | You alone | You, once claimed |
| Best for | Being found nearby and getting calls, directions and bookings | Explaining services in depth and converting visitors | Consistency, and visibility beyond Google |
| Typical risk | Suspension or unwanted edits | Pages that don't match what people search | Outdated or conflicting details |
The three work together. The profile gets you onto the map (and onto the two different local surfaces Google runs). The website answers the questions the profile can't. Consistent listings make both more believable to people and to AI assistants. If managing all of this is more than you have time for, here is what a Google Business Profile expert does.
Common mistakes
- Adding keywords or locations to the business name that aren't part of the real name.
- Choosing a broad or inaccurate primary category.
- Using a virtual office or P.O. box as the address.
- Creating duplicate profiles for the same business.
- Leaving hours outdated, especially on public holidays.
- Never responding to reviews.
- Letting an agency own the profile instead of the business.
Some of these can lead to suspension; see Google Business Profile suspensions.
Why it matters so much
For local searches, the Business Profile is often the first impression and sometimes the only one. Customers compare ratings, photos and hours and then call or get directions without visiting a website. A complete, accurate, well-reviewed profile wins those moments; a neglected one quietly loses them.
Where to go next
Once your profile is claimed and verified, work through the Google Business Profile optimization guide, and read how Google decides which profiles to show in Google Business Profile ranking factors.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating, verifying and managing a Google Business Profile is free. Google sells advertising separately, but organic visibility on the profile can't be bought.
Can an online-only business have a Google Business Profile?
Generally no. Google Business Profile is for businesses that make in-person contact with customers, either at a location customers visit or by travelling to customers. Online-only businesses aren't eligible.
Is Google Business Profile the same as Google My Business?
Yes. Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile in November 2021. The listings carried over; the name and the way you manage them changed.
How do I find who manages my business's profile?
Search for your business name on Google while signed in. If you have access, management options appear. If someone else owns it, you can request access through Google's process.