Google Business Profile is a free tool that lets a business manage how it appears in Google Search and Maps. A profile holds the business name, category, address or service area, hours, phone number, website, photos, products or services, and reviews. It is the main input to the local pack. Google renamed it from Google My Business in 2021 and moved much of its management into Search and Maps themselves.
Who is eligible
Profiles are for businesses that make in-person contact with customers during stated hours, either at a location or by traveling to customers in a service area. Online-only businesses are generally not eligible. A SaaS company with a staffed office can have a profile for that office, but the product itself is not a local business.
Setting up a profile well
Most of the work is accuracy and completeness.
- Use the real business name, without added keywords
- Choose the most specific primary category
- Verify the address or set a service area
- Keep hours current, including holidays
- Add genuine photos and a short description
- Respond to reviews, both positive and negative
Guidelines and suspensions
Google enforces guidelines on names, addresses and reviews. Adding keywords to the business name, using virtual offices, and buying or gating reviews can lead to suspension. Google has also cracked down on fake reviews with automated detection and policy updates, so manipulating reviews is risky.
Example
An office profile for recruiting
Hypothetical analytics company Gridmarrow opens an office in Denver and wants local candidates to find it. It creates a profile for the office with accurate hours, interior photos and a link to its careers page. It does not ask employees to leave reviews, since reviews from staff about their own employer conflict with Google's policies.
Common mistakes
Keyword stuffing the business name
Names like “Gridmarrow Best Analytics Software Denver” break the guidelines and risk suspension.
Creating profiles for each remote employee
Profiles need a real, staffed location or service area. Home addresses of remote staff do not qualify.
Questions
Only for locations where it meets customers in person, such as a staffed office. The software itself does not qualify.
