Google Business Profile.

What is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows a business on Google Search and Google Maps, including its address or service area, opening hours, phone number, reviews, photos and services. It was called Google My Business until 2021. For any business serving customers in a particular area, it is often the first thing a prospect sees, ahead of the website.

Why it matters

For trades, clinics, solicitors, restaurants and any locally focused firm, the profile frequently drives more calls than the website. It decides whether you appear in the map results for searches like 'electrician near me', and your star rating and review count shape whether someone rings you or the next firm down. AI tools answering local questions also draw on this kind of listing data.

What moves it

• Relevance to the search How well your categories, services and description match the search. Your primary category carries the most weight.
• Distance from the searcher How close you are to the searcher or the place they searched for. You cannot change it, so never fake it.
• Prominence and reputation How well known you are, shown through reviews, links, mentions and your wider web presence.
• Complete, accurate details Google advises filling in every relevant field and keeping hours current, which helps you match more searches.

What to do about it

Log in this week and check the basics: your name exactly as it appears on your signage, the most specific primary category available, correct hours including holiday hours, and a full list of services. Upload recent photos of real work and your team. Reply to every review from the last six months, good and bad, briefly and personally. Then build a routine for asking happy customers for a review straight after each job.