Google Business Profile (GBP)
Google Business Profile is the free Google listing that controls how your business appears on Google Search and Google Maps — name, hours, services, photos, and reviews.
What it is
Google Business Profile (GBP) — formerly called Google My Business (GMB) — is the free profile Google maintains for every business it knows about. It's what shows up on the right side of a Google Search result, in the Local Pack, and across Google Maps. The profile holds your name, address, phone, hours, categories, services, photos, attributes, and reviews. You claim it once at business.google.com and then manage it from there.
GBP is the single highest-leverage local SEO asset for most service businesses. It's free, it sits above the organic results, and it feeds entity clarity signals into every Google product — Search, Maps, and the AI surfaces (Gemini, AI Overviews) that draw on the same data.
Why it matters for your business
A complete, current GBP is often the difference between getting calls and getting nothing. Profiles with confirmed information, recent photos, current hours, and steady review activity dominate the Local Pack for "near me" queries. Profiles that are abandoned, contradict the business's own website, or have stale photos look untrustworthy — and Google quietly demotes them.
Example
A handyman with a half-claimed GBP — no categories, three photos, last review two years old — averaged 2 calls a week from Google. After 30 minutes of cleanup (correct primary category, services list, weekly photo posts, two new reviews per month from existing customers), they hit 9 calls a week within two months. Same business, same website, same ad spend — just a profile Google could trust.
Related
- Feature: Google Business Profile & Maps
- Guides: Google Business Profile Optimization, Google Business Profile guide
- Related terms: NAP, Local Pack, Reviews, Citations (local)