Google Business Profile
Also known as: GBP, Google My Business, GMB
Quick definition
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business / GMB, rebranded 2022) is Google's free business listing service — letting businesses manage how they appear in Google Search and Maps results. GBP supports posts, photos, hours, services, products, reviews, Q&A, and is essential local SEO infrastructure for any brick-and-mortar or service business.
Contents
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (GBP) is Google's free business listing service — formerly known as Google My Business (GMB), rebranded to GBP in late 2021 / early 2022. Through GBP, businesses claim and manage how they appear in Google Search and Google Maps results. Information businesses can manage: name, address, phone, hours, website, business category, services, products, photos, posts (similar to social media posts), customer reviews, customer Q&A, and direct messaging. The profile surfaces prominently in Google's local pack (the map + 3 listings shown for local-intent queries) and in Knowledge Panel side-bars for branded queries.
GBP is essential local SEO infrastructure. For any brick-and-mortar business (restaurant, retail, professional services, healthcare, etc.) or local service business (plumber, electrician, contractor), GBP is typically the highest-traffic discovery surface — usually higher than the business's own website. A well-optimized GBP can drive thousands of monthly visits, calls, and direction requests; a poorly-managed or unclaimed GBP is invisible.
GBP optimization fundamentals
Five concrete optimization tactics. (1) Claim + verify the listing — many businesses have unclaimed listings showing up. Google verifies via postcard, phone, or email; takes 1-2 weeks typically. (2) Complete every section — name, address (NAP consistency across the web matters), phone, hours, website, business categories (primary + secondary), services, products. Empty sections hurt ranking. (3) Photos — businesses with 100+ photos get dramatically more discovery interactions than those with <10. Upload photos of storefront, interior, products, services, team. (4) Reviews — encourage and respond to reviews. Star rating + review count + review velocity all factor into local ranking. (5) GBP posts — weekly posts (similar to social media posts) keep the profile fresh + signal active business. Posts surface alongside the listing.
For businesses with multiple locations, each location needs its own GBP. Bulk verification + management tools exist for franchises and multi-location brands. CodivUpload supports posting to GBP alongside other social platforms in unified scheduling.
GBP and the broader local SEO stack
GBP is one piece of local SEO; the broader stack includes website optimization (local landing pages, schema.org LocalBusiness markup), citation building (Yelp, TripAdvisor, industry-specific directories with consistent NAP), reviews (volume + recency + sentiment), and behavioral signals (clicks, calls, directions from search results). All work together to drive local search ranking.
For SEO-driven local businesses, GBP optimization typically delivers the highest ROI per hour of effort. The profile is free, the audience is high-intent (local searches convert dramatically better than informational searches), and the optimization work is concrete and learnable.
GBP feature breakdown
| Platform | GBP feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Profile basics | Name + Address + Phone + Hours | NAP consistency across the web matters; mismatch hurts ranking. |
| Photos | Storefront, interior, products, team | 100+ photos correlate with significantly higher discovery interactions. |
| Posts | Updates + offers + events | Weekly cadence keeps profile fresh; posts surface in listing. |
| Reviews | Customer ratings + responses | Star rating + count + velocity all factor into local ranking. |
| Q&A | Customer + business answers | Crowdsourced FAQ surface; respond to questions visible to all. |
| Services / Products | Catalog of offerings with prices | Surfaces in search; affects ranking for service-specific queries. |
| Messaging | Direct customer messaging | Optional. Requires fast response; slow replies hurt visibility. |
Common pitfalls
- ×Unclaimed listing — invisible to optimization, vulnerable to fake-claim hijacking
- ×Inconsistent NAP across the web (different addresses on different directories) — hurts local ranking
- ×Few photos — businesses with <10 photos significantly underperform
- ×Ignoring reviews — both volume and response rate factor into ranking
- ×Skipping GBP posts — leaving the freshness signal unused
Tips
- ✓Claim + verify your GBP today — every day unclaimed leaves traffic on the table
- ✓Add 50-100+ photos covering storefront, interior, products, services, team
- ✓Post weekly to GBP — updates, offers, events keep the profile fresh
- ✓Respond to every review (positive + negative) within 48 hours
- ✓Maintain NAP consistency across web directories — Yelp, TripAdvisor, industry-specific listings
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Business Profile free?+
Yes — completely free. The only cost is your time managing the profile. No paid tier or subscription.
What's the difference between GBP and Google My Business?+
Same product, different name. Google rebranded GMB to GBP in late 2021 / early 2022. Continuity of features and account.
Can service-area businesses (no storefront) use GBP?+
Yes — service-area business listings exist for businesses serving customers at customer locations (plumbers, electricians, mobile services). Slightly different setup than storefront businesses.
How important are reviews for GBP ranking?+
Very important. Star rating + review count + review velocity + response rate all factor heavily. Aim for steady review accumulation rather than batch acquisitions.
Can I schedule GBP posts?+
Yes via tools that integrate with the GBP API (CodivUpload supports GBP scheduling alongside other platforms). Saves substantial time managing weekly post cadence.
Schedule GBP alongside 10 other platforms
CodivUpload supports Google Business Profile scheduling — manage your local SEO presence + social channels from one dashboard.
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