Think of someone standing in an unfamiliar part of town with a burst pipe and five minutes of panic. They pull out their phone, type "emergency plumber near me", and before they have even scrolled past the first result, something catches their eye: a small map with three pins, each one showing a business name, a star rating, and a phone number. One of them has 67 reviews and an average of 4.8. They tap the number without visiting a website at all. That call is won or lost in about four seconds.
That map is called the "local pack", and it sits at the top of the page for almost every search involving a location or the phrase "near me". You cannot buy your way into it — no advertising spend will place you there. You appear by having a well-maintained listing that Google judges to be genuinely relevant to what someone searched for. For local businesses, this is some of the most valuable ground on the internet. Appearing in the local pack often brings in more enquiries than ranking well in the regular blue-link results below it.
What Is Google Business Profile, Exactly?
Google Business Profile is a free tool from Google that lets you create and manage how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. You claim your business, verify that you own or run it, and then fill in the details: your address, phone number, opening hours, a description of what you do, photos of your premises or work, and a link to your website.
Google used to call this service Google My Business. It was renamed to Google Business Profile in 2022, but the two names refer to the same thing. If you search for either term, you will reach the same place.
Once your profile is set up, it becomes a kind of mini-website in its own right. Customers can read about you, look at photos, check when you are open, read reviews left by previous customers, and get directions — all without ever visiting your actual website. For many people, a Google Business Profile listing is the first, and sometimes only, thing they see about a local business.
Why Does It Matter for a Small Business?
The simplest reason is that customers are already looking. Every day, people in your area type things like "plumber near me", "good cafe in Manchester", or "accountant Nottingham" into Google. If you have a Google Business Profile listing that is well set up, you have a chance of appearing in front of those people at exactly the moment they are looking for what you offer.
Without a listing, you are invisible in this part of Google. You might still appear in the regular blue-link results if your website ranks well, but you will not appear in the map, and the map is what most people look at first when searching for a local service.
Every day, people in your area search for services like yours. A Google Business Profile listing means you appear when they do.
Reviews also play a significant role. A business with 40 reviews and an average of 4.7 stars will instil much more confidence than a business with no reviews at all. Google Business Profile is the main place where local businesses collect and display reviews, and they feed directly into how often and how prominently you appear in search results.
Does It Work Without a Website?
Yes. You do not need a website to have a Google Business Profile. The listing can stand alone as your entire online presence, and for some very simple businesses — a market stall, a sole trader who works by referral, a hobby turned side business — it may be all you need.
That said, a website and a Google Business Profile work much better together than either does alone. Your website gives Google more information about what you do and helps your listing appear for a wider range of searches. The listing gives your website an authoritative backlink and drives traffic directly to your contact page or booking form. If you have time for only one, start with the Google Business Profile. If you want to grow your presence online over time, add a website.
How Do You Set One Up?
The process is straightforward. You will need a Google account — the same kind you use for Gmail — and about half an hour.
Start by searching for "Google Business Profile" and clicking the "Manage now" button. You will be asked whether your business already has a listing (Google sometimes creates stub listings from public data) or whether you are creating a new one. Either way, you will fill in your business name, category (such as "electrician" or "florist"), address, phone number, and website address.
Google then needs to verify that you genuinely operate the business at the address you have given. The most common method is to send a postcard to your business address with a verification code on it. This usually takes five to fourteen days. There are sometimes faster methods — a phone call, a text message, or an instant verification if your business is already verified in Google Search Console — but the postcard route is the standard one.
Once verified, you can log in to your profile dashboard and add more detail: photos of your premises or your work, a business description, your opening hours, answers to frequently asked questions, and a list of your specific services or products. The more complete your profile is, the better it tends to perform.
What Makes a Good Google Business Profile?
Completeness matters. A profile with a photo, a detailed description, accurate opening hours, and a selection of services will consistently outperform an empty listing with just a name and address. Here are the things worth prioritising:
- Add photos. Listings with photos receive significantly more clicks than those without. You do not need professional photographs — a few clear images of your workspace, your products, or finished jobs taken on a phone are better than nothing.
- Keep your hours accurate. If your listing says you are open on Sundays and you are not, customers will arrive to a closed door and leave a bad review. Update your hours whenever they change, and add special hours for bank holidays.
- Write a proper description. You have 750 characters to describe your business. Use plain language, mention the specific services you offer, and include the area or town you serve. This helps Google understand what searches to show you for.
- Ask for reviews. Most satisfied customers will not leave a review unless you ask. A simple follow-up message — "if you are happy with the work, a Google review would mean a lot" — is all most people need. Do not offer incentives for reviews; that is against Google's terms.
- Respond to reviews. Responding to positive reviews shows you care. Responding to negative reviews calmly and professionally shows potential customers that you handle problems well. Both matter.
How Often Do You Need to Update It?
There is no need to update your Google Business Profile constantly. But it benefits from occasional attention. Changing your hours when they shift, adding new photos every few months, and posting an update when something changes about your business — a new service, a move to new premises, a seasonal offer — all signal to Google that the listing is actively maintained, which can have a small positive effect on visibility.
Google also lets you post short updates directly to your listing, similar to a social media post. These appear in your listing for a week or so and are visible when someone looks at your full profile. They are not essential, but they are a free way to keep your listing looking current.
Is It Really Free?
Yes. Google Business Profile is completely free for all businesses. There is no paid tier that gives you better placement in the local pack — the position is earned through relevance, proximity, and the quality and completeness of your listing, not through payment.
Google does offer paid advertising (Google Ads) that can place your business prominently in search results, but that is a separate product. The organic local listing through Google Business Profile costs nothing at any level.