Does a Google Business Profile Help Search Rankings?

Improve your local ranking on Google

In a word, yes!

Every business that wants to appear prominently on Google—especially in local searches—should claim and optimize a Google Business Profile (GBP) (formerly called Google My Business). Bonus: It’s Free!

Why Does a Google Business Profile Matter?

Local search is one of the most effective ways to get discovered and to increase your business visibility. Even if you don’t have a website, you can still create a profile that appears on Google Search and Google Maps.

When someone searches for a product or service near them (e.g., “plumber near me”), Google automatically uses their location to display relevant businesses. For small businesses whose clients are local – contractors, medical professionals, entertainment venues, to name just a few – appearing in these results can generate phone calls, website visits, or leads.

Google knows your general location when you do a search and will, by default, provide results for nearby places. For small businesses whose clients are local – repair people, medical professionals, entertainment venues, to name just a few – coming up in the search engine local search results is a real advantage.

What Is Local Search?

Local search refers to Google’s practice of showing results based on a user’s physical location or specified area. These results often appear in the “Local Pack” – the map and 3 listings that appear above organic results.

Optimizing your Google Business Profile helps you compete for these valuable spots, even if your website isn’t ranking at the top organically.

Why Have a Google Business Profile?

A Google Business Profile lets you control how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. With it, you can:

• Link to your website
• Display your name, address, and phone number consistently
• Add your logo, cover photo, and other images (products, services, team photos)
• Share business hours, including holiday hours
• Add services, menus, or booking links
• Collect and respond to Google reviews (a critical ranking factor)
• Share updates, promotions, and events
• Provide a compelling business description that highlights your services

Google rewards businesses that provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information.

How to Create & Verify Your Google Business Profile (2025)

It’s relatively easy,

Step 1: Prepare Your Information

The easiest way is probably to prepare a text file with your info that you can copy and paste into the submission form.

Gather the following details before you start:

• Business name (exactly as it appears in the real world)
• Address (or service area if you don’t serve customers at a physical location)
• Phone number
• Website URL (optional but recommended)
• Business description (include keywords naturally)
• Categories (primary category + up to 9 additional relevant ones)
• Logo and representative photos for your business

Step 2: Sign up with Google My Business

1. Go to google.com/business. Or search for your business name directly in Google and click “Own this business?”
2. Sign in with your Google account (use a business email if possible).
3. Enter your business name. If Google already has it listed, you can claim it; otherwise, create a new one.
4. Enter your address or select the option to provide services at customer locations and hide your address.
5. Define your service areas (cities, ZIP codes). You can enter the names or zip codes of nearby towns and cities in your service or delivery area.
6. Select your primary category carefully; it strongly impacts rankings.
7. Add your website address, if you have one, and your primary business contact phone number

Step 3: Get Your Business Verified

Google wants to verify that your actually business exists in the location that you say it does. This is to prevent businesses from getting multiple listings when they only have one address.

As of 2025, verification methods include:

• Postcard by mail (most common). This is easiest.
  Google will send a postcard to your business address with a code printed on it. Once you get the code, you can log back into your business page. Clck the “Verify now” button and enter the code Google sent in the code box. If you don’t receive your postcard after 2 weeks or so, you can log back into your business page. Clck the “Request another code ” button.
• Phone or text verification (available for some businesses)
• Email verification (if offered)
• Instant video verification. Google may request a quick video showing your storefront, signage, or workspace.

Once verified, your profile will appear live on Google Search and Maps. To see your profile, simply search for your business name. Your profile will appear on the right side of the search results page.

Key Takeaways for your Google Business Profile:

• Google My Business is now called Google Business Profile.
• You don’t need a website to appear in Google local search results, but having one strengthens your online presence.
• Verification options have expanded; Google increasingly uses video verification for accuracy.
• Reviews and regular profile activity (posts, photos, Q&A) are bigger ranking signals now than they were a few years ago.
• Simply claiming your profile helps, but optimization is what drives results.

Simply having a Google Business page will help boost your ranking for local search. But to get the most out of your page, it should be optimized. This is a topic for discussion in another post.

Want help setting up your Google Business page?

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