What a Google Business Profile is
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that controls how a local business appears on Google Search and Google Maps: in the Local Pack, on the map, and in the profile Google shows when someone searches for the business by name. Owners claim and verify the profile, then manage what Google shows: name, category, address or service area, phone, website, hours, photos, services, attributes and posts.
It used to be called Google My Business (GMB), and the old name still turns up, even on some of Google’s own help pages.
What Google says helps a profile rank
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and gives a short list of things an owner can do:
- Verify the business. Google says verification makes a profile more likely to show up in search results.
- Keep the information complete and accurate. Address, hours, category and attributes such as parking or Wi-Fi. Google says businesses with complete, accurate information are more likely to show up in local results.
- Collect and answer reviews. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and that replying shows customers you value their feedback.
- Add photos and videos that show what you offer.
Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and it does not publish how it weighs these factors.
How the free Rank.ai grader scores a profile
Rank.ai’s free grader scores a profile out of 100 across six categories. The weights are our rubric for a well kept profile:
- Profile completeness (25). Name, address, phone, website, primary category, hours, description and a primary photo.
- Reviews (20). Your average rating, how many reviews you have and how recent the latest one is.
- Photos (15). How many photos the profile has.
- Categories (15). A primary category, plus secondary categories.
- Name, address and phone (15). Whether all three are on the profile.
- Posts and Q&A (10). A recent post and answered questions.
The grader turns the six scores into one grade out of 100 and a letter from A to F, and lists what to fix first. Inside the Rank.ai local SEO tool, each profile is snapshotted daily and edits to its name, category, phone, hours, photos and rating are logged.
Guidelines and suspensions
Google requires that a profile avoids prohibited content, reflects the business accurately and follows its guidelines for representing your business, and says it can suspend profiles that don’t. The guidelines come down to a few habits:
- Use the name customers see on your signage, stationery and branding.
- Keep the address or service area accurate and precise.
- Choose the fewest categories that describe your core business.
- Keep one profile per business; a second one causes problems with how you show on Maps and Search.
Storefronts and service areas
Google lets a business create a profile if it has a location customers can visit, or if it travels to customers where they are. A storefront shows its address, and the map pin sits on it. A business that serves customers at their location, such as a plumber or a cleaner, sets a service area.
Some businesses do both, such as a shop that also delivers. Whichever applies, Google asks that the address and service area be accurate, so describe the business as it actually works.