When someone searches "plumber near me" or "hair salon Grimsby" on Google, three local businesses appear at the top of the page before any traditional website results.
That box — the Local Pack — is the most valuable real estate in local search. And it's powered almost entirely by Google Business Profile.
GBP is free. It's available to every legitimate business. And the majority of local businesses have either not claimed theirs, set it up once and forgotten about it, or filled in the minimum and moved on. That's your opportunity.
Here's how to actually use it properly in 2026.
What Is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free tool that lets you manage how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. When someone searches for a local service, GBP is what feeds the map results, the phone number, the opening hours, the reviews, and the photos they see before ever clicking through to your website.
For local businesses, it is as important as your website. In many cases, more so.
Why Most Businesses Get It Wrong
Claiming a GBP and leaving the default information is better than nothing — but only slightly. The businesses that dominate the Local Pack are treating their profile as a live marketing channel, not a one-time form they filled in three years ago.
Here's what the underperformers typically have in common:
- Primary category not carefully chosen — or not matching the core service
- No business description, or a description that reads like it was written in two minutes
- Default or stock photos — no real premises, no team, no actual work
- No posts published in the last six months
- Unanswered reviews, particularly negative ones
- Missing or outdated opening hours
Each of these sends a signal to Google that this business is less active, less engaged, and less trustworthy than a competitor who tends their profile properly.
The Optimisation Playbook
Primary Category
This is the single most important field on your entire profile. Choose it carefully. "Plumber" will outperform "Plumbing Service" for plumber searches. Use Google's own suggested categories — don't invent your own, and don't choose something broad hoping to appear for more searches.
Secondary categories can be added for additional services, but your primary category drives the vast majority of how Google categorises and ranks you.
Business Description
Write up to 750 characters of clear, natural copy describing what you do, where you are, and who you serve. Mention your town and surrounding areas by name. Don't keyword stuff — Google reads for quality as well as relevance, and a clunky keyword-heavy description undermines trust with potential customers too.
Photos
Listings with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to websites than listings without (Google). Upload:
- Your premises exterior — so people can recognise it when they arrive
- Your premises interior
- Your team doing the work
- Examples of finished work, products, or services
- Your logo and a professional cover image
Update photos regularly. A GBP with no new photos added in two years looks abandoned.
Posts
GBP allows you to publish posts — offers, updates, events, news. Most local businesses never use this feature. That's a straightforward competitive advantage to take.
Google notices activity. A business posting monthly signals engagement. Post about a seasonal promotion, a new service, a recent project, an award, or a piece of useful advice for customers. You're not writing an essay — 100–300 words and a real photo is plenty.
Reviews: The Ranking Signal Most Businesses Underestimate
Google reviews are a primary local ranking factor. Volume, recency, star rating, and your response rate all contribute.
**Getting more reviews:**- Ask every satisfied customer directly — simply asking is the single most effective tactic
- Send a follow-up email or text with your direct GBP review link
- Add a QR code to your receipts, business cards, or premises signage
- Include a "Leave us a review" link in your standard email footer
- Never purchase or incentivise reviews — Google's detection is sophisticated and penalties are severe
- Reply to every review, positive and negative
- For negative reviews: acknowledge the issue, apologise where appropriate, offer to resolve it, and invite them to contact you directly
- Never be defensive or argumentative in public — your response is read by every future potential customer
A business with 45 reviews averaging 4.7 stars and active responses will outrank a competitor with 8 reviews and silence almost every time.
Q&A Section
The Questions & Answers section is almost universally ignored by business owners. Users can ask questions, and anyone — including competitors — can answer them. Proactively seed your own Q&A with the questions you actually get asked, and provide accurate, helpful answers before someone else does.
Measuring What's Working
GBP provides free analytics on:
- How many times your profile was viewed
- How customers found you (direct search vs discovery search vs maps)
- What action they took next (called, visited website, asked for directions)
Review these monthly. If your views are high but calls are low, something in your profile is causing drop-off before they convert. It's usually missing photos, a thin description, or insufficient reviews to build confidence.
The Connection to Your Website
Your GBP and your website need to work together. The Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) on your website must match your GBP exactly — even minor inconsistencies (St vs Street, Ltd vs Limited) confuse Google's matching algorithms.
Your website should also be fast, mobile-optimised, and clearly relevant to your local area, because Google uses your website as a quality signal when deciding how to rank your GBP. A strong profile pointing to a weak website is a tap with no pipe behind it.
Local SEO is one of our specialities at LocalWebsCoder. If you want a website and Google Business Profile strategy that works together, get in touch with us.
