Local SEO
Google Business Profile: what it does, what it costs
Not a tool you buy — a listing you maintain, and the whole of local SEO starts here.
Google Business Profile at a glance
Every row is a verified field or an honest absence. A row is dropped rather than filled with an em dash, so the length of this table says how complete the record is.
| What it is | Not a tool you buy — a listing you maintain, and the whole of local SEO starts here. |
|---|---|
| Category | Local SEO |
| Best suited for | Any business with a storefront or a service area |
| Starting price | Free |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free trial | None offered |
| Main strength | Free, and the highest-return single action in local SEO |
| Main limitation | Only businesses with face-to-face customer contact are eligible — online-only businesses cannot have one |
| Evidence | Primary-source researched |
| Closest alternatives | BrightLocal, Semrush, Google Search Console |
| Pricing checked | 19 August 2026 |
| Record checked | 19 August 2026 |
What Google Business Profile is
A Business Profile controls how a business appears on Google Maps and in Search at no charge: hours, website, phone number, location, products and services, photos, posts and reviews. For any business with a physical presence it is the single highest-return thing in local SEO, and it is free.
The eligibility rule is the part people discover too late. Only businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers qualify — a storefront, or a service provider who visits customers. An online-only business with no location a customer can visit is not eligible, however local its market. That is not a soft guideline; profiles are removed for it.
It is also not a tool in the sense the rest of this directory means. There is no plan to choose and nothing to install. What there is, is maintenance: verification before you can edit, ongoing review responses, and the fact that Google updates profiles from user reports and licensed sources, so a neglected profile drifts without anyone touching it deliberately.
What you can use it for
- Control how a business appears in Google Maps and local search results
- Publish accurate hours, location, services and photos where customers actually look
- Collect and respond to reviews, which is the strongest local ranking input you control
- Manage many locations in bulk through Business Profile Manager
The features that matter for SEO
Each one says what it does and the SEO job it serves. A vendor feature list without that second half tells you nothing you could not read on their own site.
Business information control
Publishes hours, website, phone number and location — a street address, a service area, or both depending on category.
The foundation of local visibility. Wrong hours or a wrong pin costs more real customers than any ranking change.
Reviews and responses
Collects customer reviews and lets the owner reply to each.
The most influential local signal a business actually controls, and increasingly a source AI answers quote when recommending a local provider.
Products and services
Lists what the business offers, with descriptions and prices.
Turns the profile from a phone number into a set of queries it can match, which is how a listing starts appearing for service terms rather than only brand ones.
Posts and updates
Publishes short updates, offers and events directly onto the profile.
Occupies more of the profile panel and gives a reason for the listing to look current. Low effort, and almost nobody does it.
Business Profile Manager
Manages many profiles in bulk for multi-location businesses.
The only sane way to run more than a handful of locations, and the reason agencies use it rather than editing profiles one at a time.
Performance insights
Reports how customers found the profile and what they did next.
First-party local data — calls, direction requests and website clicks — that no third-party tool can reproduce.
Pricing and limits
Starting price: Free Checked 19 August 2026 Vendor’s own pricing page
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Business Profile | $0 /mo |
|
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Free, and the highest-return single action in local SEO
- First-party data on calls, direction requests and discovery queries
- Reviews collected here are both a ranking input and a source AI answers cite
- Bulk management for multi-location businesses through Business Profile Manager
- Available on web, Android and iOS
Limitations
- Only businesses with face-to-face customer contact are eligible — online-only businesses cannot have one
- Verification is required before you can edit anything, and it can be slow
- Google updates profiles from user reports and licensed sources, so information can change without you
- Neglected profiles drift and lose visibility quietly, with no alert
- No plan, no support tier, and limited recourse when a profile is suspended
Who it is for, and who should skip it
Worth it if
- Any business with a storefront or a service area
- Multi-location businesses, through Business Profile Manager
- Anyone whose customers search locally, which is most local businesses
Skip it if
- Your business is online-only with no location customers can visit — you are not eligible
Alternatives to Google Business Profile
Each one answers when it is the better choice, which is the only thing a list of competitors is useful for.
- BrightLocal Choose it when you need to monitor local rankings, citations and reviews across locations rather than manage one profile.
- Semrush Choose it when you want listing management across many directories alongside the rest of an SEO platform.
- Google Search Console Choose it when the question is about your website's organic performance rather than your local listing.
Sources and verification
Last verified 19 August 2026 1 day ago
Pricing 19 August 2026 Features 19 August 2026
- Determine if a Business Profile is right for your business Documentation verifies features, limits, pricing checked 19 August 2026
- Google Business Profile Official site verifies availability checked 19 August 2026
What changed
- 19 August 2026 — Listed under its current name. "Google My Business" and "GMB" are retained as former names and aliases so the old terms still find it — the rename is years old and the old name is still what most people search.
Questions
Can an online-only business have a Google Business Profile?
No. Google's published rule is that only businesses making face-to-face contact with customers are eligible — a location customers can visit, or a service area you travel to. An online-only business is not eligible, and profiles created anyway are removed.
Is Google Business Profile the same as Google My Business?
Yes. Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile, and the management app was folded into Search and Maps directly. The old name still appears everywhere, including in most people's searches, which is why it is kept as an alias here.
What is the highest-return thing to do on a Business Profile?
Get the basics exactly right — hours, category, location, phone — then collect reviews and reply to them. Reviews are the strongest local signal a business genuinely controls, and they are increasingly what AI assistants quote when recommending a local provider.