Google Business Profile

What GBP unlocks

• Google Maps presence — your business appears when users search for category + location
• Local Pack eligibility — the 3-business map result on Google SERPs for local queries
• Knowledge Panel for the local entity (separate from a national brand Knowledge Panel)
• Reviews ecosystem — customer reviews directly on Google
• Direct customer actions — call button, directions, website click from SERP
• Q&A section — Google indexes the questions + answers as content

Setup essentials

1. Verify the business — postcard (most common), phone, email, or video verification
2. Complete every field — name, address, phone (must match NAP elsewhere), categories, hours, services, attributes
3. Add photos — exterior, interior, team, product/service photos. GBPs with 10+ photos significantly outrank empty ones
4. Write a long description — 750 chars, keyword-aware but natural
5. Pick the right primary category — single biggest local ranking lever; pick the most specific applicable
6. Add secondary categories — up to 9, more is usually better
7. Add services — itemized list of what you offer

Ranking factors specific to Local Pack

Factor	Impact
Primary category selection	Very high
Review count	High
Review recency	High
Average rating	Moderate-High
Proximity to searcher	Very high (uncontrollable)
NAP consistency across web	Foundational
Citations across local directories	High
Posts and updates frequency	Moderate
Photos	Moderate

Common mistakes

• Skipping the verification step — without it, the listing isn’t trusted
• Mismatched NAP between GBP and website footer / schema
• Picking generic primary category (“Service” instead of “SEO Agency”)
• Leaving fields empty — every empty field is a missed signal
• Ignoring reviews — both negative and positive deserve responses
• Not updating — outdated hours and special hours during holidays cost trust

Review acquisition strategy

The legitimate path: ask satisfied customers to leave a review with a direct Google review link. Forbidden by Google policy: incentivized reviews, fake reviews, gated review-collection (where unhappy customers are routed to private feedback instead of public review).

Implication for AI search

Verified Google Business Profile + matching NAP + Knowledge Panel materially boosts AI search citation rate for queries like “best [service] in [city].” The compounding effect across the entity authority signals is meaningful.