What is a Google Business Profile?
It is your business profile shown in Google Maps and in the search results on the right side of the screen. It has your name, description, opening hours, customer reviews and photos. A customer who finds you through Google often lands there first.
When a Google Business Profile helps a business that works online
Services delivered remotely, but for local clients
Coach, therapist, language teacher, consultant, designer: your service happens over Zoom, but the client may search for “coach Krakow” or “online therapist Nowy Sącz”. The profile is what makes you show up in that local search.
An online shop with a local customer base
If a good share of your customers come from one region, you can reach them through Google’s local results. On top of that, the profile is a place for reviews, and reviews under your brand name in the search results work better than reviews tucked away on your website.
Workshops, group sessions, meetings
You run something that is formally online, but your clients come from one city? The profile makes it easier for people searching locally to find you.
Building credibility in any industry
A Google profile with a dozen or so reviews does its job before the client even opens your website. Especially when someone searches for your name after a friend recommended you.
When a Google Business Profile is not needed
Really only in one case: you sell only through a marketplace (Allegro, Etsy, Amazon), and customers do not search for your business by name. They look for the product, buy through the platform and leave their reviews there. Setting up a Google profile will not bring a measurable effect then.
How to set up a Google Business Profile without showing your address
When you create the profile, choose the “service area” option. You enter the city or region you work in. Your address is not shown publicly. The profile appears in local results just like profiles of businesses with a fixed location.
Should your business have a Google Business Profile?
Set one up if:
- clients may search for your service locally, even though you work remotely
- you want to collect reviews that show up right in Google
- clients may search for your business by name
You can skip it if:
- you sell only through a marketplace and nobody searches for you by name
If you are not sure whether your profile is set up well, see how I handle Google Business Profile optimisation or get in touch.