Google Business Profile: The Free Tool Most Local Businesses Ignore

The Most Powerful Free Tool You’re Probably Not Using

There’s a free marketing tool that puts your business directly in front of people who are actively searching for what you offer. It shows your location on a map, displays your reviews, lets customers call you with a single tap, and can drive more traffic than any social media platform. And yet, most local businesses either haven’t claimed theirs or set it up once and forgot about it.

I’m talking about Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business. As a web developer working with small businesses across Cambridgeshire, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve asked a client about their Google Business Profile only to be met with a blank stare.

Let’s fix that.

What Google Business Profile Actually Does

When you search for a local business — say, “coffee shop near me” or “accountant in Wisbech” — you’ll usually see a map with three business listings at the top of the results. This is called the “map pack” or “local pack,” and it’s prime real estate.

Your Google Business Profile is what determines whether your business appears there. It’s also what powers the information panel that appears on the right side of the screen when someone searches for your business by name — showing your address, phone number, hours, photos, and reviews.

Here’s why this matters: according to Google, 46% of all searches have local intent. And businesses that appear in the map pack get a disproportionate share of clicks. If you’re not there, your competitors are getting those customers instead.

Setting Up Your Profile: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you haven’t already claimed your Google Business Profile, here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Claim or Create Your Listing

Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account. Search for your business. If it already exists (Google sometimes creates listings automatically from public data), claim it. If not, create a new one.

Step 2: Verify Your Business

Google needs to confirm you’re the actual owner. They’ll typically send a postcard with a verification code to your business address. This can take a week or two, so don’t put it off. In some cases, you may be able to verify by phone or email.

Step 3: Complete Every Single Field

This is where most businesses fall short. They fill in the basics and call it done. But Google rewards completeness. Here’s what to fill in:

Business name. Use your actual business name — don’t stuff keywords in here. “Dan’s Plumbing” is fine. “Dan’s Plumbing Best Plumber Wisbech Cheap Emergency” will get you penalised.
Primary category. This is critical. Choose the most specific category that describes your main business activity. Google offers hundreds of categories — be precise.
Secondary categories. Add any additional categories that apply. If you’re a pub that also serves food, add both.
Address. Your full, accurate address. If you’re a service-area business that goes to customers, you can hide your address and specify your service areas instead.
Phone number. Use a local number if possible. It signals geographic relevance.
Website. Link to your homepage or a relevant landing page.
Hours. Keep these accurate and up to date, especially around holidays.
Business description. You get 750 characters. Use them wisely. Describe what you do, who you serve, and what makes you different. Include your location and service areas naturally.

Step 4: Add Photos

Businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more clicks through to their website. Add photos of your premises, your team, your work, and your products. Quality matters — blurry phone photos won’t cut it.

Aim to add new photos regularly. Google likes to see fresh content, and it shows potential customers that your business is active and current.

Optimising Your Profile for Maximum Visibility

Setting up your profile is step one. Optimising it is where the real gains come from.

Posts

Google Business Profile has a posts feature that most businesses ignore entirely. You can publish updates, offers, events, and announcements directly to your profile. These show up when people find your listing and give them more reasons to choose you.

Post regularly — once a week is ideal. Share special offers, announce new products or services, highlight recent projects, or share useful tips related to your industry. Posts expire after seven days (except event posts), so consistency matters.

Products and Services

There are dedicated sections for listing your products and services. Fill these in with descriptions and prices where appropriate. This gives Google more information about what you offer and gives potential customers a reason to engage.

Q&A Section

Your profile has a Q&A section where anyone can ask questions. Monitor this regularly. If you don’t answer, random members of the public might — and their answers may not be accurate.

Better yet, seed it yourself. Think about the questions your customers most commonly ask and post them with your own answers. “Do you offer free quotes?” “What areas do you cover?” “Do you work weekends?” This gives potential customers instant answers and saves you time.

Attributes

Google offers various attributes depending on your business type. These might include “wheelchair accessible,” “free Wi-Fi,” “outdoor seating,” “women-led,” and many more. Select all that apply. They help your listing appear in filtered searches and give customers useful information.

The Review Strategy That Actually Works

Reviews are the lifeblood of your Google Business Profile. They influence your ranking, your click-through rate, and whether someone picks up the phone to call you.

Getting More Reviews

Most customers don’t leave reviews unprompted. You need to ask. Here’s a system that works:

Identify happy customers. After completing a job or making a sale, gauge their satisfaction.
Ask in person first. A simple “Would you mind leaving us a Google review?” goes a long way.
Follow up with a link. Send an email or text with a direct link to your review page. You can generate this link from your Google Business Profile dashboard.
Make it easy. The fewer steps, the better. A direct link that opens the review form is ideal.
Time it right. Ask when the positive experience is fresh — not three weeks later.

Responding to Reviews

Respond to every review, positive and negative. For positive reviews, thank the customer and add a personal touch. For negative reviews, stay professional, acknowledge the concern, and offer to resolve it offline.

Here’s the thing that many business owners don’t realise: potential customers read your responses to negative reviews more carefully than the reviews themselves. A calm, professional, empathetic response to a complaint actually builds trust. A defensive or dismissive response destroys it.

What About Fake or Unfair Reviews?

Unfortunately, fake reviews do happen. If you receive one, you can flag it to Google for removal. Go to the review, click the three dots, and select “Report review.” Google will evaluate it against their policies. It won’t always be removed, but it’s worth trying.

Whatever you do, don’t respond emotionally to a fake review. Future customers won’t know it’s fake — they’ll just see your reaction.

Using Insights to Understand Your Customers

Google Business Profile provides valuable data about how people find and interact with your listing. Check your insights regularly to understand:

How customers find you. Are they searching for your business name (direct) or for a category or product (discovery)?
What actions they take. Are they visiting your website, requesting directions, or calling you?
Where they’re coming from. Which areas are generating the most direction requests?
Which photos get viewed. This tells you what potential customers care about.

This data can inform your broader marketing strategy. If most people find you through discovery searches, your category and keyword optimisation is working. If most find you directly, you might need to work on your visibility for new customers.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

I’ve audited hundreds of Google Business Profiles for local businesses, and the same mistakes come up repeatedly.

Keyword Stuffing Your Business Name

Adding keywords to your business name (“John’s Plumbing — Best Emergency Plumber in Wisbech”) violates Google’s guidelines and can get your listing suspended. Use your real business name.

Inconsistent Information

Your name, address, and phone number should be identical on your Google Business Profile, your website, and every directory listing across the web. Inconsistencies confuse Google and hurt your ranking.

Set It and Forget It

Your profile needs ongoing attention. Update your hours for holidays. Add new photos. Publish posts. Respond to reviews. An active profile ranks better than a stale one.

Ignoring the Q&A Section

If you’re not monitoring your Q&A, you’re letting strangers answer questions about your business. Check it regularly.

Not Using All Available Features

Google keeps adding new features to Business Profiles. Messaging, booking buttons, product catalogues — if they’re available for your business type, use them. Google rewards businesses that use its tools fully.

Your Google Business Profile Is Your Digital Shopfront

Think of your Google Business Profile as your shopfront on the busiest street in town — except the street is Google, and millions of people walk past every day. You wouldn’t leave your physical shopfront with peeling paint, no opening hours displayed, and no sign on the door. Don’t do the digital equivalent.

If you’re a local business in Cambridgeshire and you’re not making the most of your Google Business Profile, you’re leaving customers on the table. It’s free, it’s powerful, and it works.

Need help setting up or optimising your Google Business Profile? Or want to make sure your website is working hand-in-hand with your profile to maximise local visibility? Get in touch — I work with small businesses across the Fens to build their online presence and attract more local customers.