Business Tips

Is Google Business Profile worth it?

If you’ve ever searched for a local shop or service on Google, you’ve already seen how powerful a Google Business Profile can be. It’s often the first thing people notice when deciding where to go or who to trust. Yes, a well-managed Google Business Profile is worth it because it helps your business stand out, build trust, and attract more local customers—all for free.

You can use it to share key details like your opening hours, photos, and customer reviews, all in one place. When people search nearby, your profile can appear on Google Maps and in local search results, giving you a better chance for customers to choose your business over competitors.

In this post, you’ll see why Google Business Profile matters for local businesses and weigh the pros and cons to decide if it’s worth your time.

Why Google Business Profile Matters for Local Businesses

Your Google Business Profile helps people find and choose your business when they search online. It improves how your company appears in local results, builds trust through reviews and photos, and ensures your details are accurate across Google Search and Google Maps.

You Can’t Rely on Google Website Traffic

If you’re relying on your website traffic for business, you’ve probably already experienced the enormous drop since Google launched AI overview and the catastrophic December 2025 update decimated traffic globally. Website owners reported drops of 40-85%. One company went from 100k clicks to zero! I too, watched my traffic drop over a cliff in a matter of days. It’s heartbreaking when you put so much work in to getting content ranked.

So, if you need local business, you can no longer rely on Google SERPs. It’s the primary reason I switched my focus from writing blog content for clients to Google Business Profile.

How Google Business Profile Boosts Local Search Visibility

Your Google Business Profile affects how often and where your business appears in local search results. When someone searches for “plumber near me” or “best café in Brighton,” Google relies on your profile data to decide if you match the query.

You can make your Google Business Profile worth it by completing every section of your profile increases your visibility. Include your business name, address, phone number, and categories that describe your services.

Adding photos, posts, and regular updates signals to Google that your business is active, which can help you appear more often in search results and map listings.

Also, keep your opening hours and website link up to date. Google rewards accurate and consistent information, which can push your listing higher in local search rankings.

Impact on Google Maps and Local Pack Rankings

Your Google Business Profile determines how your business appears on Google Maps and in Google’s “Local Pack,” which is the top three listings that appear under the map in local search results.

Google uses factors like distance, relevance, and prominence to rank businesses. A complete and optimised profile helps you meet these criteria.

For example, if you run a bakery in Manchester, adding your exact location, accurate hours, and customer reviews helps Google match your listing to users nearby.

Businesses with strong profiles often appear in the Local Pack, which attracts more clicks and calls than regular organic listings. Being visible here can directly increase foot traffic and enquiries.

Role in Customer Engagement and Trust

Your profile acts as your digital storefront. Customers can see your reviews, photos, and responses before deciding to visit or contact you.

Positive Google reviews and quick responses to questions show that you care about your customers. That builds credibility and encourages others to choose your business over competitors.

Get into the habit of asking customers for a review as soon as possible after a sale. They say only 1 in 10 will write a review if asked, but that number drops the longer you leave it.

You can add a QR code (available from your GBP) to your invoices or emails.

Adding real photos of your shop, staff, or products also helps. People trust listings that look genuine and up to date.

You can also use posts to share offers, events, or news. These updates keep your listing fresh and show that your business is active and engaged with the community.

Importance of Business Description and Information Accuracy

Your business description helps people and Google understand what your business offers. Use clear, simple language to describe your primary services, products, and location.

Avoid keyword stuffing; instead, use natural phrases that reflect what customers search for. For example, “family-owned Italian restaurant in Leeds” tells both users and Google what you do and where you are.

Keep all contact details, categories, and attributes accurate. Inconsistent information can confuse Google and reduce your chances of appearing in local search results.

A well-maintained profile with correct details, photos, and reviews helps customers find you easily and trust your business before they even visit.

Pros and Cons: Is Google Business Profile Worth the Effort?

A Google Business Profile (GBP) can help your business appear in local searches, attract more customers, and build trust through reviews and updates. However, managing it well takes time, consistency, and care to avoid common pitfalls that could harm your online reputation.

Key Advantages of Using Google Business Profile

A well-optimised GBP listing increases your visibility in local search results and on Google Maps. That helps nearby customers find your business quickly, especially when they search for services “near me”.

You can share updates, offers, and events using Google Posts. These short updates keep your profile active and show potential customers that your business is engaged and up to date. I typically post once weekly.

Customer interaction is another significant advantage. People can call, message, or ask questions directly through your profile. You can also respond to reviews, which helps build credibility and trust.

Regular activity signals to Google that your business is legitimate and relevant. That can improve your local search ranking and increase website visits, calls, and foot traffic.

Feature	Benefit
Reviews	Builds trust and social proof
Posts	Promotes updates and offers
Messaging	Enables direct communication
Photos	Makes your listing more appealing

Potential Drawbacks and Limitations

While GBP is free, it requires time and effort to maintain. You’ll need to monitor updates, reply to messages, and manage customer reviews regularly.

Negative reviews can impact your reputation if ignored. You should respond to negative reviews politely and professionally to show you value feedback and care about improvement.

Google sometimes changes features or layout without notice, so you may need to adjust how you manage your listing. For example, AI-generated summaries now appear on some profiles, and inaccurate information could affect how customers view your business.

You also have limited control over how Google displays your listing. It can pull information from user contributions or third-party sources, which might not always be correct.

Tips for Maximising Your GBP Listing

Keep your business information accurate, including name, address, phone number, and hours. Update it whenever something changes to avoid confusing customers.

Add high-quality photos that show your products, services, or location. Businesses with fresh images often appear more trustworthy and attract more clicks.

Use Google Posts each month to highlight promotions, events, or updates. These posts can include call-to-action buttons that drive visitors to your website or prompt them to make a call.

Make your Google Business Profile worth it by adding add WhatsApp or text functionality by adding a mobile number to your listing. Make it as easy as possible for customers to contact you.

Finally, check your insights regularly to see how people find and interact with your listing.

Complementing Your Website and Local Marketing

Your GBP should work alongside your website, not replace it. Think of it as a local marketing tool that directs people to your site for more details or to make purchases.

Make your Google Business Profile worth it by using consistent branding and messaging across your GBP, website, and social media pages to help customers recognise and trust your business.

You can also link GBP posts to key landing pages, such as contact or booking forms, to increase conversions.

Combine your GBP with other local marketing tactics, such as community events, local ads, and partnerships. When you use these tools together, you strengthen your visibility both online and offline.

Conclusion

Is having a Google Business Profile worth it, considering the effort?

Don’t be put off by what seems like a lot of hard work to maintain your Google Business Profile. It’s essential to set up your GBP correctly and optimise it for SEO, but once that’s done, it’s simply a matter of maintaining it weekly.

Typical tasks might include the following:

• Posting once a week
• Responding to reviews
• Checking performance
• Checking keyword ranking
• Adding new products or services
• Uploading photos and videos: Adding geo-location helps and is easy with the Google Photos platform.
• Adding FAQs: Add one or two questions and answers, typically what your existing customers might ask.

Does the ideal customer avatar matter when you’re promoting on social media?

From experience, I can tell you how hard it is to create weekly content when you aren’t sure who you’re talking to.

Accurate messaging is vital if you want to get results.

I’m an advocate for using free systems and software to speed up processes. I use Claude AI daily and ChatGPT. It saves me hours of brainpower.

Here is a simple prompt you can use with Claude or ChatGPT to discover your ideal customer avatar.

Tweak it as you wish.

The ChatGPT or Claude AI Prompt

“Please help me find the top 10 questions I need to ask to understand my customer avatar, their demographics and psychographics. Include motivators, fears, desired transformation, learning style, financial mindset, and other relevant factors.

I want to understand how to perfect my messaging to understand my customer avatar and hone in on messaging style and the stories to tell my audience so they see me as an authority on my topic, authentic and relatable, and someone worth listening to and buying from.

I focus on selling an <insert course here> and want to teach people how to make money and start a business online so they can quit their jobs and have financial, time, and location freedom.”

Questions To Consider

These are the questions that Claude provided for my business, and they’re pretty much universal regardless of the business niche you choose.

Who Are They?

• What is their age, gender, location, occupation, education level, and marital status?
• Are they parents? If so, what are the ages of their children?
• What is their current job title, industry, and level of experience?

What Are Their Goals And Aspirations?

• What do they want to achieve (e.g., financial freedom, time with family, travel)?
• What does success look like to them?
• How does starting an online business align with their long-term goals?

What Are Their Biggest Frustrations With Their Current Work/Life Balance?

• Do they wish they had more time with the family or for hobbies?
• Are they at a transitional stage in their life (e.g., perimenopause or menopause, which can cause energy fluctuations, brain fog and more)?
• What would they change if a magic fairy appeared to grant their wishes?

What Are Their Pain Points And Challenges?

• What keeps them awake at night (e.g., job dissatisfaction, financial struggles, lack of time)?
• What are the biggest obstacles they face in starting an online business?
• What fears do they have about making a career change or starting a business?

What Motivates Them To Take Action?

• What drives them toward starting an online business (e.g., hating their job, wanting freedom, or wanting more control over their life)?
• What motivates them to take action (e.g., through success stories, how someone overcame a challenge, logical reasoning, or emotional appeals)?

What Are Their Fears And Objections?

• What are their biggest fears about starting an online business (e.g., fear of failure, wasting time or money)?
• What objections might they have to purchasing your course (e.g., “I don’t have time,” “I can’t afford it,” “It won’t work for me”)?
• How can you address these objections through your messaging?

What Transformation Are They Seeking?

• What is their desired end state after taking your course (e.g., quitting their job, achieving financial independence, travelling the world)?
• How do they envision their life improving due to starting an online business?
• What emotional and practical benefits are they looking for?

What Is Their Learning Style & How Do They Prefer To Consume Content?

• Do they prefer video content, written content, or interactive learning?
• How do they typically consume information (e.g., on-the-go via mobile, during their commute, late at night)?
• What platforms do they spend most of their time on (e.g., Instagram, YouTube, podcasts)?

What Is Their Financial Mindset?

• How do they view money and investing in themselves?
• Are they more frugal or willing to invest in tools and education if it means achieving their goals faster?
• How important is a money-back guarantee or proof of value before purchasing?

What Stories Will Resonate With Them?

• What life experiences or stories can you share that align with their journey (e.g., your own struggles with starting a business, how you achieved financial freedom)?
• How can you position yourself as someone who understands and has successfully overcome their struggles?
• What relatable anecdotes can you use to build trust and authenticity?

What Do They Value In A Mentor Or Authority Figure?

• What qualities do they seek in someone they want to learn from (e.g., expertise, transparency, relatability)?
• How do they define authenticity, and how can you demonstrate it in your messaging?
• What makes them see someone as worth listening to and buying from?

What is Their Current Job Situation & Income Level?

• Are they happy in their job?
• Do they work remotely or commute?
• Are they seeking a promotion or looking for another job?

What Does “Financial Freedom” Mean To Them Specifically?

• What financial freedom means to you could be entirely different for someone else.
• Do they want to be rich or comfortable?
• Do they want to work fewer hours or not at all?

What Previous Attempts, If Any, Have They Made To Start An Online Business?

• Have they tried and failed?
• Are they in a business that is not working out for them?
• Have they never considered starting a business because they think it’s too time-consuming, expensive, or for any other reason?

Who Do They Follow Or Admire In The Online Business Space?

• What type of influencer do they prefer? – for instance, there’s a big difference between Mel Robbins and Alex Hormozi
• Do they prefer motivational or educational influencers?

How Would They Describe Their Ideal Work Day If Money Wasn’t An Issue?

• Sailing the ocean on a yacht?
• Picnic in the park with the family?
• Time in nature or going to the gym?
• Sleeping in

What’s Their Biggest Limiting Belief About Making Money Online?

• What mental blocks do they have about money?
• Are they aware of these blocks?
• Do they lack self-belief about making money?

How Do They Define Success Beyond Just Financial Metrics?

Success doesn’t always have to be defined in monetary terms.

They might want to live more simply and have more time freedom. Like most people, they might value having more choices as the route to happiness. Finding the answers to this question reveals deeper motivations and values you can appeal to.

How To Perfect Your Messaging Based On These Insights

The next step is to start planning your messaging for your ideal customer avatar. That was tricky for me until I joined the Catalyst Collective.

The founder is an ex-sales and branding expert for Meta, so I got the inside scoop on messaging and many other aspects of social media marketing.

Anyhoo, use the following guidelines to structure your content.

Vary it so your audience has a mix of getting to know you and your sales message.

Don’t be afraid that social media users will get tired of your sales message. Indeed, repetition is your friend. Plus, the way the algorithms work is that the same followers won’t see your content.

1. Make your content relatable: Use language and examples that resonate with their current situation and frustrations.
2. Tell stories about your own journey: Share your challenges and wins or client successes that mirror their desired transformation.
3. Address their concerns: Address common fears and doubts head-on in your content.
4. Talk about benefits: Highlight the lifestyle benefits of running an Instagram business, not just the financial aspects.
5. Showcase expertise: Provide actionable tips and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your own business.
6. Vary your content: Use a mix of aspirational and relatable content to position yourself as an authority and someone who understands their starting point.
7. Emphasise simplicity: Many courses are overwhelming> Make it clear that the course you’re promoting is a step-by-step program that does not cause someone to feel overwhelmed.
8. Share testimonials: Publish success stories to help potential customers see themselves in your success stories.
9. Use Instagram features like Stories and Reels: Showcase on your IG account to give a more personal, authentic view of your life as an online entrepreneur.
10. Stay engaged: Regularly engage with your target audience through Q&As, polls, and direct messages to stay connected to their evolving needs and concerns.

Conclusion

Take your time working out your ideal customer avatar.

In many cases, the best customer avatar is you in the past!

For instance, I got burnt out working in a toxic workplace environment.

I loathe being micromanaged or following other people’s rules.

I’m a free spirit who craves lifestyle freedom and the ability to make my own choices. In the corporate world, we all mostly have to be compliant, and if you’re sick of that and want more freedom of choice, get started and then help people like you.