You know when you pull out your phone to Google your options for nearby pharmacies/ cafes/ kebab? It gives you a handy list of Places along with their pins on the Google Map.
You can go straight to their websites, ask for physical directions and/or click their pin to discover more about them, including their address, opening hours and Google reviews.
These Places all have one thing in common: a Google Business Profile. An absolute must for any business whose customers run localised searches, a Google Business Profile offers free exposure in the Google Search and Maps results.
Technically, you don’t even have to have a website to generate online business via a Google Business Profile: there’s space to include plenty of detail about your business, including your services, offers and events. You can add photos, and invite customers to write (hopefully glowing) reviews.
Nor do you have to have to provide your products and services face-to-face. Plenty of web designers, online retailers and virtual assistants have Google My Business Profiles: after all, we all work from somewhere, and customers will often look for “web designers in Glasgow” even if the work could, in theory, be done by someone on the other side of the planet.
Should I bother setting up a Google Business Profile?
The Pros of setting up a Google Business Profile are probably quite apparent by now:
- It’s free marketing
- It’s standalone – you don’t need a website or broader marketing strategy to operate it
- Positive Google Reviews are super strong social proof – great for conversions!
Are there any Cons? Well, we don’t think so, not really, but there are a couple of things to consider:
- It’s standalone – yes, this is in the Pros list too, but it means you have to remember to keep it up to date (treat it like one of your social media channels, and post updates to it like you would on Facebook)
- Negative reviews are public – but you can mitigate any damage by responding gracefully
On balance, the Pros hugely outweigh the Cons (unless you think you’ll get loads of one star reviews, in which case Google is the least of your issues!)
OK, I’m sold. How do I get started?
Fortunately, Google makes it really easy to set up a Google Business Profile. You can just follow the step-by-step instructions and you’ll be up and running in no time. You’ll need to choose a category for your business from a pre-defined list. Ours is ‘Training Provider’:
Then you’ll be asked for your essential information, such as your address and opening hours. How much additional detail you provide is up to you, but we recommend treating your Google Business Profile like a mini-website. There’s no guarantee that people will click through to your actual website, so make sure your Google Business Profile does the best possible job of communicating what you have to offer.
Good luck, and see you out there in the Googleverse!
For more help with your 2026 digital marketing strategy, get booked onto one of our digital skills masterclasses, or talk to our team.