What’s a Google Business Profile and why does it matter for a local business?

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the free listing that shows up in Google Maps and local search results with your address, hours, reviews, and photos. For local businesses — clinics, salons, restaurants, gyms, retail stores — it’s often the single highest-ROI thing you can optimise, because it appears above regular organic results for ‘near me’ and location-based searches. An incomplete or unoptimised profile means you’re invisible exactly when a nearby customer is ready to buy. Optimising it properly (categories, posts, review responses, photos, Q&A) can meaningfully increase calls and walk-ins within weeks.