When someone searches “dentist near me” and a map appears with three practices underneath, those listings come from Google Business Profile (GBP). It’s the business’s free profile on Google: name, address, phone number, hours, category, photos, reviews, services and more. Google renamed it from Google My Business in 2021, and today most of it can be edited directly from Google Search and Maps.
For local businesses, it’s often the single most important SEO asset, more than the website itself.
Why it matters
Brightside Dental gets more calls from its Google Business Profile than from its website. Patients see the map listing, check the star rating and reviews, look at photos of the office, and tap “Call” without ever visiting the site. For local searches with a map pack, the profile is the first impression and frequently the only one.
How Google ranks local listings
Google says local results are based mainly on three factors:
- Relevance: how well the profile matches the search, driven largely by the primary category, services and description
- Distance: how far the business is from the searcher or the location in the search (see proximity)
- Prominence: how well known the business is, based on reviews, links, articles, directory listings and its overall web presence
What to fill in
- Business name exactly as it appears in the real world. Adding keywords (“Brightside Dental Best Austin Dentist”) breaks Google’s guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
- Primary category, the most specific one available (“Dentist”, “Pediatric dentist”, “Plumber”), plus relevant secondary categories.
- Address or service area. Businesses that visit customers can hide their address (see service area business).
- Phone number and website, matching your site and other listings (see NAP).
- Hours, including holiday hours.
- Services or products, with short descriptions.
- Photos: exterior, interior, team and real work. Update them regularly.
- Description in plain words: what you do, who for and where.
Keep it active
Reply to reviews, answer common questions in your description and posts, add new photos, and keep hours accurate. Watch for “suggested edits” from the public or from Google, which can change your details without warning.
Common mistakes
- Keyword-stuffed business names
- A virtual office or PO box as the address, which isn’t allowed
- Duplicate profiles for the same location
- Ignoring reviews, especially negative ones
- Choosing a broad primary category (“Medical clinic”) instead of the specific one
How to manage it
RankThat’s Local SEO tools connect to Google Business Profile so you can read reviews and get replies drafted, track where you rank on the map with a Local Rank Grid, and check your citations.