Last updated: September 2026
Google My Business, now called Google Business Profile, is the free listing that controls how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. Its eight main benefits for an Australian business are: a place in the local pack, performance insights, no cost to use, visibility on Google Maps, customer trust, more website traffic, free advertising exposure and a channel for collecting reviews. DigiFix uses Google Business Profile as the foundation of local search work, because most local buying decisions start with the map results.
Key takeaways
- Google Business Profile is free, and Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
- Local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, according to Google Business Profile Help.
- BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses.
- The same survey found 85% of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews.
- An unclaimed or half-complete profile is the most common reason a local business is invisible in the map results.
Profile claimed but barely visible? See DigiFix Google Business Profile management services in Melbourne.
What is Google My Business and what does it do?
Google My Business is the former name of Google Business Profile, the free tool a business uses to manage how it appears across Google Search and Google Maps. Google rebranded the product in 2021, so both names describe the same listing, and many people still search for it as GMB.
The listing holds your name, address or service area, hours, phone number, website, categories, photos, reviews and posts. Google uses that information to decide whether to show your business when someone nearby searches for what you sell, which is why an accurate and complete profile is the first job in local search.
Why does Google My Business matter for local search?
Google My Business matters because it is the source Google reads when it decides which businesses to show in the local pack and on the map. Google Business Profile Help states that local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and defines relevance as how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.
Those three factors explain the work. You influence relevance through complete and accurate information and the right categories, you cannot move premises closer to a customer, and you build prominence through reviews, links and general reputation. Google’s own guidance adds that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
The figures above come from BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey for 2026, which also reports that the average consumer uses six different review sites when choosing a business.
Not sure what is holding your local visibility back?
DigiFix reviews your profile, your reviews and your website together, then tells you which one is costing you the most enquiries.
Which 8 benefits does Google My Business deliver?
These are the eight benefits that matter most to a local business. Each one is written as the question to ask about your own listing, so you can check your profile as you read.
1. Does Google My Business help you appear in the Google local pack?
Google My Business helps you appear in the local pack, which is the block of three map results Google shows above the usual search results for local searches. The pack displays your name, rating, review count, address, hours and phone number, so a customer can judge and contact you without opening a single website.
Google’s local ranking guidance confirms local pack placement is driven by the accuracy and completeness of your profile. A verified, complete profile is the entry ticket to the pack.
2. What insights does your profile give you?
The profile gives you performance data on how people found and used your listing. The Insights area of your profile reports searches that showed your business, how many people viewed it, and the actions they took such as calling, requesting directions or visiting your website.
Those numbers are the closest thing a local business gets to free market research. High directions requests with low website clicks mean your photos work and your website does not.
3. Is the profile really free to use?
The profile is free, and setting it up costs your time rather than money. Creating and verifying a profile costs nothing, and Google states plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, which keeps the field level for small operators.
Free does not mean maintenance free. The profile rewards accurate information, fresh photos and answered reviews, which is the work most competitors stop after the first month.
4. Does the listing help you appear on Google Maps?
The listing is what puts your business on Google Maps, and Maps is where a large share of local intent ends up. Google’s 2016 mobile search research found that 76% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a business within a day, and that 28% of those searches result in a purchase.
The figure is from a Google study, so the age of the source is worth knowing: the behaviour it measures has held up since. Listing your address or service area correctly is what makes you findable for the searches happening a few streets away.
5. How does the profile build customer trust?
The profile builds trust because it puts verifiable evidence in front of a customer at the moment they are choosing. A verified profile with real photos, an accurate address and a body of reviews reads as a business that exists and answers to its customers.
The survey data is blunt about how much that evidence matters. BrightLocal found 92% of consumers care about star ratings, and negative reviews deter 77% of them. Trust is won or lost in the review panel, not the tagline.
6. Can the profile increase your website traffic?
The profile can increase website traffic because it carries a website link and posts, both of which give a searcher a next step. Someone who finds your hours and reviews on the profile often clicks through to check pricing, read more or book.
The traffic is also better qualified than social traffic, because the person already searched for what you sell in your area. Watch the website clicks figure in Insights monthly and refresh your photos, posts and offer when it falls.
7. Does the listing give you free advertising exposure?
The listing gives you exposure on Google without a media budget, because the profile and the local pack are organic placements rather than paid inventory. A complete profile can put your business in front of local searchers at no cost per click.
It is not a replacement for ads or search engine optimisation. Treat the free profile as the foundation, run paid ads when you need volume quickly, and use SEO to build the pages a customer reads once the profile has earned the click.
8. Does Google Business Profile help you collect reviews?
The profile gives customers a place to leave a review and gives you a place to answer it publicly. That reply is the part most businesses neglect, and Google’s own guidance notes that responding to reviews shows you value the feedback and can help your business stand out.
Reviews also feed ranking. Google lists how many reviews you have and your ratings among the factors behind prominence, so review volume is both a trust signal and a visibility signal. Ask every satisfied customer, and answer every review.
How do you compare a managed profile with doing it yourself?
A Google Business Profile can be run in house, but it only produces the benefits above when someone keeps it current. The honest comparison is not about whether the tool is free, it is about whether the maintenance actually happens.
| Task | Run in house | Managed by DigiFix |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and verification | Free, done once by your team | Handled, with categories matched to services |
| Review replies | Happens when someone remembers | Every review answered on a schedule |
| Photos and posts | Occasional, usually after a quiet month | Monthly photos and seasonal posts |
| Reporting | Insights rarely opened | Calls, directions and clicks reported monthly |
What does managing a Google Business Profile look like in practice?
Consider a plumbing business in Wheelers Hill whose profile was set up years ago by a former employee. The phone number is out of date, the category is the generic one Google suggested, and there are eleven reviews with the last one from 2023.
DigiFix would start by claiming and verifying the profile, then correct the name, number, service area and hours and set a primary category for the work the business wants. Then it would add photos, publish a post a month and ask recent customers for reviews, answering each within a week. DigiFix is a Melbourne digital agency based in Clayton, and you can read more about the DigiFix team.
The cost of doing nothing is that every nearby search keeps sending the job to a competitor whose profile simply looks current.
- Claim and verify in week one. Take ownership of the listing so nobody else can edit it, and complete Google’s verification step.
- Complete every field in weeks one to two. Name, category, service area, hours, phone, website, attributes and a plain description of what you do.
- Add photos and posts monthly. Current photos of the premises, the team and finished work, plus a post for seasonal offers or news.
- Collect and answer reviews weekly. Ask satisfied customers directly, then reply to every review, positive or negative, within a week.
How do you know your Business Profile is working?
You know your Google My Business listing is working when calls, direction requests and website clicks trend upward and reviews keep arriving. Judge it on the questions below rather than on your star rating alone.
| Question to ask | What a healthy answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Is the profile claimed and verified? | You own it, and Google has confirmed the business |
| Is every field filled in accurately? | Hours, service area, phone and primary category all correct |
| Were photos added in the last month? | Recent, real photos of work and premises |
| Does every review have a reply? | Replies within a week, including to the negative ones |
| Do you check Insights monthly? | Calls, directions and clicks tracked month to month |
Want to see local visibility work in the wild?
Our portfolio shows the websites, profiles and campaigns DigiFix runs for Australian businesses.
Where can you read more about Google Business Profile?
If you want to work through the setup and the local search fundamentals step by step, you can browse every article on the DigiFix blog.
- Google My Business setup for Melbourne businesses
- GMB features for customer interaction
- How to attract more customers with local SEO
- Review management services in Oakleigh South
What are the most common questions about Google My Business?
Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
Yes, they are the same product. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile in 2021, and management moved into Google Search and Google Maps as well as the app. Nothing about your listing was lost in the rename, so any guide written about GMB still applies to Google Business Profile.
How long does it take for a Google Business Profile to work?
Verification usually completes within a few days, and visibility can move within a few weeks once the profile is complete and reviews start arriving. Competitive suburb terms take longer, often two to three months, because prominence builds through reviews, posts and links over time. Rebuilt profiles tend to move faster than brand new ones.
Can I pay to rank higher in the local pack?
No. Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and the local pack is an organic result rather than ad inventory. Anyone guaranteeing a top three map position for a fee is promising something outside their control. What you can do is improve relevance and prominence through accurate information, photos and reviews.
What should I do about a negative review?
Reply to it publicly, calmly and quickly, then move the specific details to a private conversation. BrightLocal’s 2026 survey found negative reviews deter 77% of consumers, so the reply is aimed at the next reader as much as the reviewer. Never argue, and only report a review when it genuinely breaches Google’s content policy.
How many photos should a Google Business Profile have?
Aim for at least twenty good photos and keep adding a few each month, because fresh images signal an active business. Cover the exterior and entrance so customers recognise you, the interior, your team at work, and finished jobs or products. Real photos taken on a phone beat polished stock images every time.
Do I still need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?
Yes. The profile earns the click and the website converts it, so the two do different jobs. Google’s guidance also notes that prominence draws on things like how many websites link to your business, which a website earns and a profile cannot. Treat the profile as the shopfront and the website as the shop.
Get a clear answer on your local visibility
Book a free consultation with DigiFix. No obligation, no lock-in contract, and you will leave the call knowing exactly what to fix on your Business Profile first.
DigiFix, Unit A11/2A Westall Rd, Clayton VIC 3168. Serving businesses across Melbourne.
