Google Business Profile

Also called: GBP, Google My Business, Google Maps listing.

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is how a business manages its appearance on Google Maps and in local search results. Owners can verify the listing and edit its name, categories, address or service area, hours, phone, website and photos, and respond to reviews.

Each profile has one primary category and, according to Google's help pages, up to 9 additional categories. Google's guidelines ask businesses to choose the fewest categories that describe the core business, which is why category data is so useful for filtering lead lists by trade.

For lead generation, the profile is the source of most of what you know about a local business before you contact it: what it does, where it is, whether it has a website, how many reviews it has and what its rating is. Agencies selling local SEO, reviews or websites build their whole pitch on these fields.

Not every listing is maintained. Some are unclaimed, some show businesses that have closed, and some have no website. Treat profile data as a strong starting point, then check the website before you write.

Example

A roofer's profile shows primary category "Roofing contractor," additional category "Gutter cleaning service," 4.2 stars from 18 reviews, and no website: a likely prospect for a web design agency.