A Google Business Profile (GBP) is your free business listing on Google that controls how you show up in Google Search and Google Maps, and it can directly impact your local SEO visibility and the number of calls, direction requests, and bookings you get.
If you want hands-on help setting it up correctly and keeping it clean, our SEO services include Google Business Profile setup, cleanup, and ongoing local work.
Your GBP is the main source Google uses for the local map results people see near the top of the page, so it heavily influences whether you appear in the top spots or get buried, especially for competitive Orlando searches like “dentist near me” or “pest control Orlando.”
The way it affects rankings is simple: Google tries to match the search to the best business using relevance (do you offer what they want), distance (how close you are), and prominence (how trusted and well known you look online), and your profile feeds all three of those signals.
If you want a clearer picture of how those map results work, read our breakdown of the Google Map Pack.
| GBP section | How it affects local SEO |
|---|---|
| Primary category + services | Drives relevance by telling Google what you actually do and which searches you can match. |
| Address, map pin, or service area | Shapes distance, and incorrect pins or fake addresses can hurt visibility or trigger problems. |
| Business name, phone, and website | Consistency helps Google trust the listing and connect it to your website and other mentions. |
| Reviews and owner responses | Builds prominence and improves click and call behavior when people compare options. |
| Photos, products, and updates | Improves engagement and credibility, which helps conversion and supports prominence. |
| Hours, attributes, and Q&A | Reduces confusion, improves relevance, and prevents missed calls from bad info. |
What we see work best for local businesses is keeping the profile accurate, complete, and active without turning it into a daily chore.
- Claim and verify the profile using an account you control, then limit access to people you trust.
- Use one consistent business name, address (if you have one), and phone number everywhere you’re listed online.
- Pick a primary category that matches what you sell most, then add only true secondary categories and services.
- Set correct hours and update holidays, and if you’re a service-area business you can hide your address and list up to 20 cities or ZIP codes you actually serve.
- Add real photos of your team, office, vehicles, and recent work, then keep adding new ones regularly.
- Use posts and offers only when you have something real to share, not filler.
Your profile also needs a website that matches the same services and service area, loads quickly on mobile, and makes it easy to contact you, which is why we often pair GBP work with web design fixes on the landing page your profile links to.
Reviews are a big part of the win because they help both rankings and conversions, but they have to be earned the right way: ask after a good visit or completed job, send one simple link, and never offer discounts, gift cards, or giveaways in exchange for reviews.
We explain the review side in more detail in our FAQ on how online reviews impact local SEO.
One last practical tip for Orlando and Central Florida: check your profile weekly for suggested edits, duplicate listings, wrong hours, and incorrect map pins, because small errors can cost you real calls in busy categories like dental, legal, HVAC, and pest control.
If you want a quick sanity check, we can review your Google Business Profile, identify the gaps that most often block map visibility, and give you a simple monthly routine your team can stick with.
