What a Business Profile is and who can have one
When someone asks Google "Where can I get pizza near me?", Google shows a little card for each shop with the hours, phone number and stars. A Business Profile is your shop's card.
- Creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free.
- It appears in Google Search and Google Maps. You can manage reviews, publish posts about offers, events and news, add photos, and keep hours and contact details current.
- Who qualifies: a business that has a physical location customers can visit, or that travels to customers where they are (a "service-area business," like a mobile coach or a plumber).
- A virtual office is not eligible.
- Service-area businesses should create one profile for their central office, set a service area, and hide their address from customers if they don't serve people there.
- One profile per business location. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not acceptable addresses.
- Ask yourself: do customers come to my place, or do I go to them?
- Write your exact street address, or the list of towns and areas you serve.
- Check that the address is not a virtual office, P.O. box or remote mailbox.
- If you travel to customers, plan to set a service area and hide your address.
- Check: you can say in one sentence whether you are a storefront or a service-area business.
Read the video script
[Screen: Google Maps search 'tennis lessons near me' showing business cards] "These cards are Google Business Profiles. They're free."
[Host] "You qualify if customers can visit you, or if you travel to them."
[Text on screen: Service-area business = hide your address] "Coach at public courts or visit people's homes? You're a service-area business. Set your area and hide your home address."
[Host] "Virtual offices and P.O. boxes don't count. One real location, one profile."
Answer: Do customers come to you, or do you go to them? Write your exact address or the list of towns/areas you serve.
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I'm learning "Google Business Profile & Local Marketing" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What a Business Profile is and who can have one". What the lesson teaches: - Creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free. - It appears in Google Search and Google Maps. You can manage reviews, publish posts about offers, events and news, add photos, and keep hours and contact details current. - Who qualifies: a business that has a physical location customers can visit, or that travels to customers where they are (a "service-area business," like a mobile coach or a plumber). - A virtual office is not eligible. - Service-area businesses should create one profile for their central office, set a service area, and hide their address from customers if they don't serve people there. - One profile per business location. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not acceptable addresses. The exercise I'm working on: Answer: Do customers come to you, or do you go to them? Write your exact address or the list of towns/areas you serve. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What a Business Profile is and who can have one" from the course "Google Business Profile & Local Marketing". Here's what the lesson says: When someone asks Google "Where can I get pizza near me?", Google shows a little card for each shop with the hours, phone number and stars. A Business Profile is your shop's card. The activity: Answer: Do customers come to you, or do you go to them? Write your exact address or the list of towns/areas you serve. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Google, Business Profile (free; features): business.google.com/ca-en/business-profile/
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business: support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en
Set up and verify it the right way
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How Google decides who shows up first
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Reviews: getting them and replying
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Keep your profile alive
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Local marketing beyond Google
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Final project
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Quiz
Does a Google Business Profile cost money?
No, creating one is free.
Can a virtual office have a Business Profile?
No.
What should a mobile coach who works from home do with the address?
Set a service area and hide the address.
What three things does Google say decide local ranking?
Relevance, distance, prominence.
Can you pay Google for a better local ranking?
No.
Can you give a 10% discount in exchange for a review?
No. Google doesn't allow incentives for reviews.
Is it okay to only send the review link to customers who seemed happy?
No. Selectively soliciting positive reviews isn't allowed.
How long is a Google postcard verification code valid?
30 days (most arrive within 14 days).
Final exam
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Certificate
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