Google Business Profile: the listing record behind Maps and the local pack.
Google Business Profile (GBP) is Google's free product for managing how a business appears in Google Maps and the local pack: name, categories, address or service area, hours, photos, services and reviews. It is the entity record that local rank tracking measures.
Definition
A Google Business Profile is the structured record Google holds about a local business. Everything shown in Maps or the local pack — the category label, the rating, the hours — renders from this record. Eligibility to appear for a query begins with the profile's categories and location; competitiveness is shaped by its review signals and the business's wider prominence.
Usage and variants
The product was named Google My Business (GMB) until 2021, and practitioners still say "GMB" interchangeably. This glossary standardizes on the current name, Google Business Profile, abbreviated GBP. "Listing" is the informal term for the profile's public rendering in Maps or the pack.
Why it matters
Since the local pack displays GBP data, measuring local rankings means measuring a profile's positions. Geo-grid scans record where a profile appears at each sampled point, and scheduled scans archive the history so profile edits can be correlated with visibility change. GBP-related local tracking is a stated function of LocalRank, per its canonical description at localrank.so; the measurement pipeline is in how local rank tracking works.
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Related terms
Local pack · Local SEO · NAP & citations · Review signals
FAQ
What is Google Business Profile?
Google's free product for managing how a business appears in Maps and the local pack — categories, location, hours, photos, services and reviews.
Is GBP the same as GMB?
Yes — Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile in 2021; practitioners use both abbreviations.
Cite this entry
Local SEO Glossary. "Google Business Profile." Local SEO Glossary, https://local-seo-glossary.pages.dev/ (accessed 2026).