If you run a small business in Vancouver, Surrey, Kelowna, or anywhere else in BC, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is doing as much work as your website when it comes to getting found locally. It’s the free listing that shows up in Google Maps, in the local “map pack” above organic search results, and in the info panel that appears when someone searches your business name. Most small business owners set one up once, add a phone number, and never touch it again. That’s a missed opportunity, because an incomplete or unclaimed profile is quietly costing you visits, calls, and sales.
This guide walks through why your Google Business Profile matters, how to set it up and verify it correctly in 2026 (the verification process has changed), and how to optimize it so it actually pulls its weight in local search.
At a glance: 5 steps to set up your Google Business Profile
| Step | What to do | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Claim or create your profile | Search for your business at business.google.com and claim the existing listing, or create a new one. | One-time |
| 2. Choose your category | Pick the most specific primary category available, not a broad catch-all. Add secondary categories if relevant. | One-time |
| 3. Verify your business | Complete verification by video recording, phone/text, email, live video call, or mail, depending on what Google offers you. Review can take up to 5 business days. | One-time |
| 4. Complete every section | Add services, photos, business description, hours, and attributes so your profile is fully filled out, not just the basics. | One-time, then update as things change |
| 5. Get and respond to reviews | Share your review link with customers and reply to every review, positive or negative. | Ongoing |
Why Google Business Profile matters for local SEO
Local search isn’t a niche behaviour anymore, it’s how most people find a nearby business. 46% of all Google searches have local intent, and according to Google’s own research, 76% of people who search for something nearby visit a business within a day. That’s a huge share of near-term buying intent flowing through local search, and your Google Business Profile is the main thing standing between that searcher and your front door.
Google backs this up with its own numbers on profile completeness. According to Google’s Business Profile Help documentation, customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable when they find a complete Business Profile, 70% more likely to visit it, and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from it, compared to a profile that’s missing information. That’s not a small edge. A half-filled-out listing with no photos and an unanswered review is actively working against you.
Reviews carry a similar weight. In BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, 97% of consumers said they read online reviews when evaluating a local business, and 85% said they’re more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews. Star ratings matter too: 31% of consumers said they’ll only consider businesses rated 4.5 stars or higher, up sharply from 17% the year before. And per Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey of local SEO practitioners, Google Business Profile signals and review signals together are now the two biggest drivers of local pack rankings, ahead of on-page SEO and backlinks.
Put simply: your GBP isn’t a nice-to-have listing, it’s a ranking and conversion tool that most small businesses are only using at a fraction of its potential.
Step 1: Claim or create your profile
Start at business.google.com and search for your business name and city. If a profile already exists (sometimes one gets created automatically from a citation, review, or map edit), claim it. If nothing comes up, create a new one. You’ll need a Google Account to manage it, and if you use a business email address, you can link it to your Google Account so profile management stays separate from your personal Gmail.
Step 2: Choose your category carefully
Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches your business should show up for, so pick the most specific option available rather than a broad catch-all. A “massage therapist” category will perform better for massage-related searches than the generic “health and wellness” category, even though both are technically accurate. You can add secondary categories too, but the primary category should describe the core of what you do.
Step 3: Verify your business (this has changed in 2026)
Verification is what gives you control over your listing, including the ability to edit your info, respond to reviews, and see performance insights. Google now offers several verification methods, and which ones you see depends on your business type, location, and category. Per Google’s own Business Profile Help documentation:
- Video recording — Google now recommends this method where it’s available. You record a short, unedited video (at least 30 seconds, filmed live through the Business Profile app, no pre-recorded footage allowed) showing your business location, proof that your business exists at that address, and proof that you manage it. Storefront businesses show signage and an employee-only area like a register or stockroom; service-area businesses show branded vehicles, tools, or equipment and a document like a business permit or utility bill. Full details are in Google’s official video verification guide.
- Phone or text — a code sent to your business phone number, entered directly on your profile.
- Email — a verification link sent to the email address associated with your listing.
- Live video call — a real-time call with a Google support representative during your business hours, where you show your location and proof of ownership on camera.
- Mail (postcard) — a physical postcard with a code mailed to your business address. Google’s help documentation now notes that postcard verification “isn’t available for all businesses”, so don’t be surprised if it’s not offered. When it is available, most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30.
Whichever method you’re offered, don’t edit your business name, address, or category while a verification is pending, since that can invalidate the code or video review. After you submit, Google says review can take up to 5 business days.
Step 4: Fill out every section, not just the basics
A profile with just a name, address, and phone number is the minimum, not the goal. Google’s own guidance ties profile completeness directly to visit and purchase likelihood (see the stats above), so it’s worth spending an hour getting this right:
- Services or products — list what you actually offer. Service businesses can pick from suggested services based on their category (a plumber might add “install faucet” or “repair toilet”) or add custom ones.
- Photos and video — add a logo, a cover photo, and real photos of your work, storefront, or team. Google explicitly recommends adding photos or videos regularly, both to help customer engagement and to support your ranking in search results.
- Business description — write it in your own voice. This is one of the few places on your profile where you can actually sound like a person instead of a directory listing.
- Hours — keep your regular hours accurate and set special hours for holidays or closures. Nothing erodes trust faster than a customer showing up to a locked door.
- Attributes — select accurate details like wheelchair accessibility, outdoor seating, or online booking. These can also surface your business in filtered searches.
Step 5: Get reviews, and respond to them
Given that 97% of consumers read reviews and 31% now filter out anything under 4.5 stars, reviews aren’t optional. You can generate a shareable review link directly from your Business Profile and send it to happy customers after a job is done. What you can’t do, per Google’s review policies, is offer incentives for reviews or set up a review station at your place of business, since reviews collected that way can be removed.
Responding to reviews, good and bad, also matters. It shows prospective customers (and Google) that the business is actively managed. A short, specific, non-defensive reply to a negative review often does more for your reputation than the review itself does damage.
Common mistakes that quietly hurt your visibility
Inconsistent name, address, and phone number (NAP) across the web. If your business is listed as “123 Main St” on Google but “123 Main Street, Suite B” on Facebook and an old phone number on a directory site, that inconsistency erodes both consumer trust and Google’s confidence in your listing. According to BrightLocal’s research on local citations, 93% of consumers say they’re frustrated by incorrect information in online directories, and 80% say inconsistent contact details make them lose trust in a business. Do a quick pass across your website, social profiles, and any directory listings to make sure your name, address, and phone number match exactly.
Letting the profile go stale. A profile that hasn’t had a new photo, post, or review response in six months looks abandoned, both to customers and to Google’s ranking systems, which increasingly weigh ongoing engagement over one-time setup.
Using a broad category instead of a specific one. As covered in Step 2, this is one of the most common self-inflicted local SEO mistakes and one of the easiest to fix.
Treating GBP and your website as separate projects. Your Business Profile should link to your actual website, and your website’s contact page should match your GBP’s NAP exactly. The two work together: your profile gets you found nearby, your website is what converts that visit into a customer.
The bottom line
A complete, actively maintained Google Business Profile is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-cost things a small business in BC can do for local visibility. The setup itself takes under an hour; the ongoing work is mostly photos, review responses, and keeping your information accurate. Pair it with a fast, mobile-friendly website that matches your NAP exactly, and you’re covering both halves of how local customers actually find and choose a business today.
