GBP (Google Business Profile)
Google Business Profile is the free Google product (formerly Google My Business) that controls how a business appears in Google Maps, the Map Pack, and Knowledge Panel results.
In context
GBP is the single highest-leverage surface in local SEO. Every signal Google uses to rank Map Pack results — primary category, service catalogue, photos, hours, reviews, posts, attributes — is editable inside GBP. A fully populated, actively maintained GBP typically outranks a half-claimed one in Canadian metros even when the half-claimed business has stronger backlinks. For service-area businesses (plumbers, electricians, contractors) GBP often delivers more new customers than the website itself.
A Liberty Village dental practice with 50 photos, weekly Updates, and 250 reviews at 4.8★ outranks a competing practice on Bay Street with 8 photos and 40 reviews — even though the Bay Street practice has more domain authority.
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