Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile in 2021, though the older name is still widely used and searched for. It's the free listing that shows a business's name, address, hours, reviews, and photos directly in Google Search and Google Maps, most visibly in the local map pack that appears above organic results for location-based searches.
Any business with a physical location or a defined service area can claim and manage a free profile, and keeping it accurate and active is one of the highest-leverage local SEO moves available: complete business information, regular photo updates, and responding to reviews all factor into how the profile performs in local search. For a business that depends on nearby customers, a well-maintained profile often drives as much or more visibility than the website's own organic rankings, since local searches frequently resolve directly in the map pack without a click through to any website at all.
