Why Your Google Business Profile Matters More Than Your Website

If you run a local business in Perth and you had to choose between a polished website and a fully optimised Google Business Profile — the GBP wins. Every time.

That’s a bold statement from a web design agency, we know. But it reflects a reality that too many Perth business owners haven’t caught up with yet, and understanding it could be the single most impactful shift you make to your digital presence this year.

What is a Google Business Profile?

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the listing that appears when someone searches for your business by name, or when Google shows local results for searches like “web designer near me” or “photographer Joondalup.”

It’s the box on the right side of desktop search results showing your business name, address, phone number, hours, photos, reviews and a link to your website. On mobile — where the majority of local searches happen — it dominates the entire screen before a single organic result appears.

The Map Pack: Perth’s most valuable real estate

When someone in Wanneroo searches “branding agency Perth” or “website designer northern suburbs,” Google shows three local businesses above all organic results. This is called the Map Pack, and it’s driven almost entirely by your Google Business Profile — not your website.

Businesses in the Map Pack receive significantly more clicks, calls and enquiries than those ranked below them in organic results. For service-based businesses, trades, hospitality, retail and professional services, appearing in the Map Pack is the difference between a phone that rings and one that doesn’t.

Your website ranking matters for the long game. But for immediate local visibility in Perth, your GBP is the priority.

Why most Perth business GBPs are underperforming

The majority of Google Business Profiles are claimed but neglected. Business owners fill in the basics — name, address, phone — and then never touch it again. This is a missed opportunity of the highest order.

Google rewards profiles that are complete, active and well-reviewed. An incomplete or inactive profile signals to Google that your business may not be the most relevant or reliable result to show. A fully optimised, regularly updated profile signals the opposite.

How to optimise your Google Business Profile

Complete every single field

Google gives you a significant number of fields to fill in — business description, service categories, service areas, products, attributes, opening hours, and more. Most businesses leave half of these empty.

Your business description should include your primary services and locations naturally — not stuffed with keywords, but written the way you’d explain your business to a potential customer. Aim for the full 750 characters.

Your primary category is especially important. Choose the most specific category that accurately describes your main service. Secondary categories can capture additional services.

Add photos consistently

Profiles with photos receive substantially more clicks and direction requests than those without. Add high-quality images of your team, your workspace, your work and your results. Update them regularly — Google notices recency.

If you have professional brand photography (hint: this is something Phodes can help with), your profile will stand out immediately against competitors using blurry phone snaps or no images at all.

Collect Google reviews — actively

Reviews are the single most powerful ranking signal for local search. The quantity, recency and quality of your reviews directly influences where Google places you in the Map Pack.

The best way to get reviews is simply to ask. After a project is completed, send a direct link to your GBP review page to your client. Most satisfied clients are happy to leave a review — they just need the nudge and the easy path to do it.

Respond to every review, positive or negative. It shows Google and potential customers that you’re engaged and professional.

Post regular updates

Google Business Profile has a Posts feature that works similarly to a social media feed — you can share updates, offers, events and new work. Most businesses never use it.

Posting once a week — a recent project, a tip, a behind-the-scenes photo — signals to Google that your business is active. This directly supports your local ranking. It takes five minutes and costs nothing.

Keep your information accurate and consistent

Your business name, address and phone number (NAP) must be identical across your GBP, your website, and every directory listing online. Even small inconsistencies — abbreviating “Street” to “St” in one place — can dilute your local SEO authority.

How GBP and your website work together

Your Google Business Profile and your website are not competing — they’re complementary. Your GBP captures local search intent and drives direct calls and enquiries. Your website provides the depth, credibility and content that converts those visitors into clients.

The ideal setup is a fully optimised GBP that drives traffic to a well-structured website, which then converts visitors through strong content, social proof and clear calls to action. One without the other leaves significant opportunity on the table.

What Phodes does with GBP

As part of our local SEO service, we fully audit and optimise Google Business Profiles for Perth clients — ensuring every field is complete, photos are professional, categories are correctly set, and a posting strategy is in place.

For businesses starting from scratch or those who’ve claimed their profile but never properly set it up, we typically see significant improvements in local visibility within the first sixty days.

We’re based in Eglinton and work with businesses across Perth’s northern suburbs — Wanneroo, Joondalup, Alkimos, Mindarie, Quinns Rocks and Yanchep — as well as across greater Perth and Western Australia.

The bottom line

If you haven’t fully optimised your Google Business Profile, it’s the highest-return, zero-cost action you can take for your Perth business right now. No ad spend, no technical complexity — just consistent, deliberate attention to a platform Google has built specifically to surface local businesses to local customers.

And if you’d like help doing it properly, that’s exactly what we’re here for.

Talk to Phodes about local SEO — and let’s get your business showing up where your customers are already looking.

Phodes is a Perth studio of creative collaborators specialising in SEO, web design, branding and photography. Based in Eglinton near Alkimos, we help businesses across Perth’s northern suburbs grow their online presence.