Walk through downtown Medicine Hat, look at the businesses lining the street, and Google about a third of them right now. You’ll find a pattern: some have a polished, photo-rich Google Business Profile with hours, services, recent posts, and dozens of reviews. Others have nothing — or worse, an unclaimed listing with the wrong phone number and a 14-year-old photo from Street View.
That difference is one of the cheapest, fastest ways to get more local customers in 2026, and it’s completely free.
What is a Google Business Profile?
It’s the box that pops up on the right side of Google when someone searches your business name. It’s also the pin that shows up on Google Maps. And it’s a major reason your business does (or doesn’t) show up when someone searches “florist near me” from their phone.
Google Business Profile (formerly “Google My Business”) is now the single most important free marketing asset for any local business — full stop.
Why it matters more than your website (for local search)
For purely local searches — “barber shop Medicine Hat”, “best pho near me”, “emergency plumber” — Google’s “map pack” of three businesses appears above almost everything else. Those three spots are determined by your Google Business Profile, not your website. If you’re not in the map pack, you’re missing the vast majority of local search traffic, no matter how nice your website is.
Step 1: Claim your profile
Go to google.com/business and search for your business. One of three things will happen:
- Your business already has a profile and you’ve never seen it. Click “Claim this business” and follow the verification process (usually a postcard mailed to your physical address with a code).
- Someone else has claimed it. This happens. There’s a process to request ownership.
- Nothing exists. Create one from scratch.
Verification used to take weeks. In 2026, video verification is widely available and usually completes in a day or two.
Step 2: Fill out everything
Most local businesses fill in 30% of their profile and leave the rest blank. That’s the entire opportunity. Take an hour and complete:
- Business name — exactly matches your real-world name. No keyword stuffing (“Bob’s Plumbing — Best Plumber Medicine Hat”). Google penalises this.
- Categories — primary category is the most important field on your entire profile. Be specific.
- Service area or address — depending on whether customers visit you.
- Hours — including holiday hours, which Google now nags about.
- Phone number — same number that’s on your website.
- Website URL — link to your homepage, or to a city-specific landing page if you have one.
- Services or products — list each one with a short description and price (or price range).
- Attributes — wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, women-owned, family-owned, etc.
Step 3: Add photos. Lots of photos.
Profiles with 100+ photos get measurably more clicks and direction requests than profiles with 10. You don’t need a professional photographer. Phone photos are fine. Add:
- Exterior shots (so people recognise the storefront)
- Interior shots
- Your team
- Your work / your products
- Your menu (if applicable)
Then add new photos every month or two. Google rewards activity.
Step 4: Get reviews — and respond to all of them
Reviews are now the third most important local SEO factor after relevance and proximity. Two practical tactics:
- Ask happy customers in person. Right after a successful job or sale is the moment.
- Use a short link. Get a
g.page/r/...review link and put it in your email signature, on your invoices, on a small card by the till.
When reviews come in, respond to all of them. Quickly thank the positive ones in your own voice. Respond calmly and professionally to the negative ones. Future customers read those replies more carefully than the original reviews. (See our reviews playbook for more.)
Step 5: Post regularly
Google Business Profile has a built-in “Posts” feature, like a mini-newsfeed. Use it. Post promotions, events, new products, behind-the-scenes photos, anything. Google interprets activity as a sign that you’re an open, healthy business and rewards you in the rankings.
A weekly post takes ten minutes. Few competitors are doing it. That alone is an edge.
Step 6: Keep it accurate forever
The single fastest way to lose customers is wrong hours during a holiday weekend, or a phone number that goes to the previous owner. Whenever something changes, update it immediately — on your profile, on your website, and on any other directory you’re listed in. Consistency across the web is itself a ranking factor.
What this is worth
A fully optimised Google Business Profile is, conservatively, worth thousands of dollars per year in free traffic for an active Medicine Hat small business. And it costs you nothing but a few hours of attention up front, plus 10 – 15 minutes a week of upkeep.
If you’d like a hand setting it up properly, book a free consultation. We help every client we work with optimise their profile as part of any local SEO engagement — even if a new website isn’t on the table yet.
