u/mehedihassanseo

I've been reading Google's announcement about connecting Gemini with Google Business Profiles, and I can't help thinking this might be more important for Local SEO than for AI itself.

For years, I've seen businesses treat their GBP like that one room in the house where everything gets thrown.

It exists.

Nobody updates it.

Everybody hopes for the best. 😅

But now Google is moving toward using GBP data (reviews, services, questions, business information, etc.) inside Gemini.

To me, that suggests Google's understanding of a local business is becoming increasingly tied to the quality and completeness of its profile.

It makes me wonder:

Will GBP become even more important as a trust and knowledge source?

Will incomplete profiles become a bigger disadvantage?

Will AI-driven search reward businesses that maintain their profiles better?

Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Or maybe the businesses still using business hours from 2023 are about to have a rough time. 😄

Curious how others are reading this announcement.

Is this mainly an AI feature, or do you see Local SEO implications too?

I wanted to share an interesting GeoGrid result from a local contractor I'm working with.

The initial scan showed zero visibility across the grid. The business wasn't appearing in the map pack at any of the tracked locations.

Since then, we've only worked on improving the Google Business Profile itself.

❌No website optimization yet.

❌No citation campaign.

❌No GBP posts.

❌No link building.

❌No review campaign.

We recently ran a follow-up scan and started seeing the business appear in a few grid points where it was previously completely invisible, with rankings showing around positions 15–17.

Obviously, those rankings aren't impressive yet, and there's still a lot of work ahead. But I find the transition from "not showing up at all" to "starting to appear" fascinating because it suggests Google is beginning to understand the business's relevance for the area.

The website work is next, so I'm curious to see how future scans compare.

For those who regularly work with GeoGrids:

How much movement have you seen from GBP optimization alone before touching the website?