As a real estate agent, you understand that acquiring quality local leads is crucial, and one of the most effective methods is through your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). Unlike Google Ads or SEO, which can require significant investment, your Google Business Profile is completely free to set up and maintain.
Your Google Business Profile, especially for real estate agents, can generate high-quality leads from both buyers and sellers. It enables you to appear in searches such as "realtor in [city]" or "real estate agent near me." In fact, research consistently shows that 46% of all Google searches have local intent, and businesses with complete Google Business Profiles receive an average of 50 calls per month directly from their listing [1] [2].
Why Your Google Business Profile Is Important
1. Build Trust as a Real Estate Agent
Your Google Business Profile is an excellent way to establish trust as an agent. It enables you to showcase high-quality photos from past listings, real verified reviews, verified contact information, and much more. Customers are 2.7x more likely to view a business as reputable when it has a complete profile [3].
2. Show Up for High-Intent Buyers and Sellers
The biggest benefit of having your Google Business Profile as a real estate agent is its visibility when buyers and sellers search the real estate market. When someone searches for "realtor near me" or "real estate agent in [city]," the Google Map Pack, where your listing appears, is typically displayed at the top of the page, above organic search results. If you are not in those top three results, you are essentially invisible to a significant portion of potential clients on mobile devices. For a deeper understanding of how local search works for agents, see our Local SEO for Real Estate Agents guide.
3. Generate Leads Without Spending Your Commission
As a real estate agent, your commission can vary and be inconsistent, making your Google Business Profile even more crucial. It enables you to generate high-quality inbound leads without spending on ads or social media editors. We have seen agents receive up to 50 inbound leads each month simply by setting up and maintaining their profile effectively.
2026 Update: Google officially rebranded "Google My Business" to "Google Business Profile" (GBP). All features remain the same, but you now manage your profile directly from Google Search and Google Maps rather than a separate dashboard. Throughout this guide, we use both terms interchangeably since many agents still search for the original name.
Setting Up Your Google Business Profile as a Real Estate Agent
Step 1: Claim Your Profile
To set up your Google Business Profile, start by claiming your profile. If you don't have one, visit business.google.com to create it. If your business already has a profile, search for the business name to find it. Then, click on "claim profile" and follow the usual steps.
When filling out the profile, make sure that you keep the following consistent across every platform where your business appears:
- Business Name (add "- [City] Real Estate Agent & Realtor" to the name)
- Address (Make sure you pick either "suite" or "STE" and stick to it)
- Category (Primary: "Real Estate Agent" add "Real Estate Consultant" as a secondary category if applicable)
- Contact Information (From Email to Phone Number)
- Hours (Make sure they match what is listed on Yelp, Realtor.com, Zillow, and your website)
Why NAP Consistency Matters: Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) must be identical across your website, Google Business Profile, Zillow, Realtor.com, your brokerage site, and all social media profiles. Even small variations such as "St." versus "Street" can confuse Google and hurt your local rankings. This is one of the most common mistakes agents make, and one of the easiest to fix.
Google Sheet to Help Keep You Organized: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SCSRRgkxv-LdPQz2OmUvUh1K3LWFJ7IcvPtfOJLAYlg/edit?usp=sharing
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Step 2: Verify Your Profile
Once you have set up the basic information on your Google Business Profile, you will need to verify your listing. For most agents, the easiest way to verify is through a video recording. This involves walking around your office or place of work and recording all the necessary information. You can also use the following verification methods:
- Video recording
- Phone or text
- Live video call
Step 3: Use High-Quality Photos and Videos
Your Google Business Profile is an ideal platform to showcase your previous listings. Utilizing high-quality photos and videos, from headshots to listing photos, is the most effective method. Google favors profiles with 10 or more high-quality, recent photos, and businesses with 100+ optimized photos receive significantly more calls and website clicks [4].
Consider reviewing these locations to discover some of your best photos:
- Social Media Pages
- Previous Listing Videos
- Behind the Scenes Content
Photo Optimization Tip: Before uploading, rename your image files with descriptive, keyword-rich names instead of generic filenames like "IMG_4832.jpg." Use a format such as [neighborhood]-[property-type]-[city]-[your-name].jpg (for example, downtown-luxury-condo-green-bay-andrew-rohm.jpg). This gives Google additional SEO signals about your content and market area. For more on visual marketing, see our guide on Real Estate Photography Pricing and ROI.
Step 4: Write a Compelling Description
Your description is a top-ranking factor for your Google Business Profile. Therefore, it is important to cover key points and provide comprehensive information about your business. Make sure to highlight your Unique Selling Proposition, Target Location, and Target Demographics. You have 750 characters use them all.
What Actually Works: Be specific about what you do, where you do it, and who you serve. A description like "I'm passionate about real estate and helping clients achieve their dreams" could describe 10,000 agents. Instead, mention specific neighborhoods, price ranges, specializations, and years of experience.
To assist you, we have developed a ChatGPT prompt that you can use to craft your description:
You are a Real Estate Agent working for [Brokerage] in [City]. You've been tasked with writing a brief Google Business Profile description under 500 characters for [the brokerage/yourself]. Make sure to include a Unique Selling Proposition, Target Location, and Mention of Real Estate. What additional information would you like from me before you begin writing? After you receive the answer you may immediately write it.
For more AI-powered strategies like this, read our guide on How Real Estate Agents Can Leverage AI to Generate More Business in 2026.
Step 5: Set Up Products
The area where most real estate agents and realtors make mistakes on their Google Business Profile is the "Products" section. Many agents list properties like "1017 8th Street" or "928 Orange Drive" without explaining their services. Instead, you should describe your services and include an engaging visual. Here is a list of suggested products:
- vSellers Real Estate Agent
- Buyers Real Estate Agent
- [City] Real Estate Agent
- Listing Real Estate Agent
- Realtor in [City], [State]
Each product listing should include a clear description of the service, a high-quality image, and a link back to the relevant page on your website. This not only helps potential clients understand what you offer but also provides additional keyword signals to Google.
Finding high-quality visuals for products is often challenging. Here is a Canva template you can use: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGbc5W-Yyc/HRjCvhpgSdG4SazGdClJKA/edit
Step 6: Enable Messaging and Q&A
Enabling Messaging on your Google Business Profile allows people to contact you directly through the listing. This feature enables them to ask questions before fully committing to the service, and best of all, it is displayed publicly. This means that common questions will be answered for all future buyers and sellers. Questions often include:
- What neighborhoods do you specialize in?
- Do you have any recommended vendors? Mortgage offices, landscapers, etc.
- Do you work with investors or first-time homebuyers?
2026 AI Update: Google has been phasing out the traditional Q&A feature and replacing it with AI-powered conversational answers through its Gemini integration. Instead of users scrolling through old Q&A threads, many profiles now show conversational prompts where users can ask questions and receive AI-generated answers in real time. This means your entire online footprint your profile description, reviews, website content, posts, and services section now functions as your FAQ. Google's AI pulls from all of these sources to generate answers about your business. Agents who structure their information clearly will benefit the most from this shift. For more on optimizing for AI-driven search, see our guide on How Real Estate Agents Can Show Up in AI Overviews.
Step 7: Google Business Profile Reviews
As a real estate agent, your reviews and testimonials are your top marketing tool. Your Google Business Profile not only enables you to collect them, but it also rewards you for doing so. Google uses your reviews to rank you in the Map Pack, making it crucial to gather positive feedback.
How Many Reviews Do You Need? As a benchmark, aim for at least 25-30 reviews to be competitive in most markets. Agents with 50 or more reviews and a consistent flow of new ones (2-4 per month) tend to dominate the Map Pack. Review velocity matters 50 reviews all from 2023 looks worse than 30 reviews with 5 from the last three months.
Review Response Strategy: Respond to every review within 24 hours. For positive reviews, thank the reviewer by name and reference something specific about working with them. For negative reviews, respond professionally, avoid getting defensive, and take the conversation offline quickly. Your responses are public, and potential clients are reading them.
Ongoing Google Business Profile Tasks (15 Minutes Weekly)
Google Business Profile Posts (Announcements)
Maintaining your Google Business Profile can be tedious, but using it weekly is crucial for improving your ranking. The key feature to utilize is Posts (formerly Announcements). These can include mentions of local events, market updates, new listings, or educational information. Google favors profiles with recent posts, and agents who post 2-3 times per week consistently for six months or more typically see a 25-40% increase in profile views [5].
Here is the checklist we use when writing Google Business Profile posts:
- Length: Under 750 characters.
- Content: The post must include at least three of the following:
- Mention the primary business category (e.g., real estate, luxury homes).
- Highlight high-value products or services offered by the business.
- Specify a target location or service area.
- Include unique selling propositions (USPs) or social proof (e.g., awards, years in business).
- Add social proofing (e.g., achievements, reviews, recent closings).
- CTA Button: Always include a call-to-action button such as "Call," "Learn More," or "Book."
- Photo: Include a high-quality image with every post (720 x 540 pixels minimum).
For a comprehensive look at all the advertising and content channels available to agents, see our guide on Real Estate Ads: Every Ad Type Agents Need to Know in 2026.
Collecting Reviews as a Real Estate Agent
As previously mentioned, reviews are crucial for a real estate agent, making their collection a top priority. To gather reviews, many of our clients, such as Legendary Real Estate in Lake Geneva, use a QR code immediately after closings. To generate your QR Code, click "[X] Google Reviews" → "Get More Reviews" → copy the link → then use a QR Code Generator.
Pro Tip: Encourage clients to mention specific details in their reviews the neighborhood, the type of transaction (buying vs. selling), and what made the experience stand out. These specific mentions become signals that Google's AI uses to describe you in search results and AI-generated answers.
Optional: Tracking Your Google Business Profile
The final step for your Google Business Profile is tracking your progress. To do this, you will need software like Brightlocal to track rankings. Simply sign in with Google and select what you would like to track. The easiest option to understand is the Local Search Grid. We recommend a setting of 5km with a 7x7 grid size. Then, use the following keywords:
- [city] realtors
- real estate agents near me
- real estate agents
- [city] real estate agents
- realtors
For a full breakdown of tracking tools and metrics, see our Complete Guide to Real Estate Analytics Tools.
Final Thoughts
Your Google Business Profile is one of the most powerful tools available to you as a real estate agent. We have seen agents receive up to 50 inbound leads each month simply by setting it up and utilizing it effectively. It enhances your reputation, generates more leads, and increases calls, all by appearing in searches for "Real Estate Agent Near Me."
The agents who treat their Google Business Profile as a serious lead generation channel not just something they set up once and forget are the ones who consistently dominate their local markets. Whether you are just getting started or looking to optimize an existing profile, the steps outlined in this guide will put you ahead of the majority of agents in your area.
References
[1]: https://backlinko.com/local-seo-stats "Backlinko, "Local SEO Statistics,""
[2]: https://birdeye.com/blog/google-my-business-statistics/ "Birdeye, "Google Business Profile Statistics 2025,""
[3]: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091 "Google, "Make Your Business Profile Stand Out,""
[4]: https://www.latitudepark.com/gbp-study "Latitude Park, "GBP Ranking Study 2025,""
[5]: https://www.onthemap.com/blog/google-business-profile/ "On The Map Marketing, "GBP Posting Frequency Study 2025,""
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About Andrew J Rohm
Andrew Rohm has been building on the internet since most people were still figuring it out. He wrote his first line of code and launched his first website at 14, and by his freshman year of college, he had already stepped into real estate giving him a rare dual fluency in both the technical and transactional worlds his clients live in. Raised in a household where AI and machine learning were dinner table conversations, Andrew saw the AIO and SEO revolution coming long before the industry caught up. That foresight is the engine behind DMR Media an agency built not to chase trends, but to lead them. For Andrew, every client relationship is a true partnership, and every strategy is engineered around one outcome: results that move the needle.
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