An online presence is important for merchants, and a majority of online customers use a search
engine to find businesses and make purchases from them. Customers who search locally in Google
Search or Maps find Business Profile listings right where they search, one click away from the
merchant's listing.

Business Profile provides a fast way for businesses, products, brands, artists, and
organizations to manage their online presence with Google.

When a small business owner shows potential customers what makes their business special, they're
more likely to attract new customers on Google. Business owners can establish and complete
their Google listing by sharing photos, business hours, a link to their website, and real-time
updates.

Listings are also where customers learn about a business, leave reviews, and share pictures of
their experience with products or services.

## Business Profile APIs

The [Business Profile APIs](https://developers.google.com/my-business/ref_overview) are programming
interfaces that allow developers to write applications to manage their Business Profile account
and location data.

The APIs allow merchants or their representatives to manage how their data is presented across
Google and control who co-manages their data. User-created data, such as photos, posts, and
reviews, can be managed through the APIs.

To retrieve local business information and provide location awareness to end users, see the
[Google Maps Platform documentation](https://developers.google.com/places/web-service/details).

If you're a developer who wants to write applications that manage your Business Profile data,
or you're a developer who uses the Google Ads API to manage manual location extensions, we recommend
that you sign up for the Business Profile APIs.

## Business Profile APIs usage eligibility

Google Business Profile APIs are not available to all users. Any user that requires access to
the APIs must meet the following requirements:

- The user must have a valid Google Account.
- The user must have a valid business reason to request access to the APIs. Refer to [GBP API policies](https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/policies) section to learn more about prohibited uses of the APIs.
- The user must have a valid Google Cloud project.
- The user must have a valid business website URL.

You can request access to the Business Profile APIs
[here](https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/prereqs).

## APIs functionality

The Business Profile APIs offer much of the same functionality as the Business Profile
[user interface](http://business.google.com/manage). Users of the APIs
can expect Google updates to occur just as they do for users of the user interface. For more
information on Google updates,
see [Manage Google updates](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3480441).

Rate limit restrictions apply to the Business Profile APIs. For more information, see
[Usage limits](https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/limits).