Google local-listings tool timeline: Google Local (March 2004) → Maps (2005) → Places (2009) → G+ Local (2012) → Google My Business (June 2014) → Google Business Profile (November 2021)
Created 2026-06-18
Summary
Claim: Google's local-business listing tool went through six names in 17 years:
- Google Local — launched March 2004 (digital Yellow Pages).
- Google Maps — folded in, 2005.
- Google Places — 2009.
- Google+ Local — 2012.
- Google My Business (GMB) — consolidated, June 2014.
- Google Business Profile (GBP) — current name, rebranded November 2021.
Source: Google product announcements over the period; consolidated in [[webhistory-03-serp-links-to-answers-research-notes]].
Confidence: Verified (dates/rebrands).
Why this matters for Candid: A free Google listing has been the make-or-break for "near me" intent for two decades and remains the highest-leverage local-SMB asset in 2026 — see Rule: For Ontario service-business clients in 2026, the Google Business Profile is still the primary local-lead surface — lock it down before anything else. The current name is Google Business Profile; the older "GMB" abbreviation is still common in industry copy.
Related entries
Referenced by (4)
- reference Research brief: How businesses got found on the web — a then→now timeline (Google-focused, SMB lens, June 2026) relates-to
- reference Pigeon update (July 24, 2014) — tied local algorithm to core web-ranking signals; credited with shrinking the local results from 7-pack to 3-pack relates-to
- reference The recurring pattern: every major Google shift changed what got surfaced; early adapters captured the new surface, laggards lost the old one — and the pattern is repeating now with AI answers depends-on
- rule Rule: For Ontario service-business clients in 2026, the Google Business Profile is still the primary local-lead surface — lock it down before anything else depends-on