Why Link GBP to Google Ads

Google Business Profile and Google Ads are separate products within Google's ecosystem, but linking them creates a combined local presence that is more powerful than either product alone. The primary benefit is location assets — additional information appended to your paid search ads that shows your business address, phone number, and a map link alongside the standard headline and description.

Location assets make your ads occupy more space on the search results page, which improves visibility. They also add context that increases click-through rate: a user searching for a plumber who sees an ad with an address three kilometres away is more likely to click than one who sees an ad with no location information. For any business with a geographic service area, this local context is a conversion accelerant.

Beyond location assets, the GBP link enables store visit conversion tracking, which measures how many people who saw your ad subsequently visited your physical location. This bridges the gap between online advertising and offline business outcomes — a critical measurement for retail and service businesses that drive in-person revenue.

The link also enables certain features in Performance Max campaigns that are designed to drive local actions. A Performance Max campaign linked to GBP can be configured to optimise specifically for direction requests, calls, and store visits — outcomes that are only measurable because of the GBP connection.

How to Link GBP to Google Ads: Step by Step

The linking process is done from within Google Ads. Sign in to your Google Ads account and navigate to Tools and Settings in the top right of the interface. Under the "Shared library" section, click "Business data." In the Business data section, select "Location assets" from the list of asset types.

Click the blue plus button to add a new location asset. You will be given the option to link your Google Business Profile. Click "Link a Business Profile." If your Google Ads account and your GBP are managed under the same Google account (same email address), the link will be approved automatically and your business location data will begin flowing into Google Ads within a few hours.

If your GBP and Google Ads accounts use different Google accounts — for example, if a marketing agency manages your Google Ads while you manage your GBP directly — the process requires an additional approval step. Google Ads will send a link request to your GBP. You (or your GBP admin) must sign in to the GBP dashboard, go to Settings, click "Linked accounts," find the pending Google Ads request, and approve it. Once approved, the connection is established.

After linking, allow 24 to 48 hours for the location data to propagate into your campaigns. You will see your business location appear under Location assets in your Google Ads account. You can then assign the location asset to specific campaigns or set it at the account level to apply across all campaigns.

Understanding Location Assets

Location assets are the core feature unlocked by the GBP–Google Ads link. When enabled, they add your business address, a map link, and a distance indicator to your Search ads. They also add a dedicated "Get directions" link to your ad on mobile, which opens Google Maps with directions to your location pre-populated.

Location assets display at Google's discretion — the algorithm decides when to show them based on a combination of factors including the user's location, the search query's local intent, and your ad's quality score. You cannot force location assets to show on every impression. However, you can increase the likelihood they show by maintaining a high-quality, complete GBP listing (strong relevance signal) and by targeting campaigns to geographic areas close to your business location.

On mobile devices, location assets are particularly impactful. A significant portion of local searches happen on mobile in the "I want to go" moment — a user actively looking for a nearby business right now. An ad with a location asset showing "0.8 km away" and a direct "Get directions" button is ideally suited to convert this intent immediately. Desktop and tablet ads also show location assets but with less directional immediacy.

Call Assets and Call Reporting

The GBP–Google Ads link also facilitates call tracking and call assets. Call assets add your phone number to your Search ads as a tappable link on mobile, allowing customers to call directly from the ad without visiting your website. These are separate from location assets but complementary — many local advertisers use both.

When call assets are linked to your GBP, calls made through your ad can be tracked as conversions and reported in your Google Ads account. You can see how many calls each campaign, ad group, and keyword drove, for how long they lasted, and whether they resulted in a meaningful conversation (calls above a minimum duration threshold you set).

Call reporting from GBP-linked campaigns uses Google forwarding numbers — temporary phone numbers that forward to your real number, allowing Google to record the call as a conversion without requiring any call tracking software or number insertion on your website. The customer dials the Google forwarding number shown in the ad, the call forwards instantly to your real number, and the interaction is logged in Google Ads as a call conversion.

Performance Max Campaigns and GBP

Performance Max is Google's automated, cross-channel campaign type that uses machine learning to optimise for your specified conversion goals across Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Maps, and Gmail. When linked to a GBP, Performance Max campaigns can be configured to optimise for local conversion actions — store visits, direction requests, calls, and local actions taken directly on your GBP listing.

To set up a Performance Max campaign optimised for local actions, create a new Performance Max campaign in Google Ads and select "Store visits and local actions" as your campaign goal. Connect your GBP through the location assets settings during campaign setup. Provide your creative assets — headlines, descriptions, images, and optionally a video — and set your geographic targeting to the areas around your business location.

Performance Max for local goals places your ads across Google's surfaces in a format optimised for the specific conversion type you selected. On Google Maps, your business may appear as a promoted pin — a highlighted map placement with an ad badge that appears above organic results. This placement is only available to verified GBP listings linked to Google Ads.

Store Visit Conversion Tracking

Store visit conversions are reported when a user who was exposed to your ad subsequently visits your physical business location, as determined by Google's aggregated and anonymised location data from opted-in mobile device users. This measurement is modelled — not every visit is measured directly — but it provides a statistically significant estimate of how many in-store visits your campaigns drive.

Store visit conversions are only available for businesses that meet certain eligibility thresholds in terms of ad impressions and physical location data. Not every business will see store visit data immediately after linking — you may need to run campaigns for several weeks before Google has sufficient data to model visit estimates.

Where available, store visit data is one of the most valuable metrics for local advertisers. It allows you to calculate a true cost-per-store-visit across your campaigns, understand which campaigns drive the most physical footfall, and make budget allocation decisions based on in-person revenue outcomes rather than just website clicks. Businesses with multiple locations can see store visit data broken down by location, allowing comparison of campaign efficiency across the estate.

Linking Multiple Locations

For businesses with multiple GBP locations, all locations can be linked to a single Google Ads account. Google Ads automatically serves the most relevant location asset to each user based on their proximity to your various locations. When a user in Chennai searches for your service, they see the Chennai location asset; a user in Bengaluru sees the Bengaluru location asset from the same campaign.

Managing multiple locations at scale is most efficient through a Business Profile manager account. A manager account can link all child GBP listings to Google Ads in a single connection rather than linking each listing individually. This is the standard approach for franchise groups, retail chains, restaurant groups, and any other multi-location operator. The setup requires that your Business Profile manager account has ownership access to all child listings.

When running campaigns for multi-location businesses, consider whether location bid adjustments are appropriate. If certain locations generate significantly more value per visit than others, you can increase bids for users near those locations to capture more of the higher-value traffic. Location bid adjustments are applied in the campaign settings under Location targets.

Troubleshooting the GBP–Google Ads Link

The most common issue is a delay in the location asset appearing after linking. This is normal — allow 24 to 48 hours for the data to propagate. If more than 48 hours have passed and the asset still does not appear, check that the linking approval was completed (for cross-account links, confirm the GBP admin approved the request), that your GBP is verified and active, and that your Google Ads account is also in good standing.

A second common issue is location assets not serving in ads. If you can see the location asset in your account but it is not showing in ad previews, check that the asset is assigned to your campaigns (either at account level or campaign level), that your campaign is targeting the correct geographic area, and that your ads are achieving a sufficient quality score to compete for the impression types where location assets are eligible.

If your GBP listing is suspended or has a quality issue, location assets linked to it may be disapproved or stopped. Resolve any GBP listing issues first — reinstatement or quality resolution on the GBP side will restore the ability to use linked assets in your campaigns. Monitor your GBP status regularly when running paid campaigns, as a listing suspension can simultaneously affect both your organic and paid local visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions