Creating a Google Business Profile and appearing on Google Maps costs nothing. Google provides this service free to all businesses. You can claim your listing, verify ownership through mail or phone, upload photos, add business hours, and respond to reviews without spending a dollar. The real costs come from optimization and management. Many businesses hire agencies or consultants to handle setup properly because Google's interface is deceptively simple but easy to mess up. Professional setup typically runs $300–$800 for a single location and includes category selection, accurate NAP data entry, optimized descriptions, proper service area configuration, and initial photo uploads. Multi-location businesses often pay $150–$400 per additional location. Ongoing management is where costs scale. Monthly optimization and review management packages range from $200–$1,500 depending on competitiveness and location count. This covers review monitoring and responses, post creation, Q&A management, photo updates, and performance tracking. In competitive markets like Toronto or Vancouver downtown, businesses competing for high-value local keywords often invest more heavily. Some businesses pay for add-ons that aren't strictly necessary but can help. Professional photography runs $200–$600 for exterior and interior shots. Virtual tours cost $300–$1,200. Review generation tools and software subscriptions add $50–$300 monthly. At Ottawa SEO, we see the biggest mistake is treating Google Business Profile as set-and-forget. A free listing with minimal effort usually underperforms. The businesses dominating local pack results typically invest in consistent optimization, regular posts, active review engagement, and proper category and attribute selection. The platform is free, but competitive visibility requires either your time or someone else's expertise. For most local businesses, the ROI justifies spending at least a few hundred dollars on proper initial setup, then deciding whether ongoing management makes sense based on how much local search traffic matters to revenue.