Google Business Profile management in Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape at a glance

The Eastern Cape counted 7,230,204 people (Stats SA, Census 2022) at Census 2022. Its capital is Bhisho and its largest city is Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth. Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City are its two metros.

It is the second largest province by area after the Northern Cape. It was formed in 1994 from the former Transkei and Ciskei together with the eastern part of the old Cape Province, and the centre and east are the traditional home of the Xhosa people.

The province has four seats of the High Court, in Makhanda, Gqeberha, Bhisho and Mthatha, which spreads legal and professional work across several towns rather than one. Attorneys, accountants and consultants in each of them are found by people searching their own town first.

The Eastern Cape was home to many leaders of the struggle against apartheid, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Steve Biko and Chris Hani. Heritage routes and museums bring visitors who also look for somewhere to eat and stay nearby.

The province has two big motor industry centres, around Gqeberha and Kariega in Nelson Mandela Bay and around East London in Buffalo City. Suppliers, workshops and service businesses in both are found by buyers searching on Google.

Graaff Reinet, founded in 1786, and the other Karoo and Victorian towns draw visitors for their history and climate. Small guesthouses there live on reviews, and steady replies are worth more than a polished website.

Settlers from Britain arrived from 1820 in the frontier region, and towns such as Makhanda grew with them. The mix of histories shows in the place names, which often have an old and a new form, such as Gqeberha and Port Elizabeth or Kariega and Uitenhage. A profile that mentions both helps people who search by either name.

Its temperate climate and Victorian towns make the province a common choice for tourists, and many arrive by road. Farm stays, small hotels and coffee stops along the way are judged on photos, recent reviews and directions, sometimes on a weak signal, so a short, clear profile works best.

Mthatha, once the capital of the Transkei, is now a High Court seat and a major town in the east of the province, serving a wide rural area. Shops, clinics and transport businesses there are found by people travelling in from surrounding villages, who often check the map for opening hours before making the trip.

The pages below cover Gqeberha and East London in detail, and we work across the province.

Trading notes for Eastern Cape

Coastal towns from Port Alfred to the Wild Coast fill over December and Easter, and Makhanda follows the academic year. Check your hours on Google before every school holiday.

Check the dates with our holiday hours tool.