When someone searches for a local service, such as "dentist near me" or "AC repair in Toronto", Google usually shows a map with three businesses before any normal results. Those listings come from Google Business Profile, and for many local businesses they bring in more calls than the website does.
This checklist covers every part of your profile worth getting right, in the order we work through it for clients.
1. Get the basics exactly right
- Claim and verify your profile. Until it's verified, many features won't work and edits may not show.
- Business name: use your real-world business name exactly as it appears on your signage and documents. Don't add keywords or locations to it. That breaks Google's guidelines and can get your profile suspended.
- Address: use your exact address. If you visit customers rather than having them visit you, set yourself up as a service-area business and hide your address.
- Phone number: use a local number that's answered during your listed hours.
- Website: link to your home page or the most relevant location page. Adding UTM tracking lets you see profile visits separately in your analytics.
Make sure your name, address and phone number match exactly on your website, social profiles and directory listings. Inconsistent details confuse both customers and search engines.
2. Choose your categories carefully
Your primary category has a big influence on which searches you appear for. Choose the most specific category that describes your core business, such as "Emergency veterinarian service" rather than just "Veterinarian" if that's what you are. Then add secondary categories for other services you genuinely offer. Look at the categories your top-ranking competitors use for ideas.
3. Fill in services, products and attributes
- List every service you offer, with a short, clear description for each.
- Add products if you sell physical items or packaged services, with photos and prices where it makes sense.
- Choose every attribute that applies, such as "Wheelchair accessible", "Online appointments" or "Women-owned".
- Write a business description (up to 750 characters) that explains what you do, who you serve and what makes you different. Write for people, not for keywords.
4. Keep hours accurate, including holidays
Few things annoy a customer more than driving to a business that's closed. Set your regular hours, and add special hours for public holidays and closures in advance. Accurate hours also help you appear in "open now" searches.
5. Add real photos and keep adding them
- Upload your logo and a cover photo that represents your business well.
- Add photos of your premises (inside and out), your team, your work and your products.
- Use real photos rather than stock images. Customers can tell the difference.
- Add new photos regularly. A profile with fresh, recent photos looks active and trustworthy.
6. Build a steady flow of reviews
Reviews influence both where you appear and whether people choose you. Focus on a steady, natural flow rather than a burst.
- Ask every happy customer, at the moment they're happiest, with a direct link to leave a review.
- Reply to every review, positive and negative, politely and professionally.
- Never buy reviews, offer rewards for reviews or post fake ones. It breaks Google's policies and can get reviews removed or your profile restricted.
- When replying, mention the service naturally where it fits, for example "Glad the boiler repair went smoothly".
7. Use posts and updates
Google Business Profile posts let you share news, offers and events directly on your listing. They're a simple way to show the profile is active and to highlight seasonal services. A short post every week or two is plenty.
8. Turn views into calls and bookings
- Add an appointment or booking link if customers can book online.
- Make sure the phone number on your profile is one your team actually answers.
- Link to a website page that matches what the searcher wanted. A clear page with a phone number and a short form converts far better than a generic home page.
9. Check it every month
Anyone can suggest edits to your profile, and Google sometimes applies them automatically. Log in at least once a month to check your details are still correct, reply to new reviews and look at the performance data: searches, calls, direction requests and website clicks.
Beyond the profile
Your profile works best alongside a strong website. Local landing pages, consistent listings on other directories and links from local organisations all support your map rankings. And because Google uses page experience as one of many signals, a fast, mobile-friendly site helps too. See Core Web Vitals Explained.
