When someone searches for a service "near me", or for a business like yours in your city, the first thing they often see isn't your website. It's your Google Business Profile: the box with your name, map pin, reviews, photos and a call button.
For many local businesses, this profile brings in more calls than the website. Here's a Google Business Profile checklist to make sure yours is working.
1. Claim and verify your profile
Search for your business name on Google. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, create one at business.google.com. Google will ask you to verify that you're the owner, usually by video, phone or postcard. Make sure the login uses a company account you control, not a personal account that might leave with an employee.
2. Get your name, address and phone exactly right
Use your real business name, without adding keywords or locations to it. Google treats keyword-stuffed names as a policy violation, and profiles can be suspended for it.
Your name, address and phone number should match your website and other listings exactly. Even small differences, such as "Rd" and "Road", make it harder for Google to be confident they're the same business.
If you serve customers at their location and don't want visitors, you can hide your address and set a service area instead.
3. Choose the right categories
Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you appear in. Pick the most specific one that matches your main service. Add a few secondary categories for other services you genuinely offer, but don't add categories just to appear in more searches.
4. Fill in every section
Complete profiles get more attention:
- Hours, including special hours for festivals and holidays
- Services or products, with short descriptions
- A business description in plain language, mentioning what you do and where
- Website link to the most relevant page, not always the home page
- Attributes such as wheelchair access or online appointments, where they apply
5. Add real photos, regularly
Upload your logo, a cover photo, your premises, your team and your work. Real photos build trust far better than stock images. Add a few new ones every month: profiles that look active tend to attract more clicks.
6. Ask for reviews, and reply to all of them
Reviews influence both your ranking and whether people choose you. Make asking easy: create a short review link from your profile and send it on WhatsApp or by email after a job is done.
Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and within a few days. Never buy reviews, offer rewards for them or post fake ones. It's against Google's policies and can get reviews removed or the profile restricted.
7. Post updates
Google Business Profile lets you publish short posts: offers, news, events or new services. A post every week or two keeps the profile fresh and gives searchers a reason to contact you now.
8. Track what the profile brings in
The profile's own performance report shows searches, views, calls and website clicks. To see what happens after the click, add tracking tags (UTM parameters) to your website link, so visits from the profile show up separately in Google Analytics. Our article on why GA4 numbers don't match your ads explains why accurate tracking matters.
9. Make sure your website backs it up
Your profile and your website work together. A fast, mobile-friendly site with clear service pages, your address and phone number, and local content strengthens your local ranking. Our website launch checklist covers the basics.
Common mistakes
- Adding keywords or city names to the business name
- Different phone numbers on the profile, website and other listings
- Ignoring negative reviews
- Setting up the profile once and never updating it
- Losing access because it was created on an employee's personal account
Want help?
Our digital marketing service includes Google Business Profile management, local SEO and Google Ads, with monthly reports showing calls and enquiries, not just views. To see where you stand today, request a free growth review.