If you serve customers in a specific area, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is often more important than your website. It is what appears in the Map Pack, the block of three local businesses at the top of many searches. Use this checklist to make sure yours is working as hard as it can.
The essentials
- Primary category: choose the most specific category that describes your main service. This is one of the strongest local ranking factors.
- Secondary categories: add others that genuinely apply, but do not stuff in irrelevant ones.
- Services and products: list every service with a short description.
- Business description: explain what you do, who you help and where, in natural language.
- Service areas or address: make sure these match reality and your website.
- Hours: keep them accurate, including holiday hours.
Keep it active
- Upload real photos of your work, team and premises every month.
- Publish a post or offer every week.
- Answer questions in the Q&A section before someone else does.
Reviews: quality and consistency
Ask every happy customer for a review, make it easy with a direct link, and reply to every review, positive or negative. Never buy or incentivise fake reviews: it breaks Google’s policies and can get your profile suspended.
Match your website
Your business name, address and phone number should be identical on your website, your profile and major directories. Create a page on your website for each main service and area you cover, and link your profile to the most relevant page.
Want us to audit your profile? Get in touch for a free Google Business Profile review.