For many local businesses, the Google Business Profile (the box that appears on Google Search and Google Maps) does more of the first-impression work than the website does. People see your name, rating, photos, hours and phone number before they ever visit your site. The good news: nearly everything on it is under your control, and most of it is free to fix.
Use this checklist the first time you set up a profile, and again every few months. We've split it into the basics, the details that help customers choose you, and the upkeep that keeps the profile trustworthy.
Part 1: The basics (get these exactly right)
- 1. Claim and verify the profile. Search for your business while signed in to the Google account you want to own it. If a profile already exists, claim it instead of creating a duplicate. Use an account that more than one trusted person can recover, not a personal account of a single employee.
- 2. Use your real business name. The name should match your sign, invoices and website. No keywords, no city name, no slogans added to it.
- 3. Choose the right primary category. The primary category tells Google what you are first and foremost, such as "Plumber" or "Italian restaurant". Pick the most specific option that describes your main business, then add secondary categories only for things you really do.
- 4. Add an accurate address, or hide it if you travel to customers. Storefronts show the address. Service-area businesses, like a mobile detailer or an electrician who works from home, can hide the address and list the areas they serve instead.
- 5. Set a local phone number that someone answers. Use a number on your website, too. If you use a tracking number, keep your main number as an additional number so your listing stays consistent.
- 6. Set your regular hours. Be exact. Wrong hours are one of the quickest ways to lose a customer's trust, and it's the complaint that shows up in reviews most often.
- 7. Add special and holiday hours. Update them before each holiday, and for storm closures or events. It takes two minutes and prevents "closed when they said they were open" reviews.
Part 2: Details that help people choose you
- 8. Write a clear description. You get up to 750 characters, and the first couple of lines are what most people see. Say what you do, who you serve and what makes you different. Write it for people, not for search engines, and leave out links, phone numbers and promotional pricing.
- 9. List your services or menu. Add the services you offer, with short descriptions and prices if you have set prices. Restaurants should add their menu link or menu items. This helps customers confirm you do what they need before they call.
- 10. Turn on the attributes that apply. Things like wheelchair accessible entrance, online appointments, outdoor seating or women-led can help the right customers choose you. Only turn on what's true.
- 11. Add your website link and one action link. Link to your homepage, and where it's offered, add an appointment, ordering or reservation link. Make sure those pages work on a phone. If your site is slow or broken on mobile, fix that first. Our small business website checklist covers the basics.
- 12. Upload real photos. Add an exterior photo so people can find you, an interior or workspace photo, your team, and your best work. Real photos from your own phone beat stock images. Avoid heavy filters and photos with text overlays.
- 13. Add a logo and a cover photo. They make your profile recognizable in results and on the map.
- 14. Check how your business appears on a phone. Search your own name and a service plus your city, on a phone. Look at the first screen like a customer would. Is the phone number correct? Does the first photo represent you well?
Part 3: Reviews and upkeep
- 15. Get your review link and share it. Ask every customer the same way, with no incentives and no filtering of who you ask. Our guide on getting more Google reviews without breaking the rules walks through it, and Google's review policy explains what's off limits.
- 16. Reply to reviews. Thank people for specifics, keep it short, and answer complaints calmly. See how to reply to negative Google reviews. Never share private customer details in a public reply.
- 17. Post updates now and then. Posts about offers, events or new services keep the profile current. They are not a ranking trick; they're a way to tell people what's new.
- 18. Look for duplicate or wrong listings. Search your phone number and old addresses. A duplicate listing or a "permanently closed" label on an old location can confuse customers.
- 19. Match your information everywhere else. Your name, address and phone number should look the same on your website, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps and other directories. Small differences, like "Suite" versus "Ste", usually don't matter, but different phone numbers or old addresses do.
- 20. Set a monthly reminder. Once a month, check hours, new reviews, new photos uploaded by customers, and the numbers in your profile's performance section, such as calls and direction requests. If you manage more than one location, our multi-location guide shows how to keep them organized.
What this checklist won't do
A complete profile won't guarantee a top spot on the map. Google looks at relevance, distance and prominence, and you can't control how far away the person searching is. What you can control is accuracy, completeness and responsiveness, which is exactly what customers judge you on anyway. Be wary of anyone who promises a specific ranking or sells reviews. Both are common, and both can hurt you.
Where we can help
On our Google Business Profile management service we keep hours, photos, posts and review replies up to date, and you approve anything that goes public. If you'd rather start with a quick look, request a free website audit and we'll point out what to fix first. You can also see pricing for the managed plans.
Common mistakes we see
- Letting a former employee or agency own the profile. If the person who set it up leaves, you can lose access. Add yourself as an owner and keep a record of who has access.
- Choosing too many categories. A long list dilutes what you are. Choose the main category carefully and add a few that are accurate.
- Ignoring the "suggest an edit" notices. Customers and others can suggest changes to your listing. Check for them, because a wrong phone number or address can appear without you noticing.
- Using the same photos for years. Add recent photos regularly so the profile shows what customers will see today.
- Replying defensively. A public reply is written for the next customer reading it, not just the reviewer.
A 30-minute monthly routine
Set a calendar reminder for the first of each month. Spend ten minutes confirming hours, phone and links; ten minutes reading and replying to new reviews; and ten minutes adding one or two new photos or a short post. Save the profile's performance numbers in a note so you can see whether calls and direction requests are trending up or down over time. Small, steady upkeep beats a big cleanup once a year, and it's the kind of work that's easy to hand off to a team member or a service once you know what good looks like.
General information, not legal advice. Platform policies change; check the platform's current rules before acting. We don't guarantee rankings, reviews or revenue.