Google Business Profile checklist

Your Google Business Profile is usually the first thing a customer sees, and for local searches it matters more than your website. Most profiles are half finished. Here is what to fill in, in the order it makes a difference.

1. Claim and verify it

Nothing else counts until this is done. An unverified profile will not show properly in search, and until you have claimed it you cannot control what it says.

If you travel to customers rather than having them visit you, register as a service area business. Your address stays hidden and you define the suburbs or regions you cover instead. Service area businesses are usually asked to complete video verification, where you record your workspace, tools, signage or vehicle. Set aside ten minutes and have something identifiable to film.

New profiles commonly take a few days to appear publicly in Maps and search after verification. That delay is normal and is not a sign something has gone wrong.

2. Get the name right, and resist temptation

Use your actual business name. Not "Smith Plumbing | Emergency Plumber Melbourne 24/7".

Keyword stuffing the name is one of the most commonly reported guideline breaches, precisely because competitors report it. The short term visibility gain is not worth a suspension, and suspensions are painful to reverse.

3. Choose categories deliberately

Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you appear in. Pick the one that matches how customers describe what you do, not how you describe yourself internally.

Then add secondary categories for your other services. A mechanic might add brake shop and auto air conditioning service. A salon might add hairdresser and beauty salon. Be accurate rather than greedy, since irrelevant categories dilute what you look relevant for.

4. Fill in services, properly

The services section is routinely ignored and it is one of the easier wins. Each service you list is another way for your profile to match a search.

Add every distinct service by name, keep the names close to what people would actually type, and write a short description for each. Ten specific services beat three vague ones.

5. Hours, and the ones people forget

Set real opening hours, and only hours during which someone can genuinely answer. A profile with hours performs better than one showing "hours unknown", but hours you do not honour produce bad reviews.

Also set public holiday hours in advance. Google prompts customers to confirm whether businesses are open on holidays, and a profile that has not been updated gets flagged with uncertainty at exactly the moment someone is deciding whether to drive over.

6. Photos, and why the cover is not what you think

Profiles with photos get meaningfully more engagement, and the bar is low because most competitors have almost none.

• Logo and cover first, since these define how the profile looks at a glance.
• Real photos of real work. Your premises, your team, finished jobs, your vehicle. Avoid stock imagery, which customers spot immediately.
• Add photos regularly rather than once. Recent activity is a positive signal.

One caveat worth knowing: the image Google features next to your listing is a preference, not a guarantee. Setting a cover photo strongly influences it, but Google may still choose another image, and on a profile with very few photos it will often pick the most recent upload.

7. Use posts to stay active

Posts appear on your profile and signal that the business is alive and being maintained. Roughly weekly is a sensible rhythm.

Useful things to post: a current offer, a finished job, a seasonal reminder, an answer to a question you get asked constantly. Keep it short, and add a button linking to the relevant page on your site.

8. Seed the questions and answers

The Q&A section is public and, importantly, anyone can answer. Including your competitors, and including people who are simply wrong.

You are permitted to post questions on your own profile and answer them. Do that for the three or four things customers always ask, such as parking, pricing structure, service areas, or whether you need an appointment. It is genuinely helpful, and it means the first answers people see are accurate.

9. Reviews, and replying to them

Reviews are the most visible point of comparison between you and the business listed above you. Ask every customer, make it easy, and reply to what comes in. There is a fuller guide in how to get more Google reviews.

10. Keep your details consistent everywhere

Your business name, address and phone number should match across your website, your profile, your social pages and any directory listings. Inconsistency, such as an old phone number lingering on a directory, undermines confidence in which details are correct.

How long before it makes a difference

Profile changes are not instant. Expect days for edits to appear, and weeks before you can fairly judge whether visibility has improved. The useful measure is your own profile insights, showing how many people found you and how many called, rather than repeatedly searching for yourself and looking at where you sit.

Be wary of anyone guaranteeing a position in local results. Rankings depend on proximity, relevance and prominence, and proximity in particular is something nobody can control.