Google Business Profile optimization: a field-by-field checklist
An optimized Google Business Profile is verified, complete, accurate and kept up to date: your real business name, the most precise categories, the right address or service area, hours that cover holidays, a phone number and website for this location, a clear description, your services, real photos and reviews you reply to. Here is each field, what Google allows, and how to compare yours with the businesses that rank above you.
Start with a verified profile
Google My Business is now called Google Business Profile. If you don't have one yet, create it free at google.com/business and verify it; Google may ask for a short video, a phone call or a postcard. If your business already appears on Google Maps, open it and choose “Own this business?” to claim it. Only a verified profile can be edited and can reply to reviews.
The checklist, field by field
| Field | What to do | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real name, exactly as on your sign, website and invoices. | No added keywords, towns or taglines. Google says unnecessary information in the name “could result in the suspension of your Business Profile”. |
| Main category | The most precise one that says what you are: “Dentist”, not “Health”. | Google: “Use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business.” |
| Extra categories | Only the ones that describe what you really are. | A category completes “This business is a…”, not “This business has a…”. |
| Address or service area | Your precise address, with the map pin on your entrance. If you go to your customers and they don't come to you, set a service area and hide the address. | No P.O. boxes or virtual offices. A service area generally shouldn't reach beyond about two hours' drive. |
| Opening hours | Your normal hours, plus special hours before holidays. | Customer-facing hours only. Some businesses, such as appointment-only ones, shouldn't list hours. |
| Phone | A number that rings at this location during opening hours. | A number you control, preferably local; no numbers that redirect elsewhere. |
| Website | The page about this location, or your home page. | No links that redirect elsewhere, including to social media pages. |
| Description | Up to 750 characters: what you do, for whom and where, in plain sentences. | Google allows no links of any type, and the description must not focus on promotions, prices or sales. |
| Services and products | What you offer, in the words customers use, with a short description each. | Only what you really offer. |
| Attributes | The ones that apply, such as wheelchair access, Wi-Fi or parking. | Only what is true on site. |
| Photos and videos | Logo, cover, outside, inside, team and work; a few new ones each month. | Real photos, not stock images. |
| Reviews | Ask every customer with your review link, and reply to every review. | No rewards, no fake reviews, no asking only happy customers. |
| Posts | News, offers and events when you have them. | Keep them accurate; remove offers that have ended. |
Choosing your categories
Your main category tells Google what your business is, so it shapes which searches you can appear in. Choose the most precise category that describes your core business, then add extra categories only for the other things you really are. Google's guidelines say not to use categories “solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business”.
If you're unsure, look at the businesses that rank above you across your area. If their main category describes your business better than yours, switch; if it doesn't, keep yours. The right category matters more than copying a rival.
Where to put your keywords
Keywords help when they describe what you really do, in the places Google reads them: your categories, your services and products, your description, and the reviews customers write in their own words. They don't belong in your business name.
Use the words customers type, not your trade's jargon. If people search “emergency dentist” and you see emergencies, say so in your services and description. PinRipple shows, for each search term, at how many spots on the grid you appear; a term where you rarely show is often missing from your profile.
Getting more reviews
Reviews count towards prominence, one of Google's three ranking factors, and customers compare them before they choose. The way to get more is simple and steady:
- Copy your review link from your Business Profile.
- Send it to every customer soon after their visit, by WhatsApp, text or email, the same way each time.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, within a few days. Google lists replying to reviews among its tips for local ranking.
Google's content policy bans reviews “paid for, directly or in kind”, incentives such as discounts or free goods, and selectively asking for positive reviews. Google removes reviews that break these rules.
Compare your profile with the businesses that outrank you
Your real competition is not the business you think of first, but the ones Google shows above you where your customers are. Check your ranking from a grid of spots, take the three businesses that come out on top most often, and compare their profiles with yours:
- Main and extra categories
- Number of reviews, how recent they are, and the star rating
- Number of photos
- Opening hours, phone and website: there or missing
- Length of the description
Close the biggest gap first. Our local SEO audit walks through the whole comparison.
Common mistakes
- A town or a keyword added to the business name
- A broad main category, such as “Shop” or “Health”
- Opening hours not updated before holidays
- A different phone number or address on the website and in directories
- A second profile for the same place
- Stock photos, or no new photos for years
- Reviews left without a reply
How to see if it worked
Change a few things at a time, note the date, and check the same grid with the same search terms every week. Profile fixes can show within days or weeks; reviews and photos build over months. Compare your average position and the number of spots where you are in the top 3, rather than one search from your phone.
Questions
Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile; your profile, reviews and photos stayed the same.
How many categories should I choose?
As few as possible. Pick the most precise main category, then add only the extra ones that describe what your business really is.
How long can my description be?
Up to 750 characters. Say what you do, for whom and where, in plain sentences. Google allows no links, and the description must not focus on promotions or prices.
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask every customer soon after their visit, with your review link, the same way each time, and reply to every review. Don't offer anything in return, and don't ask only the customers you expect to be happy.
Sources
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