How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile: A Step-by-Step Guide

When you search for something like “dentist near me”, “car repair in Sheridan” or “web design agency”, you will often see a map at the top of the results page with three businesses listed underneath. The businesses in that box manage their information through Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). Setting up your profile correctly and keeping it up to date is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to reach local customers.

What is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is a free business listing that shows your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, photos and customer reviews on Google Search and Google Maps. You can create a profile if you have a physical location or serve customers within a specific area.

What affects local rankings?

Google explains that it looks at three main factors when deciding local results:

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what the searcher needs.
• Distance: how far your business is from the searcher or from the location mentioned in the search.
• Prominence: how well known your business is, based on reviews, ratings, your website and other mentions across the web.

You cannot change distance, but you can strengthen relevance and prominence directly through your profile and your website.

Step-by-step profile optimisation

1. Use your real business name

Adding keywords, city names or slogans to your business name goes against Google’s guidelines and can get your profile suspended. Use the same name that appears on your signage, invoices and website.

2. Choose your primary category carefully

The primary category is one of the most influential fields for local rankings. Pick the category that describes your business most narrowly and accurately, for example “Orthodontist” instead of “Dentist” where that applies. Add secondary categories only for services you genuinely offer.

3. Keep your address, phone and website consistent

Having exactly the same name, address and phone number on your profile, website, social media accounts and directory sites is a trust signal. Use the same details on your website’s contact page and, if possible, add LocalBusiness structured data.

4. Fill in your services and products

Add every service you offer to the services section with a short, clear description. This helps Google understand which searches your profile is relevant to. If you sell products, keep the products section up to date as well.

5. Add real, recent photos

Photos of your exterior, interior, team and products make it easier for customers to recognise and find you. Choose well-lit photos of your own business over stock images, and update them when you launch new products or make seasonal changes.

6. Keep opening hours and special days up to date

Enter special hours for public holidays, vacations and seasonal changes. A customer who arrives while you are closed is disappointed and may leave a negative review.

7. Ask for reviews regularly and reply to every review

Use a short link or a QR code to ask satisfied customers for a review. Thank people for positive reviews and reply to negative ones calmly and with a solution in mind. Buying fake reviews or offering discounts in exchange for reviews goes against Google’s policies.

8. Use posts and the questions section

Share offers, events and news as posts. Write the questions customers ask most often, with clear answers; this helps people who visit your profile make a decision faster.

Is a profile enough on its own?

Your profile is the door to local visibility, but it is not enough by itself. Visitors who reach your website from the profile should find a fast page that clearly explains the service they are looking for and makes it easy to get in touch. That is why we recommend treating Business Profile work together with your website’s local SEO. For the bigger picture, take a look at our local SEO guide.

Common mistakes

• Creating more than one profile for the same business.
• Adding keywords to the business name.
• Creating a profile with a virtual office or PO box address.
• Never replying to reviews, or replying harshly to negative ones.
• Not updating the profile when your phone number, address or hours change.

If you would like to plan your Business Profile and local SEO work together, you can review the scope on our SEO services page and request a free quote.