Your Google Business Profile (GBP) — formerly Google My Business — is the most visible element of your online presence for local customers. It's the panel that appears when someone searches your business name or searches for your service category in your area.
It shows your hours, photos, reviews, address, and phone number before a customer even clicks through to your website. Most businesses claim it and walk away. The ones that fully optimize it rank significantly higher and convert dramatically better.
Here's exactly what to do.
Step 1: Claim and Verify Your Profile
Go to business.google.com and claim your business if you haven't already. Google will verify ownership via a postcard to your address, a phone call, or instant verification if your website is already verified in Google Search Console.
Without verification, you can't control the information in your profile — and competitors can suggest edits. This is the most basic requirement.
Step 2: Complete Every Field — Literally Every One
Google's own documentation says that businesses with complete profiles are 2.7x more likely to be considered reputable. Incomplete profiles rank lower. Fill in:
- Business name — exactly as it appears everywhere else. No keyword stuffing ("Calabash Plumber | John's Plumbing"). That violates Google's guidelines and can get you suspended.
- Address — even if you're service-area based. If you serve customers at your location, list it. If you go to customers, set a service area instead.
- Phone number — use a local number, not an 800 number. Local area codes are a local search trust signal.
- Website URL — link to your actual homepage or the most relevant landing page.
- Business hours — keep these accurate. Wrong hours frustrate customers and hurt your profile's trust score. Update them for holidays.
- Business description — 750 characters max. Write a natural description of what you do, where you serve, and what makes you different. Include your main keyword phrase naturally.
Step 3: Choose the Right Categories
Your primary category is the single most important ranking signal in your GBP. Be as specific as possible. "Plumber" ranks worse than "Emergency Plumber" or "Residential Plumber" if those sub-categories exist.
Add secondary categories for related services you offer. A web design agency might add "Internet Marketing Service" and "SEO Agency" as secondary categories. Each additional relevant category expands the searches you can rank for.
Google has thousands of categories — use their autocomplete in the GBP editor to find the most specific options available for your business type.
Step 4: Add High-Quality Photos Consistently
Profiles with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to websites, according to Google's own data.
Add:
- Exterior photos — so customers can identify your location
- Interior photos — give a feel for the space
- Team photos — humans trust humans
- Product or service photos — show what you do
- Logo — in the right dimensions (250x250px minimum)
- Cover photo — 1024x575px, shown prominently
Add photos regularly — not just once. New photo activity signals to Google that your profile is active.
Step 5: Build and Manage Reviews
Reviews are a direct ranking signal for local search. More reviews, higher average rating, and recent review activity all improve your position in the local pack.
The system that works: send every satisfied customer a direct review link (get it from your GBP dashboard under "Get more reviews"). Make it one tap — a text message or email with the link. Don't ask for 5 stars; just ask them to share their experience.
Respond to every review — positive and negative. Your response to a negative review is often more important to potential customers than the negative review itself. Stay professional, acknowledge the issue, and invite them to resolve it offline.
Step 6: Use Posts Regularly
GBP Posts appear directly in your listing and let you share updates, promotions, events, and new products. They disappear after 7 days (events stay until the event date).
Posting weekly signals to Google that your business is active. It also gives searchers a reason to engage with your listing before they ever visit your website.
Step 7: Answer Questions in the Q&A Section
The Q&A section on your profile allows anyone to ask questions — and anyone to answer them. If you don't answer, a random person might — potentially with wrong information.
Proactively add your own frequently asked questions with accurate answers. "Do you offer free estimates?" "What areas do you serve?" "Do you require a deposit?" These FAQ entries also appear in search results and can directly influence whether someone calls.
Step 8: Enable Messaging
Google allows customers to message your business directly from your GBP listing. Enable it, check it, and respond within a few hours. Google tracks response time and will disable messaging if you consistently take too long.
The Most Common GBP Mistakes
- Using a different phone number than what's on your website (NAP inconsistency)
- Never updating photos after the initial setup
- Ignoring the Q&A section
- Not responding to negative reviews
- Having the wrong primary category
- Keyword-stuffing the business name (risks suspension)
Your Google Business Profile is free. The businesses that treat it as a living, actively managed asset consistently outrank the ones that set it once and forget it.
