Google Business Profile Optimisation: How to Set Up and Maintain Your Profile
How to set up a Google Business Profile and keep it accurate: verification, categories, description, photos, posts, reviews and a monthly routine.
Quick answer
Claim and verify the profile, choose the most specific primary category and as few others as you need, and fill every field with details that match your website exactly. Keep the description under Google's 750-character limit and free of links. After that, the profile needs about 30 minutes a month: check hours, add new photos, reply to every review and post when you have real news.
Optimising a Google Business Profile means two jobs: setting it up so every detail is correct and complete, and then keeping it current.
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results, and the profile is often the first thing a customer sees before they call.
This guide covers both jobs, field by field.
It does not repeat why some businesses rank above others in the map results; that is explained in our article on what decides the map results.
For the full list of local SEO tasks beyond the profile, see the local SEO checklist.
How Do You Claim and Verify Your Profile?
Search for your business on Google Maps.
If a profile already exists, claim it; if not, create one at business.google.com.
Google then asks you to verify that you run the business, by a method it chooses for your case, such as a phone call or text message, an email, a video or a postcard.
Verification gives you control of the profile and its details.
Two rules decide how the profile is built.
There should be one profile per business, and one per location if you have several premises.
A business that visits customers, such as a plumber or a cleaner, should hide its address and set a service area instead.
A P.O. box or a virtual office is not accepted as an address.
- Search your business name on Google Maps and check for an existing or duplicate profile.
- Claim or create the profile with the exact name you use on your signage and invoices.
- Decide whether customers come to you (show the address) or you go to them (hide it, set a service area).
- Complete verification before you spend time on photos and posts.
- Give a second person in the business manager access, so the profile never depends on one login.
Which Categories Should You Choose?
The primary category is the most important choice on the profile.
Google's guidelines ask for the fewest categories that describe your core business, using the most specific ones available.
Pick the service that brings most of your work: Dentist rather than Health, Locksmith rather than Security Service.
Add other categories only for services you really offer and want to be found for.
Then look at the businesses shown in the map results for your main search and note their categories.
If they all share one you have not considered, check whether it fits your work.
Change categories deliberately.
In our experience a category change can bring a few weeks of movement up and down before positions settle, so change one thing at a time and note the date.
A wrong primary category is the most common mistake we find in profile audits, and it is also the cheapest to fix.
What Should Each Field Contain?
Most profiles we audit are not wrong; they are incomplete or out of date.
Use the table as a field-by-field check.
Whatever you enter must match your website, your invoices and your listings elsewhere.
| Field | What to enter | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real name as on signage and documents | Adding services or towns to the name |
| Primary category | The most specific category for your main service | A broad category such as Shop or Service |
| Address or service area | The address customers visit, or the towns you cover | Showing a home address for a business that only visits customers |
| Hours | Regular hours plus special hours for holidays | Forgetting holiday closures, so people call a closed business |
| Phone | A number someone answers in business hours | A number that goes to voicemail or a switchboard |
| Website | The page that best matches the profile, often the home page | A broken link or a page about something else |
| Services | Each real service with a short plain description | Leaving the list empty or copying the category names |
| Description | What you do, where, for whom, in up to 750 characters | Links, sales slogans or a list of keywords |
| Photos | Premises, team, vehicles and real work | Stock photos or only a logo |
What Should the Business Description Say?
Google allows up to 750 characters and no links of any kind.
Customers see the opening lines first, so start with the main service and the place: what you do, where and for whom.
Then add what makes you a safe choice, such as years in business, languages spoken or the areas you cover.
Write as you would explain the business to a customer on the phone.
Avoid repeated keywords and slogans.
Update the text when your services change, not on a schedule.
An example for a made-up firm: "Family-run plumbing company serving Limassol and nearby villages since 2009.
We repair leaks, replace boilers and water heaters, and clear blocked drains for homes and holiday rentals.
English and Greek spoken.
Free quotes for installations."
Which Photos Help Customers Choose You?
Google presents photos as a way to show customers what you offer.
They are not a confirmed ranking factor, but they are often what makes someone call you rather than the next business.
Real photos beat polished stock.
- Outside of the premises, so people recognise it when they arrive.
- Inside, the team and any vehicles with your branding.
- Real work: before and after, finished jobs, the products you sell.
- New photos every month or two, and old or poor ones removed.
Are Google Posts Worth the Effort?
Posts let you show offers, events and news on the profile.
Google has not said that posting frequency affects ranking, so post for customers, not for an algorithm.
One or two posts a month with something worth knowing, such as a seasonal service, new opening hours or a finished project, is plenty for most small businesses.
Each post should say what is on offer and what to do next, for example "Call to book a boiler check before winter".
Add a real photo where you can.
How Should You Ask for and Answer Reviews?
Google's help suggests sharing your review link or a QR code with customers.
Build the request into the end of every job, for example a short message with the link once the work is done.
Ask everyone: Google's policy forbids asking only satisfied customers, and it forbids offering discounts, gifts or money for reviews.
Reply to every review.
Thank people for positive ones in a sentence or two.
For negative ones, acknowledge the problem, avoid an argument in public and offer a way to sort it out directly.
Future customers read your replies as much as the reviews.
Which Numbers Should You Check Each Month?
The performance view of the profile shows how people found you and what they did: searches that showed your profile, calls, direction requests and website clicks.
Calls and direction requests are the closest thing to a customer.
Compare each month with the same month last year where you can, because many local services are seasonal.
A drop in views points to a visibility problem; steady views with fewer calls point to the profile, the reviews or the phone not being answered.
A 30-Minute Monthly Routine
- Check name, phone, hours and special hours for the coming month.
- Reply to any review you have not answered yet.
- Add two or three new photos of recent work.
- Publish a post if you have an offer, an event or news.
- Look at calls, direction requests and website clicks against the same month last year.
- Check that the details still match your website and your main listings.
A good profile is accurate, complete and kept current. Set it up carefully once, then give it half an hour a month. If you would rather hand it over, profile set-up and upkeep are part of our Local SEO service, from €350 a month plus VAT.
Want more calls from people searching near you?
Book a free Local SEO auditFrequently asked questions
Can I add keywords to my business name on the profile?
No. Google's guidelines say the name must reflect your real-world name, without extra information such as services or locations. Keyword-stuffed names can be edited by Google or lead to suspension.
Should a service-area business show its address?
No. If you visit customers and do not receive them at your premises, Google asks you to hide the address and set a service area instead.
Can one profile cover several towns?
A service-area business sets the towns it covers on one profile. A business with several premises should have one profile per location. You cannot create extra profiles for towns where you have no premises.
How often should I update photos?
Every month or two is a practical rhythm. Add photos of recent work and remove outdated ones, so the profile shows the business as it is today.
Can changing my category hurt?
A change can bring a few weeks of movement before positions settle. Change one thing at a time, note the date and judge the result over several weeks.
Do I still need a website if I have a profile?
Yes. The website confirms what the profile says, carries detail the profile cannot, and Google names links to your website as part of how well known a business is.
