Google Business Profile Optimization: A 12-Step Checklist

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a customer sees about your business, before your website and before they ever call. It is also one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which local businesses to show. Google My Business, or GMB, is its old name, and many people still use it.

Work through this checklist from top to bottom. Each step is something you can do yourself today.

1. Claim and verify your profile

Search for your business on Google. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, create one at business.google.com. Google will ask you to verify that you own the business, usually by video, phone or text. You cannot fully manage the profile until it is verified.

2. Use your real business name

Your profile name should match the name customers see on your signage, vehicles and invoices. Do not add keywords or locations to it, such as "Smith Roofing Best Roofer Dallas". Google’s guidelines prohibit this, and profiles that do it can be suspended.

3. Choose the right primary category

Your primary category tells Google what you are. Choose the most specific one that describes your main service, for example "Roofing contractor" rather than "Contractor". Industry surveys of local SEO specialists consistently rank the primary category among the most important factors for the Map Pack, so it is worth getting right.

4. Add relevant secondary categories

Add a few more categories that describe other services you genuinely offer. Only add categories that are true. Unrelated ones can confuse Google about what you do.

5. Set your address or service area correctly

If customers visit you, show your address. If you travel to customers, like most trades, set a service area and hide your address. List the towns, cities or regions you really cover.

6. Keep your hours accurate

Add your regular hours and update holiday hours before each holiday. Wrong hours lead to frustrated customers and bad reviews.

7. Add your phone number and website

Use a local phone number that you answer, and link to the most relevant page on your website. Make sure both match what appears on your website and in directories.

8. List every service

Add each service you offer, with a short, clear description. This helps Google match you to more specific searches, like "roof leak repair" rather than just "roofer".

9. Write a helpful description

You have up to 750 characters. Say what you do, who you serve, the areas you cover and what makes you different, in plain language. Write it for customers, not for search engines.

10. Add real photos, regularly

Upload photos of your work, your team, your vehicles and your premises. Real photos build trust far more than stock images. Add new ones every month or so, so your profile stays active.

11. Post updates

Use posts to share recent projects, offers, seasonal tips or news. Regular posts show customers, and Google, that your business is active.

12. Ask for reviews and reply to all of them

Ask every happy customer for an honest review, and make it easy with a direct review link. Reply to every review, positive or negative, politely and specifically. Never buy reviews or offer rewards for positive ones. It breaks Google’s policies, and in the US the FTC can fine businesses for fake reviews.

What to do next

A complete profile is the foundation, but it works best alongside a clear website and consistent listings. Read what local SEO is and how it works for the bigger picture, or request a free GMB audit and we will show you exactly what to fix on your profile.