Before someone ever lands on your website, there's a good chance they've already seen your business on Google — as a pin on a map, a star rating, and a handful of photos. That box is your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), and for local businesses it's often the very first impression you make.
The good news: it's free, and most of what makes it work is well within your control. Here's the full checklist I run through with every client.
1. Claim and verify your profile
If you haven't already, claim your listing at google.com/business and complete Google's verification process (usually a postcard, phone call, or email, depending on your business type). An unverified or unclaimed profile can't be edited — and worse, someone else can request access to it.
2. Get your business name right
Use your real business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and paperwork. Don't stuff in keywords like "Best Locksmith LA" — Google's guidelines prohibit it, and it's one of the fastest ways to get a listing suspended.
3. Choose accurate, specific categories
Your primary category carries real weight in how Google decides what to show you for. Pick the most specific option available — "Personal Injury Attorney" over "Lawyer," "Mobile Locksmith" over "Locksmith" — and add relevant secondary categories to round it out.
4. Write a complete business description
You get up to 750 characters. Use them to describe what you do, who you serve, and what makes you different — written for a person, not stuffed with keywords. Mention your service area and specialties naturally, the way you'd describe your business to a neighbor.
5. List every service you offer
The services section is searchable, so don't skip it. If you're a mechanic, list brake repair, oil changes, and diagnostics separately rather than lumping them into "auto repair." The more specific and complete this list is, the more searches you can show up for.
6. Keep your name, address and phone number consistent
Your NAP (name, address, phone) needs to match — exactly — across your website, your Google profile, and every directory you're listed on (Yelp, Facebook, industry directories). Inconsistencies confuse Google about which listing is really you, and that quietly costs you ranking.
Search your business name on Google right now. If your address or phone number looks different anywhere in the results, that's the first thing to fix.
7. Upload real, high-quality photos — regularly
Businesses with more photos get more direction requests and website clicks. Add real photos of your storefront, your team, and your work — not stock images. Aim to add a few new ones every month; profiles that keep adding photos read as active, which Google factors in.
8. Turn on messaging and stay on top of Q&A
Enable direct messaging so people can ask a quick question before calling. Check the Q&A section regularly, too — anyone can post a question, and if you don't answer it, a stranger sometimes will (often incorrectly).
9. Fill in hours, attributes and service areas completely
Set accurate hours (including holiday hours), add attributes that apply to you (wheelchair accessible, women-owned, appointment required), and define your service area if you travel to customers rather than the other way around.
10. Post updates regularly
Google Posts are the closest thing your profile has to a social feed. A short update about a seasonal offer, a new service, or a recent project — posted weekly or every couple of weeks — signals an active, trustworthy business and gives people one more reason to click through.
11. Get reviews, and respond to every one
This is the big one. Reviews are one of the strongest trust signals you have, and Google weighs both the volume and the recency of them. Make asking for a review part of how you close out every job — a simple text or email with a direct link makes it easy. Then respond to every review, good or bad: thank people for positive ones, and address negative ones calmly and specifically. That response is public, and it says as much about you as the review itself.
A few things to avoid
- Don't use a P.O. box or virtual address if you're a service-area or storefront business — Google requires a real, physical location.
- Don't buy reviews or ask staff to post them. Google actively filters these out, and it risks your listing getting suspended entirely.
- Don't leave the profile stagnant. A listing that hasn't been touched in a year looks — and performs — worse than one updated monthly.
Your Google Business Profile and your website work together, not separately — the profile earns the click, and the site closes the deal. If you want a second pair of eyes on yours, or a website built to match it, that's exactly what I do.