The short version: verify the right profile, use your real business name, pick the most accurate primary category, fill in every section that applies to you, add real photos, and build a steady, honest flow of reviews that you reply to. Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking, so the work is in being complete, accurate and active.
Why your Google Business Profile matters
When someone searches for "plumber Brentwood" or "nail salon near me", Google usually shows a map with a short list of businesses before the ordinary website results. Each of those entries is a Google Business Profile. A customer can call you, get directions, read your reviews, look at your photos and visit your website straight from it, often without ever scrolling further.
Google's own help page says local results are based mainly on three things:
- Relevance - how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
- Distance - how far you are from the searcher, or from the place they named.
- Prominence - how well known your business is, which includes how many reviews you have and how much the rest of the web mentions you.
You can't move your premises, but you can control a lot of relevance and prominence. Google says complete, accurate information makes you more likely to appear, and that "more reviews and positive ratings" can help your local ranking. That is what the steps below are about. If ranking on the map is your main goal, read this alongside our guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps.
Step 1: claim and verify the right profile
Go to business.google.com and search for your business first. There may already be a profile, created by Google from public information or by a customer. If one exists, claim it rather than starting a new one: duplicate profiles for the same business confuse Google and customers, and can count against you.
Google then asks you to verify that you are allowed to manage the business. Google's help page says verification makes your profile more likely to appear in results. The method Google offers depends on your business type and location, and for many small businesses it is now a short video: you record, in one continuous take, your signage or premises, something that proves you run the business (such as tools, stock or a branded van) and where you are. Have everything ready before you press record.
Tip: verify using a Google account owned by the business, not a member of staff's personal login. Add other people as managers. If the only owner leaves, getting the profile back can take weeks.
Step 2: use your real business name, nothing more
Your profile name should be the name customers see on your signage, van, website and paperwork. Google's guidelines say adding unnecessary information to the name, such as keywords, towns or taglines, is not permitted and can lead to suspension. "Smith & Sons Plumbing" is fine if that is your name. "Smith & Sons Plumbing - Emergency Plumber Brentwood 24/7" is the sort of name that gets profiles suspended.
If you want "emergency plumber" to work for you, put it in your categories, services, description and website, where it belongs.
Step 3: choose your primary category carefully
Your primary category is one of the strongest signals you control. It tells Google what you are, and it is the category that shows on your listing. Pick the most specific one that describes your core business: "Electrician" rather than "Contractor", "Thai restaurant" rather than "Restaurant".
You can add up to nine additional categories for other things you genuinely do. Use the ones that describe real parts of your business and stop there. A bakery that also runs a café can add "Café". A bakery that once made a wedding cake should not add "Wedding service".
To choose, search for your main service in your area and look at the categories the top few businesses use. Google's category list is long and the right one isn't always obvious.
Step 4: set your address or service area
This depends on how customers reach you:
- Customers come to you (shop, salon, café, clinic): show your full address and make sure the map pin sits on your actual entrance.
- You go to customers (most trades, mobile services): set a service area using the towns or areas you cover, and hide your address if customers don't visit it. Google still needs a real address to verify you; it just won't show it.
- Both: show your address and add service areas.
Keep your service area realistic. Listing half the country does not make you appear there. Distance is still part of how Google ranks you.
Step 5: get your hours right, including bank holidays
Wrong opening hours lose customers quickly: someone drives over, finds you shut, and leaves a one-star review. Set your regular hours, then use special hours for bank holidays, Christmas and New Year, and any closures. Google may also prompt you to confirm your hours before bank holidays; it is worth answering. If you take calls outside opening hours, the "more hours" options let you show things like phone or delivery hours separately.
Step 6: add your phone number, website and booking link
Use a phone number that is answered. A local number is fine; a mobile is fine; what matters is that someone picks up, and that the same number appears on your website.
Link to the most useful page of your website, not always the home page. A multi-location business should link each profile to that location's page. Add UTM tags to the link (for example ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp) so your website analytics show how many visitors and enquiries came from your profile.
If customers book appointments, add your booking link so the "Book" button goes straight to your diary. If your booking system, website and CRM don't talk to each other yet, our plain-English guide to integrations explains the options.
Rather someone else looked? Free Google profile check: we go through your listing against this checklist and tell you what to fix first, in plain English.
Step 7: write a description for customers, not for Google
You have up to 750 characters, and only the opening part shows before a customer taps "more", so lead with what you do and where. Google's guidelines say the description should be about your business, not promotions, prices or sales, and it can't contain links.
A simple structure that works:
- What you do and who for, in one sentence.
- Where you work.
- What makes you different (experience, specialisms, accreditations you genuinely hold).
- What to do next ("Call for a free quote", "Book online").
Write it like you'd say it to a customer on the phone. Stuffing it with keywords reads badly and doesn't help.
Step 8: list your services and products
The services section lets you list exactly what you do, with optional descriptions and prices. This helps Google match you to more specific searches, and it helps customers decide before they call. Add each real service separately ("boiler servicing", "bathroom fitting", "leak repairs") rather than one long list in a single entry.
Retailers and anyone selling defined products can add them to the products section with photos. Keep prices current or leave them off.
Step 9: tick every attribute that's true
Attributes are the small facts Google shows on your listing, such as wheelchair-accessible entrance, free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, appointment required, or accepts card payments. The options change by category. Fill in every one that is true. They answer questions before customers ask, and some searchers filter on them.
Step 10: upload real photos, and keep adding them
Photos show customers what they'll get. Add a clear logo and cover photo, then real photos of:
- Your premises from the street, so people recognise it when they arrive
- Inside, as customers see it
- Your team at work (with their permission)
- Finished jobs, products or dishes
- Your vans or equipment, if you work on site
Use your own photos, not stock images. Add new ones every month or two so the profile looks cared for. Short videos work too.
Step 11: post updates (once or twice a month is plenty)
Updates (often called posts) let you share news, offers and events directly on your profile. Google doesn't publish whether posting affects ranking, so treat it as a way to give customers a reason to choose you: a seasonal offer, a new service, a finished project, opening hours over Christmas. Once or twice a month is plenty for most small businesses. Use a real photo and a clear button, such as "Call now" or "Book".
Step 12: build a steady flow of genuine reviews
Reviews feed directly into prominence, and they're often what makes a customer pick you over the business above you. The best approach is boring and effective: ask every happy customer, every time, at the moment they're happiest.
Practical ways to ask:
- Copy the review link from your profile ("Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews") and send it by text or email after each job or visit.
- Print it as a QR code on receipts, invoices, table cards or the counter.
- Add it to your booking confirmation or follow-up emails so it happens automatically.
What you must not do. Google's policies don't allow you to discourage negative reviews or to ask only the customers you think are happy (sometimes called "review gating"), and they don't allow paying or rewarding people for reviews. In the UK, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned fake reviews, and concealed incentivised reviews, since April 2025, and the Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance for businesses. Writing reviews yourself, asking friends to pose as customers or buying reviews can now cost you far more than your listing.
Step 13: reply to every review, even the grumpy ones
Google's help page specifically recommends responding to reviews, and customers read replies as much as the reviews themselves.
- Good reviews: thank them by name and mention the job if you can. Keep it short and human.
- Bad reviews: reply calmly, once, without arguing. Acknowledge the problem, give your side briefly if you need to, and offer to sort it out offline with a phone number or email. Future customers are the real audience.
- Fake or abusive reviews: you can report reviews that break Google's rules (spam, conflicts of interest, offensive content). Google decides whether to remove them; genuine negative reviews stay.
Step 14: measure, and keep it current
Your profile's Performance section shows how people found you and what they did, such as calls, website clicks and direction requests. Check it monthly. Combined with UTM-tagged website traffic, it tells you whether the work is paying off.
Then keep an eye on the profile itself. Anyone can suggest edits to a listing, and Google sometimes updates details automatically. Log in regularly, check your name, hours, phone and website are still correct, and reject anything wrong.
Mistakes that get profiles suspended
A suspended profile disappears from Maps, sometimes for weeks. These are the usual causes:
- Keywords, towns or slogans added to the business name.
- Using a virtual office, PO box or a co-working desk you don't staff as your address.
- Creating extra profiles for areas you don't have a real presence in.
- Details that don't match your website and signage.
- Lots of edits in a short time, especially to the name, address or category.
- Fake, bought or gated reviews.
If you are suspended, fix the cause first, then follow Google's reinstatement process with evidence such as photos of signage, utility bills or your Companies House record.
What's changed recently
Google changes Business Profiles regularly, and advice you read online goes out of date fast. Two changes worth knowing about:
- Chat has gone. Google switched off the Business Profile chat feature at the end of July 2024. Customers now reach you by phone, your website or your booking link, so make sure those work.
- Q&A has been replaced. In late 2025 Google began removing the public Questions & Answers section and replacing it with an AI "ask" feature that answers customers' questions using information from your profile, reviews and photos. Rollout has been gradual, but the lesson is clear: the more complete and accurate your profile, the better those answers will be.
Your Google Business Profile checklist
- Claimed and verified, owned by a business Google account
- Name exactly as it appears on your signage
- Most specific primary category, plus only relevant extras
- Address shown correctly, or hidden with a realistic service area
- Regular and special hours up to date
- Answered phone number, tracked website link, booking link
- Description written for customers, under 750 characters
- Every service and product listed
- All true attributes ticked
- Logo, cover and real photos, refreshed regularly
- An update posted once or twice a month
- A review request sent after every job or visit
- Every review answered
- Performance checked monthly, suggested edits reviewed
Google Business Profile questions
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and managing a profile costs nothing. You only pay if you choose to advertise, or if you pay someone to set it up and manage it for you.
Can I have a profile without a shop or office?
Yes. Service-area businesses, like most trades, can hide their address and show the areas they cover instead. Google still needs a real address to verify you, but customers won't see it.
How many categories should I choose?
One primary category that best describes your core business, then additional categories only for other things you genuinely do. Google allows up to nine additional categories, but more isn't better if they don't fit.
Can I put keywords in my business name to rank higher?
No. Google's guidelines say the name should match your real-world name, and adding keywords or locations can get your profile suspended. Use categories, services, your description and your website for keywords instead.
Can I offer a discount in return for a Google review?
No. Google's policies don't allow incentives for reviews, and UK law since April 2025 bans fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews. Ask every customer, make it easy, and leave it at that.
How long does it take to see results?
Fixing basic errors such as wrong hours or a missing category can help quickly once Google processes the changes. Reviews and wider prominence build over months. Nobody can honestly promise a position on the map, because Google doesn't sell one.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: How to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile fields, including the nine additional categories limit
- Search Engine Land: Google review guidelines on selectively soliciting reviews
- CMS law firm: The DMCC Act bans fake reviews
- PPC Land: Business Profile chat feature to sunset on 31 July 2024
- PPC Land: Google replaces Q&A with an AI button
Google changes Business Profile features often. This guide reflects how things work in October 2026.