A Google Business Profile is the business listing that can appear across Google Search and Google Maps when somebody searches for your company, products, services or businesses in their local area.
For local businesses, it can be one of the most important parts of your online presence.
A well-maintained profile can help potential customers quickly find essential information such as your location, opening hours, telephone number, website, services, photos and customer reviews.
It can also support your visibility in local search results. Google says local rankings are mainly influenced by relevance, distance and prominence, and recommends keeping your Business Profile information complete, accurate and up to date. :chatgpt-content-reference
In this guide, we will look at the main areas you can improve on your Google Business Profile and explain why each one matters.
Why Optimise Your Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile gives potential customers important information about your business directly within Google Search and Google Maps.
For local businesses, this can include your:
- Business name
- Address or service area
- Telephone number
- Opening hours
- Website
- Products and services
- Photos and videos
- Customer reviews
Keeping this information complete and accurate makes it easier for customers to understand what your business offers and decide whether to contact or visit you.
It can also support your visibility in local search results. Google looks at factors such as relevance, distance and prominence when deciding which businesses to show for local searches.
Optimising your profile helps Google understand what your business does, where it operates and which searches it may be relevant for.
How To Optimise Your Google Business Profile
Google recommends keeping your Business Profile information as complete and accurate as possible. This helps customers understand what your business does, where it operates and when they can contact or visit you. It also gives Google more information to match your profile with relevant local searches.
Depending on the type of business you operate, your profile can include a physical address, service area, opening hours, contact details, business category, photos, services and other useful information.
To optimise your Google Business Profile, I would concentrate on the following areas:
- Complete your core business information
- Write a useful business description
- Add good-quality photos and videos
- Keep your opening hours accurate
- Choose the most relevant business categories
- Verify your business
- Respond to customer reviews
- Keep the profile updated over time
We will go through each of these areas below and explain what to look for.
Complete Your Core Business Information
Your Google Business Profile is only as useful as the information you provide.
Make sure the basic details are complete and accurate, including your:
- Business name
- Address or service area
- Telephone number
- Website
- Opening hours
- Business category
- Products or services, where relevant
Your business name should match the name you use in the real world. Avoid adding extra keywords, locations or services to the name simply to try to improve rankings.
If you run a service-area business and do not serve customers at your address, you should use a service area rather than displaying a residential or private address.
Write a Useful Business Description
Your business description gives you an opportunity to explain what your company does and what makes it different.
Google currently allows up to 750 characters in the description field. Use that space to describe your main products or services, relevant areas you serve, your experience and anything else that helps a potential customer understand the business.
Keep the wording natural and useful rather than treating the description as somewhere to repeat keywords.
Google also advises against using the description for promotions, prices, sales messages or links.
Add Good-Quality Photos and Videos
Photos can make your profile much more useful by showing potential customers what your business, premises, products or services actually look like.
Depending on your business, useful images might include:
- Your logo
- A representative cover photo
- Your shopfront or premises
- Your team
- Products
- Completed work
- Interior or exterior areas customers may visit
Google recommends clear, well-lit images that accurately represent the business. Current guidance recommends a resolution of around 720 x 720 pixels or higher, with a minimum of 250 x 250 pixels.
You can also upload short videos where they help demonstrate your business or services.
Do not rely too heavily on your chosen cover image, though. Google does not guarantee that it will always display as the first image on your profile.
Keep Your Opening Hours Accurate
Opening hours are one of the most important pieces of practical information on your profile.
If Google says your business is open and a customer arrives to find it closed, that creates a poor experience and can quickly damage trust.
Keep your normal hours accurate and use special hours for bank holidays, temporary changes and other exceptions.
It is worth checking your profile before major holidays to make sure the information being shown is correct.
Choose the Most Relevant Business Categories
Your primary category should describe the main thing your business actually is.
Google allows additional categories, but that does not mean you should add as many as possible.
Google’s own guidance is to use as few categories as possible while choosing the most specific categories that accurately describe your core business.
For example, a pizza business might use Pizza restaurant as its primary category and only add other categories if they genuinely represent a meaningful part of the business.
Categories should describe what the business is, rather than being used as extra keywords.
Verify Your Business
Verification confirms that you are authorised to manage the business profile.
The available verification method varies depending on the business, location and information Google already has.
Depending on the profile, Google may offer verification by:
- Video recording
- Phone or text message
- Live video call
- Postcard
You cannot normally choose whichever method you prefer. Google determines which options are available for your business.
For service-area businesses, verification may involve demonstrating the area you operate in, your equipment, branded vehicle, business documents or other evidence showing that the business is genuine.
If you do not serve customers at your business address, do not display the address publicly simply for verification purposes.
Respond to Customer Reviews
Reviews can have a big influence on how potential customers perceive your business.
Google recommends responding to reviews because it shows customers that you value their feedback.
Try to respond to both positive and negative reviews in a helpful and professional way.
Where possible, make the response specific to what the customer has said rather than using the same generic reply every time.
For example:
Better:
Thank you, Sarah. We’re really pleased you were happy with the website redesign and that the new enquiry process is working well for you.
Less useful:
Thanks for your review.
I would not deliberately add keywords to review responses just to try to influence rankings. Write naturally for the customer reading the reply.
The Benefits of an Optimised Google Business Profile
A well-maintained Google Business Profile can make it easier for potential customers to find and understand your business when they search locally.
Some of the main benefits include:
- Greater visibility in local search: Your business may appear in Google Search and Maps for relevant local searches.
- Clearer business information: Customers can quickly see your opening hours, location or service area, telephone number, website and services.
- More customer confidence: Photos, reviews and accurate business information can help reassure somebody that your business is genuine and suitable for what they need.
- More ways to contact you: Depending on your profile and business type, customers may be able to call, visit your website, request directions or take other actions directly from the search results.
- Better understanding of your business: Accurate categories, services and other profile information help Google understand what your business offers and where it operates.
A Google Business Profile should therefore be treated as an important part of your wider local SEO strategy rather than something you set up once and forget about.
Keep the information accurate, respond to reviews, add useful photos and update the profile whenever something changes within the business.
What Should You Do Next?
Once your Google Business Profile is complete, the job is not finished.
It is worth checking the profile regularly to make sure your information is still accurate and that nothing important has changed.
In particular, keep an eye on:
- Opening hours and special hours
- Contact details
- Business categories
- New customer reviews
- Photos and business information
- Any suggested edits to your profile
Your Google Business Profile should work alongside your website rather than replace it.
Your profile can help somebody discover your business in Google Search or Maps, while your website gives you much more space to explain your services, answer questions, show examples of your work and encourage enquiries.
If you want to understand how your Business Profile fits into the wider picture, read our guide to SEO basics for small businesses.
You may also find our guide to local SEO in Chorley and Lancashire useful if you want to improve your visibility across local search more generally.
Need Help With Your Google Business Profile?
If you are unsure whether your Google Business Profile is set up correctly, whether your categories and business information are accurate, or how it should support your wider SEO strategy, Interact Digital can help.
Contact the Interact Digital team to discuss your Google Business Profile and local SEO.
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