How can I optimize my Google Business Profile?

Optimizing your Google Business Profile: what matters

The Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is the free listing that appears for local searches in Google Search and Google Maps: with name, address, phone number, opening hours, reviews, photos and a link to the website. For many companies with customers on site it is the first point of contact – even before anyone opens your website. An incomplete or outdated profile therefore costs calls, route requests and inquiries.

Google names three factors for local results: relevance, meaning how well your profile matches the search query, distance between the searcher and the business, and prominence, for example through reviews and mentions. You cannot change the distance, but you can change relevance and prominence. That is exactly where the following steps start. A particular placement cannot be guaranteed this way, but the chance of being found and clicked rises.

Step 1: Claim the profile, verify it and check for duplicates

First search for your business in Google Maps. If a listing already exists, you can claim it; otherwise you create a new profile. Google then requires verification, depending on the business for example by postcard, phone, email or video. Only after verification can you permanently control all details. Also check whether there are duplicate or outdated listings, for example after a move or name change, and have them merged or removed.

It is important to distinguish whether customers come to you or you travel to your customers. Businesses with a shop or an office with walk-in customers show their address. Service providers who mainly work at the customer’s site, such as tradespeople, can hide the address and state their service area instead. Virtual offices and mere mailboxes are not permitted under the guidelines; violations can lead to the profile being suspended.

Step 2: Set name, category and contact details correctly

Enter the name as your business appears in real life – on the sign, letterhead and website. Additions with search terms or places, such as “Roofer Speyer cheap”, are not allowed and endanger the profile. The primary category is important because Google can read from it what you are relevant for; choose the category that describes your core business most precisely. Add only a few fitting secondary categories.

Name, address and phone number should be written identically everywhere: in the profile, on your website, in business directories and on social media pages. Differences such as “St.” versus “Street” or changing phone numbers confuse search engines and customers. Also enter your website address, optionally a link to appointment booking, and check that the pages can be reached.

• Name exactly as in real life, without search-term additions
• Primary category by core business, a few fitting secondary categories
• Name, address and phone number identical across all sources
• Website link and, if applicable, a link to appointment booking
• Service area instead of address for businesses without walk-in customers

Step 3: Fill in description, services and opening hours

In the description you have up to 750 characters. Use it factually: what do you offer, for whom, since when and what sets you apart? The first sentences matter most because they are visible first. Avoid links, price promotions and exaggeration. Also enter your services or products with a short explanation, and select fitting attributes such as accessible entrance or parking, as far as they apply.

Opening hours are among the most frequently checked details. Keep them up to date and enter special hours for holidays, company vacations or renovations – nothing annoys customers more than a closed door despite different information. If you are reachable by phone at certain times, say so in the description. A complete profile appears trustworthy and answers questions before anyone calls.

Step 4: Maintain photos, videos and posts

Real photos build trust. Upload your logo, a meaningful cover photo, shots of the outside and inside, of the team and of your work. Stock images do not fit, because customers want to see who is waiting for them. Pay attention to good quality and update images after renovations. If employees are recognizable, obtain their consent beforehand; that protects you under data protection law and from later questions.

With posts you can show news, offers or events in the profile. It is not a must but a simple sign of activity, for example before holidays or with new services. Plan a realistic rhythm you can keep up, for example one post per month. A current profile looks livelier than a listing that has been unchanged for years.

Step 5: Gain reviews and answer them

Reviews are an important part of prominence. You may ask customers for a review and send them the direct link, ideally after a completed job. Not allowed are rewards such as discounts, purchased or self-written reviews and collecting only positive feedback selectively. Such violations can lead to reviews being removed and endanger the profile. Seek advice on legal questions; this does not replace legal advice.

Answer all reviews, calmly and personally. Thank customers for positive feedback, respond to criticism and offer to clarify things outside the public eye. Do not mention confidential details in replies, especially not in professions with a duty of confidentiality, and no personal data. Obviously false or rule-violating reviews can be reported via the profile. A good reply is often read more attentively by future customers than the review itself.

Step 6: Link the website, measure and keep going

The profile works best together with a website that confirms the same details. Create a contact or location page with address, phone number, opening hours, directions and map, and mark it up technically as a local business. If you have several locations, each needs its own page and its own profile. With a parameter in the website link you can see in your statistics how many visits come from the profile.

The profile also supplies metrics such as views, calls, route requests and clicks to the website. Check them regularly, for example monthly, and see which measures work. Decide who maintains the profile and keep entries in business directories consistent. You get support for profile, location pages and local visibility from us together with our partner agency LOMA DESIGN.