The Complete Google Business Profile Optimisation Checklist (2026)
Your Google Business Profile is the most powerful free listing in local search. This checklist walks through every field and feature that moves the needle.
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the single most important free listing your local business has. It decides whether you show up in the Google Maps "local pack," what people see before they ever reach your website, and how much they trust you in the first three seconds. A fully optimised profile is one of the highest-return things you can do in local SEO — and most of it can be finished in an afternoon.
This is a complete, field-by-field checklist. Work through each section in order. If a setting doesn't apply to your business, skip it — but make sure you skipped it on purpose, not by accident.
1. Claim and verify your profile
Nothing else counts until you own the profile and Google trusts it. An unverified or unclaimed listing can still appear, but you can't edit it, respond to reviews, or post — and anyone can suggest changes to it.
- Claim the profile at google.com/business using the email you want to keep long-term.
- Complete verification — usually by video, phone, text, email or postcard depending on your category and location.
- Add a second owner or manager so you never lose access if one account is closed.
- Check for and resolve any duplicate listings, which split your reviews and confuse ranking signals.
2. Get the core information exactly right
Google rewards profiles that are accurate, complete and consistent. The fields below are the backbone of how Google understands what you do and where you do it.
Business name
Use your real-world business name exactly as it appears on your signage and branding. Do not stuff keywords or your city into the name field — for example, "Joe's Plumbing" not "Joe's Plumbing Best Emergency Plumber London." Keyword stuffing the name violates Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
Categories — primary and secondary
Categories are one of the strongest ranking factors on the entire profile. Your primary category should describe your core business as specifically as possible — "Italian restaurant" beats "restaurant." Then add every relevant secondary category for the other services you genuinely offer, because each one can help you appear for more searches.
- Pick the most specific primary category that matches your main offering.
- Add secondary categories for every real service line — but only ones that truly apply.
- Check what categories your top-ranking competitors use and make sure you haven't missed an obvious one.
Services and products
List your individual services or products with clear names, short descriptions and prices where it makes sense. This adds keyword-rich detail to your profile and helps you match a wider range of searches, while giving customers a reason to choose you before they leave Google.
Business description
You get up to 750 characters. Use the first 250 to explain clearly who you are, what you do and the area you serve, since that portion is most visible. Write for humans first, work in your main services naturally, and avoid links or promotional fluff, which Google strips out.
Hours, contact details and the website link
Your name, address and phone number must match your website and other listings exactly — inconsistent details erode trust with both customers and Google. Keep hours accurate, and add special hours for holidays so no one shows up to a closed door.
- Confirm your address and service area are correct (use a service area instead of an address if you visit customers).
- Set a local phone number rather than a tracking number where possible.
- Add your website, and consider deep-linking to the most relevant page rather than just the homepage.
- Set regular hours and add special hours for public holidays.
Attributes
Attributes are the extra details Google offers based on your category — wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, women-owned, accepts card payments, and so on. Fill in every one that applies. They power filtered searches and appear as helpful badges on your profile.
3. Add photos and a logo
Photos are often the first thing a customer judges you on, and profiles with strong, regularly updated imagery tend to attract more clicks and direction requests. Add your logo, a cover image, and a genuine spread of your premises, team, products and work.
- Upload a clear logo and a cover photo that represents your brand well.
- Add real photos of your storefront, interior, team, and finished work or products.
- Avoid stock imagery — authentic photos build far more trust.
- Add fresh photos regularly to signal that the business is active.
4. Use Google Posts
Posts let you publish offers, updates, events and announcements directly onto your profile. They keep your listing looking active, give you another place to mention services and locations, and put a timely message in front of people right when they're deciding. Aim to post at least once a week.
5. Manage the Questions and Answers section
Anyone can ask — or answer — a question on your profile, which means a customer or competitor could be answering on your behalf. Get ahead of it by seeding your own frequently asked questions and answering them yourself, then monitoring for new ones and replying promptly and accurately.
A Google Business Profile is not a form you fill in once. The profiles that win the local pack are the ones kept fresh — new photos, weekly posts, answered questions and a steady flow of recent reviews. If that upkeep is hard to sustain in-house, our team can run it for you.
6. Turn on and answer messaging
Messaging lets customers contact you straight from your profile. If you switch it on, commit to replying quickly — Google tracks your response time and can hide the feature if you're slow. Set up a welcome message and, where available, an FAQ auto-reply to handle common questions instantly.
7. Collect and respond to reviews
Reviews are both a top ranking factor and the deciding trust signal for most customers. The quantity, quality, recency and keywords in your reviews all feed into how you rank — and a steady stream of recent reviews matters more than a big pile of old ones.
- Ask every happy customer, at the moment the experience ends, when satisfaction is highest.
- Remove friction so leaving a review takes one tap rather than a search.
- Reply to every review — positive and negative — calmly and by name where you can.
- Keep collecting consistently; a flat-lining review count is a signal Google notices.
The biggest blocker to reviews is friction. Our tap & scan Google review cards, plates and stands send customers straight to your review page in a single tap — see the full range on the products page. And if you'd rather hand the whole profile to a specialist, our Google Business Profile optimisation service covers everything in this checklist and keeps it maintained month after month.
The businesses that dominate local search aren't usually the biggest — they're the ones whose profile is complete, accurate and clearly still cared for.
— Daniel Okafor, Founder, RankLocally
We optimise and maintain your Google Business Profile end to end — categories, photos, posts, Q&A and reviews — so you can focus on running the business.