Set it up right
- Claim and verify the profile at business.google.com, using an account the business owns, not a former employee’s.
- Choose the most specific primary category that describes what you are, then add secondary categories only for things you truly do. The primary category matters most.
- Use your real business name. Adding keywords or cities to the name breaks Google’s guidelines and can get a profile suspended.
- Set regular hours, and special hours for holidays, so nobody drives to a closed door.
- Match your name, address and phone exactly to your website, Apple Maps, Bing and Yelp.
Make it worth clicking
- Add real photos: outside (so people recognize the entrance), inside, your team, and what you sell. Add new ones regularly.
- List your products, services or menu with descriptions in the words customers use.
- Write the business description for customers: what you do, who it is for, what makes you different.
- Post updates and offers when you have something real to say: events, seasonal items, new services.
Reviews: the part that moves the needle
- Ask every happy customer, with a direct review link on receipts, emails and a counter card. Never pay for reviews or offer rewards for them; that breaks Google’s policies.
- Reply to every review, good and bad, within a few days. Thank people by name; take problems offline politely.
Measure it
- Tag your website link with UTM parameters so profile clicks show up separately in GA4.
- Track calls and direction requests in the profile’s performance report every month.
Multi-location? Every location needs its own verified profile and its own page on your website. We manage both centrally, with reporting by location.
Want it done for you, with reviews and reporting included? See local SEO.