Your Google Business Profile is your other homepage

Search for almost any local service and the first thing you see isn’t a website. It’s a map, three businesses and a row of stars. That’s your Google Business Profile, and for a lot of people it’s where the decision gets made. They call, get directions or tap through to your website straight from it.

So I treat it like a second homepage. Here’s the order I’d work through it in, with what Google’s own rules and the research say.

1Claim it, and make sure it’s really yours

Search for your business on Google Maps. If a profile already exists, claim it. If not, create one at business.google.com. Google will ask you to verify that you’re the owner, usually by phone, email, a short video or a postcard. Google picks the options, not you. Verifying matters: Google says a verified profile is more likely to show up in search results.

Then check who owns it. It’s surprisingly common for the owner to be a past employee, a relative or an agency from years ago. Make sure the main owner is an account you control, and add other people as managers instead of sharing a password.

2Choose your main category carefully

This is the most important choice on the profile. In Whitespark’s 2026 survey of local search experts, the main category ranked first of every factor for the map. Be as specific as Google allows: “Roofing contractor”, not “Contractor”. “Physiotherapist”, not “Health”. Then add extra categories for the other things you genuinely do.

Not sure? Search for your service in your area and look at which categories the businesses in the map results use.

3Address or service area?

If customers come to you, show your address. If you go to them, like most trades, cleaners and mobile services, set a service area and hide your address.

Google’s guidelines are strict here. P.O. boxes and mailboxes don’t count as an address, and a rented mailing address where you don’t operate isn’t eligible for a profile at all. Your service area shouldn’t reach farther than about two hours’ drive from where you’re based.

4Fill in everything

Google says it plainly: make your profile as complete as possible, and if your details aren’t accurate, your profile might not show up for searches near you. Work through:

• Hours, including holiday hours. Nothing loses a customer faster than a locked door on a Monday that Google said was open.
• Phone number and website. Use a number that’s answered.
• Services or products, each with a short, plain description. Use the same names as the service pages on your website, so Google can connect the two.
• Attributes like wheelchair access, online appointments or languages spoken, where they apply.
• Your description. Google allows up to 750 characters, with no links, and its guidelines say it shouldn’t focus on promotions or prices. Say what you do, who you do it for and where, in the words your customers use.

5Photos that look like you

Real photos beat stock photos every time. Add the outside of your building (so people recognize it when they arrive), the inside, your team and your work. For trades, before-and-after shots from real jobs are gold. Add new ones every so often: a profile with pictures from this season looks open and busy.

6Reviews: ask, reply, repeat

Reviews help people choose you, and Google counts them toward how well known you are. Google also says that replying shows customers you value their feedback. Ask every customer, make it easy, and reply to every review, good or bad. We wrote a whole guide on getting more Google reviews without being awkward.

7Post updates now and then

You can publish updates, offers and events right on your profile. A new service, a seasonal offer or holiday hours is plenty. Posts show people that someone’s there.

8Use your real name, and the same details everywhere

Your business name, address, phone number and website should match exactly across your profile, your website, Facebook, Yelp and any directories. Mismatches make it harder for Google, and for AI assistants, to be sure they’re looking at the same business.

And use your real business name. Google’s guidelines don’t permit extra information in the name, so “Best Plumber Coquitlam” tacked on the end can get a profile suspended.

9Check it once a month

Anyone can suggest edits to a public profile, and Google sometimes accepts them. Log in monthly, check that everything is still right, and look at the numbers: calls, direction requests and website visits. They’re the best early sign that your changes are working.

What I’d do first

1. Today: check who owns your profile, and that your main category is the most specific one that’s true.
2. This week: fill in every field, and add ten real photos.
3. This month: reply to every review, and start asking every customer.
4. Every month after: a ten-minute check, like the list below.

Want a second pair of eyes? Our free website check looks at how easy your business is to find and to reach, then tells you what we’d fix first. Rather hand it over? Weekly Google posts, review replies and listing checks are part of Care.