Google Business Profile Checklist for Local Businesses

For businesses that serve customers in a specific area, a Google Business Profile is often the first thing people see in Google Search and Maps, before your website. It is free, but it needs accurate setup and regular care. This checklist covers what to complete, what to keep updated and what commonly gets profiles suspended.

Who can have a profile

Google allows profiles for businesses that make in-person contact with customers during stated hours: either at a location customers visit, or by travelling to customers (a service-area business). Online-only businesses are not eligible. Read Google’s guidelines for representing your business before you start; most suspensions come from breaking them unintentionally.

Setup checklist

1. Business name. Use your real-world name exactly as it appears on signage, invoices and your website. Adding keywords or locations (“Example Plumbing – Best Emergency Plumber Leeds”) breaks the guidelines.
2. Primary category. Choose the most specific category that describes your core business (for example “Plumber” rather than “Contractor”). Add a few accurate secondary categories.
3. Address or service area. If customers visit you, show the address. If you travel to customers and do not serve them at your premises, hide the address and set a service area by city or region.
4. Phone and website. Use a local number you answer. Link to your homepage or the most relevant location page.
5. Hours. Set regular hours plus special hours for holidays.
6. Services or products. List what you actually offer, with short descriptions and prices only if you keep them current.
7. Description. Up to 750 characters on what you do, who you serve and what makes you different. No links or promotional claims you cannot support.
8. Verification. Complete the verification method Google offers (video, phone, email or postcard). Edits made before verification may not show.

Photos

• Add a clear logo and a cover photo.
• Upload real photos of your team, vehicles, premises and finished work. Stock photos add little.
• Add new photos every few months; it keeps the profile looking active.
• Do not add text overlays, phone numbers or watermarks to photos.

Reviews

Reviews influence both visibility and whether people contact you. Ask every satisfied customer, using the review link from your profile dashboard. Reply to reviews, positive and negative, briefly and professionally.

• Never offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, and never ask only happy customers through a filter (“review gating”). Both break Google’s policies.
• Do not write reviews for yourself or have staff do it.
• For a negative review, acknowledge the issue, avoid sharing private details and offer to resolve it offline.

Posts and updates

Google Business Profile posts let you share offers, events and news. They are optional but useful for seasonal services, new products or closures. Keep them factual and link to a matching page on your site.

Connect it to your website

• Show the same name, address and phone (NAP) on your website as on your profile, usually in the footer and on the contact page.
• Create one helpful page per main service, and for service-area businesses, consider useful local pages for the main areas you cover.
• Add LocalBusiness structured data to your homepage or contact page with the same details.

Common reasons for suspension or lost visibility

• Keywords stuffed into the business name.
• Using a virtual office, PO box or coworking address where you do not have staff during business hours.
• Showing a home address for a service-area business that does not serve customers there.
• Creating duplicate profiles for the same location or for each service.
• Frequent edits to name, category and address in a short time.

If your profile is suspended, fix the cause first, then request reinstatement through the support flow Google provides. Expect it to take time, and keep evidence such as utility bills or signage photos ready.

Monthly maintenance

• Answer new reviews and questions.
• Update hours for holidays.
• Add a few new photos.
• Check that suggested edits from the public have not changed your details.
• Review Performance insights (calls, direction requests, website clicks) to see trends.