Confirm your Google Business Profile is eligible
Before setting up a Google Business Profile, check Google's eligibility and representation guidelines against how your business operates. A Business Profile is generally intended for a business that receives customers at a physical location or travels to them. Do not assume an online-only business qualifies. Review the actual operating model before adding an address or creating a profile for a place where the business does not operate.
Correct the information customers act on
Check the real business name, contact details, website destination and applicable hours, including holiday changes. Follow Google's address guidance for your business type. Then test the customer journey yourself: follow the website link, find the relevant service and confirm that the contact method works. Assign someone to update details when the business changes.
Choose accurate categories and descriptions
Google recommends using the fewest categories needed to describe the core business, choosing specific categories that genuinely fit. Do not treat the business name or category list as a place to insert every search phrase. Use the description to explain what the business does in clear language a first-time customer can understand.
Show what people need to recognize
Select current photos that help someone understand the real business, its work or a customer-facing location where applicable. Remove outdated information that could create a wrong expectation. Prioritize accuracy and usefulness when deciding what to add; uploading on an arbitrary schedule is not a substitute for making the profile informative.
Ask for honest feedback
Invite customers to describe genuine experiences without steering the rating or wording. Google prohibits review incentives and selectively soliciting positive reviews. Keep the request straightforward, and respond to feedback with a helpful answer rather than a sales message. Use recurring issues mentioned in reviews as input for improving the actual customer experience.
Maintain your Google Business Profile information
Review customer-facing details, links and recent feedback whenever services or operating arrangements change. Record the profile information that needs an owner. Google's local guidance supports complete, accurate information, but a completed profile does not guarantee a ranking or an enquiry. Judge the work by whether customers can reliably understand and contact the business.
Keep Google Business Profile maintenance assigned to an owner. Review public details after a move, a service change or a change in opening hours, rather than waiting for a customer to flag an error.