Google Business Profile
A practical guide to what your Google Business Profile actually does, and how to keep it working for you instead of against you.
The first impression you don't control by default
For most local searches, a customer sees your Google Business Profile before they see your website — your name, category, photos, hours, and reviews, all in one box. If it's incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate, that's the first impression, whether you meant it to be or not.
The good news: this is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-cost things a local service business can get right.
What actually matters on the profile
Accuracy first. Correct categories, real service area, current hours, and a phone number that's actually answered. This sounds obvious, and it's still the most common thing wrong with local business profiles.
Photos that look like your business, today. Not stock photos. Real photos of real work, updated periodically. A profile that hasn't changed in three years reads as inactive, even if the business is thriving.
Reviews, and responses to them. Review count and recency matter, but so does whether the business responds — to good reviews and bad ones. A thoughtful response to a negative review often builds more trust than the review itself cost.
Posts and updates, used sparingly. Google lets you post updates directly to your profile. Used for real news (a new service, a seasonal offer) they're useful. Used as a content-marketing channel, they're mostly ignored.
The most common mistake
Setting a profile up once at launch and never touching it again. Categories drift out of date, photos go stale, and nobody notices until a competitor's more actively-managed profile starts outranking a better business. Treat it like a living part of your online presence, not a one-time setup task.
What we don't promise
We won't tell you a specific number of extra calls a profile update will generate — nobody honest can. What we can tell you is that an accurate, active, well-reviewed profile consistently outperforms a neglected one, and it costs nothing but attention to get right.
Quick answers
Can I have more than one profile for one business? No — Google's guidelines prohibit duplicate profiles for the same business at the same location, and having one can get both suspended.
Do I need a physical storefront to have a profile? No. Service-area businesses (plumbers, cleaners, contractors) can set up a profile without showing a public address.
How do I ask happy customers for reviews without being pushy? A short, direct text or email right after the job is done, with a direct link to leave a review, works better than a generic request weeks later.