What the checkup looks at
Your Google Business Profile is the card customers see on Google Search and Maps: your name, rating, hours, phone, photos and a button to your website. For many people it is the first thing they see of your business, before your site.
The Google Profile Checkup finds your profile and scores it against a checklist: categories, description, hours, phone, website, photos, reviews and replies, booking link, and whether the profile is claimed. Each item is something a customer or Google can see. None of them needs a developer.
Why each item matters
Categories. The primary category tells Google what you are, such as Dentist or Plumber. It decides which searches you are considered for. Google asks for the fewest categories that describe the business, so choose the one that matches your main work and add extras only for services you really offer.
Description. A short, plain explanation of what you do, who for and where. It helps a new customer decide quickly, and it gives Google more to understand. Write it for a person. Skip phone numbers, links and sales language.
Hours. Wrong hours send people to a locked door and leave a one-star review. Check them every month, and set special hours for holidays. Appointment-only businesses, hotels and schools shouldn’t list hours the way a shop does.
Phone. One working number, ideally the same one as on your website. If calls are how you get work, this is the most important field.
Website. A working link to a page that loads on a phone and matches what the profile says. A broken or slow link wastes the click you just earned.
Photos. Real photos of your shop, team and work. They show customers what to expect, and they are the easiest way to look more trustworthy than a competitor with none.
Reviews and replies. Reviews are a large part of how well known you look. Google’s help page says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and that replying helps a business stand out. Reply to everyone, calmly, in a sentence or two.
Booking link. If customers can book online, a link on the profile saves a call. If they can’t, a clear way to contact you does the same job.
Claimed status. Claiming and verifying your profile means you control it. An unclaimed profile can be edited by other people, and Google says verifying makes it more likely you will show up in search.
The business-name rule
This one gets profiles suspended. Your name on Google must be your real-world name, the one on your sign, invoices and van. Adding keywords or a city, such as “Smith Plumbing | Emergency Plumber Toronto,” breaks Google’s guidelines even though it looks helpful. You can read the rules on Google’s guidelines for representing your business.
If your name has extras in it, the checkup will flag it. Change it back to the plain name. A business that gets suspended loses its map listing until it is reinstated, which is a far bigger cost than losing a keyword.
Service-area businesses: hide your address
If you go to your customers, as plumbers, cleaners, movers and mobile groomers do, Google’s rules say to hide your address and list a service area instead. Showing a home address when customers don’t visit you breaks the guidelines and is a common reason for suspension. It also puts your private address in front of strangers.
Pick the areas you actually serve, and keep them realistic. Google’s guidance is roughly within two hours’ drive of where you are based. A short, true list beats a long, hopeful one.
“We found” the wrong business?
The checkup searches for your business by name and place. Sometimes the match is a different branch, a former location or a similar name. Before you act on the score, confirm it is yours.
Check the phone number, the address or service area, and the website link on the profile it found. If they match what you know to be right, it is yours. If not, search again using your exact name plus your city, or paste your own phone number into Google and see which profile comes up. If you have more than one location, each one has its own profile and its own score.
If the profile it found has been marked closed or looks like a copy, say so to our team in the full report request and we will sort it out with you.
What to fix first
Work in this order, because it goes from risk to reward.
- Anything that could get you suspended: extra words in the name, or an address showing when it should be hidden.
- Anything that sends customers the wrong way: wrong hours, a wrong or missing phone number, a broken website link.
- Primary category: make sure it is the right one.
- Reviews: set up a steady, honest way to ask, and reply to the backlog.
- Photos and description: fill them in once the basics are right.
Questions owners ask
Will a perfect score put me in the map pack?
No. The score measures how complete and correct your profile is. Where you appear also depends on distance and on how well known you are compared with nearby competitors.
Can I offer a discount for reviews?
No. Google doesn’t allow incentives for reviews, or asking only your happy customers. Ask everyone the same way.
Do I need to fix everything at once?
No. Fix the risky items first, then one thing a week.
What the full report adds
The free check shows the headline. Your full report, put together by our team, covers every field on your profile compared with the businesses that rank near you, and a short list of changes in the order we would make them.