Pick the most specific primary category for what pays your bills, then fill in everything else: real hours, a service list, a description in your own words, an honest address or service area, and photos of your actual work. Post once a month and answer every review. It’s free, and it takes about an hour.
You built something real. Then, somewhere along the way, you claimed your Google profile, typed in a phone number, and never came back. Fair enough. Nobody told you it was the front door.
Hot take: for a lot of local searches, your Google Business Profile matters more than your website. The first thing people see about you is this box, not your homepage. So it deserves an hour of your attention. This checklist walks you through it in the order we’d do it ourselves.
What decides who shows up on the map?
Google names three factors in its own guidance on local ranking: relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known you are, which Google ties to links from other sites and to your reviews and ratings. Google also says you can’t pay for a better local ranking.
You can’t move your shop closer to the searcher. But most of what you can change sits under relevance, and that’s this checklist. In Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, the primary category came in as the number one factor, and additional categories came in at number 8. Start there.
Completeness pays off with customers too. Google says people are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile, and 70% more likely to visit. The page doesn’t say how Google measured that, so in our book, treat the numbers as direction, not a promise.
And honestly, the bar is low. BrightLocal’s 2025 small business report, a survey of 778 US owners and managers, found only 35% have a Google Business Profile at all. Finishing yours puts you ahead of most of your neighbors.
Which parts cost you customers when they’re wrong?
In BrightLocal’s 2026 Consumer Search Behavior study of 1,227 US consumers, consumers told researchers what made them pass on a business. 20% cited missing or wrong business details. 18% couldn’t find a website. 16% saw no photos, and 16% said the listing looked abandoned or unclaimed. Every single one of those is a checklist item below.
Here’s the whole list on one screen. The details follow.
| Item | What good looks like | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | The most specific one that fits the work that pays your bills | 5 minutes |
| Business name | Exactly what your sign and invoices say, nothing added | 2 minutes |
| Address or service area | Address shown only if customers visit you; towns listed if you travel | 5 minutes |
| Hours | Regular hours plus special hours for holidays | 10 minutes |
| Phone and website | Same number as everywhere else; the link opens a real, secure page | 5 minutes |
| Description | Up to 750 characters, what you do and where, no links or prices | 10 minutes |
| Services | Your real services, in the words customers use | 10 minutes |
| Photos | Logo, a clear exterior or team shot, and finished work | 15 minutes |
| Posts | One a month, with a photo of recent work | 10 minutes a month |
| Reviews | A steady trickle, each one answered | Ongoing |
How do you set up the parts that decide whether you show up?
Which category should you pick?
Google’s profile guidelines say to use the fewest categories that describe your core business, as specific as you can get. A good test: the category should finish the sentence “This business is a…” and not “This business has a…” Whitespark’s example is a law firm choosing “injury lawyer” over “law firm.” Same idea for you: “HVAC contractor” beats “contractor.”
Add a secondary category only for work you really do. Don’t get us wrong, we understand the temptation. But don’t add one just because a competitor has it and you’d like their calls.
Does your name match your sign?
It has to. Google says to use your real-world name, as it appears on your storefront, website, and stationery. No taglines, hours, phone numbers, or service descriptions in it. “Smith Plumbing | Best Plumber Indianapolis” is the classic mistake, and Google says unnecessary information in the name could get your profile suspended. We know it’s tempting. Don’t.
Address, service area, and hours
Show your address only if customers come to you. If you drive to them, set a service area and hide the address. Google asks service-area businesses to keep one profile for the central location, and says service areas generally shouldn’t reach beyond about 2 hours of driving from your base. P.O. boxes and virtual offices aren’t eligible. One location, one profile.
Then hours. List your regular customer-facing hours and set special hours for holidays. We’ve seen more profiles say “open” on Thanksgiving than we’d like to count. So here’s something to do this week: put a reminder on your calendar for early November.
The description, and the services list
You get 750 characters, according to BrightLocal’s guide to the field, and the start of it is what people see first. Say what you do and where in the first sentence. Write it the way you’d talk to someone across the counter. Google’s guidelines say no links of any kind, and no promotions, prices, or sales. Then list your services, one by one, in the words a customer would type.
Photos: what to add
Google’s photo guidelines are plain: JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, 720 by 720 pixels recommended and 250 by 250 as the minimum. Videos can run up to 30 seconds and 75 MB. Photos should look like your place. No heavy filters, and no stock.
Upload your logo, a clear shot of the outside so people can find the door, your team, and finished jobs. About 10 now, then 2 or 3 a month. Your phone is good enough. Real beats polished here.
Posts and reviews
Posts are a small ranking signal. Their real job is proof: a customer comparing two listings can see which business is active. Once a month, add a photo of recent work and 2 sentences about it.
Reviews feed prominence, and they need more room than this page has. The short version: text every customer your direct link after the job, ask everyone, offer nothing, reply to all of them. The routine, the rules, and a copy-ready text are in how to get more Google reviews.
What gets a profile suspended, and what doesn’t matter as much?
Per Google’s guidelines, the usual triggers are keywords or extra information in the business name, more than one profile for the same location, and breaking the content rules. We’d add one we see all the time: a profile an old web person or agency still owns. If someone else is the owner, ask them to add you as owner, then remove them.
What matters less than the sellers say? Posting every day, for one. In our book, a monthly post is plenty. Chasing every optional attribute is another. And no checklist moves you closer to the searcher. A shop in Avon may never outrank one in Fishers for someone standing in Fishers, however polished the profile.
When can you skip this checklist?
If you sell only online, with no storefront and no service area, you may not be eligible for a profile at all. If you’ve already finished everything above, run the free check below and put your energy into reviews instead. And if you have several locations or a suspended profile, that’s a job for somebody who has done it before.
Want a straight grade on all of it?
Our free self-audit, Can Indy Find You?, runs 18 checks across your profile, your reviews, your listings, and your website basics. You get a live grade and a plain fix for every item you miss. No email, no login, no strings.
Rather hand it off to somebody? That’s our local SEO work: we finish the profile, set up the review ask, clean up your listings, and report in calls and booked jobs. Local SEO is included in our published retainers, $1,200, $2,400, or $4,800 a month with a 3-month minimum, and the pricing page shows what each tier covers. If the real question is why you don’t show up at all, start with the 5 usual causes.
What else do owners ask about their Google profile?
How long does it take to optimize a Google Business Profile?
About an hour for the first pass if you have your photos and hours handy. After that, plan on 10 minutes a month for a post and a few replies. Edits usually show up within a few days, once Google reviews them.
Can I put keywords in my Google Business Profile name?
No. Google says the name should match your real-world name, as on your storefront, website, and stationery, and warns that extra information such as taglines, phone numbers, or service descriptions could result in suspension.
Do I need a website to have a Google Business Profile?
No, a profile can exist without one. But don’t skip it. BrightLocal’s 2026 study found 18% of consumers who passed on a business said they couldn’t find a website. A simple page that names your service and your town helps more than people expect.
How many categories should I choose?
One primary category, as specific as possible, and a secondary category only for work you really do. Google recommends the fewest categories that describe your core business. Whitespark’s 2026 survey ranks the primary category as the top local ranking factor.
Can I hide my address on Google?
Yes, if you visit customers instead of seeing them at your location. Google asks service-area businesses to hide their address and list the areas they serve. If customers come to you, show the address.
What does Carson Poore Consulting charge to optimize a profile?
Profile work is part of our local SEO, which sits inside our published monthly retainers: $1,200, $2,400, or $4,800 a month. Most single-location businesses whose main problem is getting found start at $1,200. Three months minimum, then month to month. We take 8 clients at a time.