Lesson 1 of 3 · Google Business
Google Business Profile: correct the essentials
What it is
Your Business Profile is the listing customers see in Google Search and Maps. Start with the profile findings in your audit, then inspect the current listing before editing anything. 1. Sign in with an owner or manager account at Google Business. Find the correct business and branch. If access is missing, use Google’s ownership or verification process rather than creating a duplicate. 2. In Edit profile, use the real-world business name. Choose the most specific primary category that accurately describes the business. Add only relevant additional categories, not every category used by a rival. 3. Check the address or service area, phone, website and regular and special hours. A service-area business that does not serve customers at its address should follow Google’s address-hiding rules. Never invent offices or service areas. 4. Add an accurate description and genuine photos of the business and its work. Do not show private customer details. 5. Ask genuine customers for honest reviews without incentives, review gating or asking only happy customers. Reply professionally and keep private matters out of public replies. 6. Save changes, review Google’s acceptance status and inspect the public listing. Sources: Business eligibility and representation, choose categories, local ranking guidance.
Why it matters
Google describes local results in terms of relevance, distance and prominence. Accurate information helps customers and Google understand the business; it does not guarantee a position. Rival photo and review counts are dated comparisons, not quotas.
✓ Good example
Fictional example: Maple Leaf Plumbing & Heating in Canton, Ohio uses its actual business name, selects categories for services it really provides, updates holiday hours and uploads its own project photos.
✗ Common mistake
Adding “best furnace repair Canton” to the business name, listing an unstaffed virtual office, copying every rival category or offering a discount for a five-star review.
You pass when: Check the correct public listing and confirm accepted, accurate details. Record what changed and when. Use the audit’s category, photo and review recommendations as a checklist, not a promised ranking formula. Free category checker.
Check it now with our free GBP category finder.