Google Business Profile optimisation means filling in your listing so that Google understands exactly what you do, and customers who find you have everything they need to choose you. It is free, you can do it from your phone, and it is usually the quickest improvement a local business can make.
Below is every part of the profile that matters, in the order worth tackling. You'll sometimes see this called Google Business Profile optimization, the American spelling. It is the same job.
Start with categories
Categories come first because they tend to decide which searches you are considered for at all.
- Primary category: the one that best describes your core business. A salon that mostly does nails should consider "nail salon" before "beauty salon". A firm that mostly fixes boilers might be a "heating contractor" rather than a general "plumber".
- Secondary categories: add the other things you genuinely are. Leave out anything you don't offer.
To choose, search your main service in Google Maps and look at the category under each of the top three names. If they share a category you don't have, ask yourself whether it describes you too. Kerbrank's competitor comparison lays this out for the businesses holding the top three across your area, alongside their review and photo counts.
Services and products, with prices
The services section is where you spell out what you do in customers' own words.
- Add each service separately. "Gel nails", "acrylic infills" and "nail art" are three services, not one.
- Write a line or two about each: what it involves, how long it takes, who it suits.
- Add a price or a "from" price where you can. People comparing options on their phone tend to skip businesses that make them ring to find out.
- Use the words people search. For a Portsmouth skin clinic we track, "lip filler" gets about 70 searches a month in the town, while "aesthetics clinic" gets about 10. Our guide to choosing searches helps with this.
Products let you show items or packages with a photo, a price and a description. They work well for shops, but salons and trades can use them too, for example a "full service and MOT" package or a "bridal hair trial".
Description, hours and attributes
Description
Write a plain description of what you do, who for and where. Mention your main services and the area you cover. Google limits the length, so put the most useful part first. Don't include links, prices or special offers here, and don't repeat your town name ten times.
A simple shape that works: what you are, your main services, what makes you different (in facts, not adjectives), and where you are or where you cover.
Hours
- Set normal opening hours and keep them accurate.
- Add special hours for bank holidays, Christmas and any closures.
- Use "more hours" if you have separate times for things like deliveries or walk-ins.
Wrong hours are one of the quickest ways to lose a customer's trust, and people can suggest edits to your listing if they think your hours are wrong.
Attributes
Attributes are the small tags on a profile, such as wheelchair-accessible entrance, free Wi-Fi, online appointments or women-led. Which ones you can set depends on your category. Tick the ones that are true. Some are filled in from customer feedback, so check them now and then.
Photos
Photos help customers decide, and a listing with few or dated photos can look closed.
- Outside: your front, so people recognise it when they arrive. Take one from the direction most people approach.
- Inside: the space as it looks on a normal day.
- Work: real results, before and after where it suits the trade, finished jobs, treatment rooms.
- Team: people like seeing who they'll meet.
Use your own photos, not stock images. Add a few new ones every month rather than fifty at once. Look at how many photos the top three businesses on your map have: if they have many more than you, that gap is easy to close.
Posts, Q&A and bookings
Posts
Posts are short updates that appear on your profile: news, offers, events, new services. Google doesn't say posts directly change your ranking, but they show customers you are active, and they give you somewhere to promote a seasonal service. One post every week or two is plenty.
Questions and answers
Where your profile still shows a questions section (Google has been changing this feature), check it. Answer anything people have asked, and correct wrong answers left by other users. The questions customers ask you on the phone are good material for your description and services too.
Bookings
If you take appointments, make booking possible straight from Google. Many booking systems used by salons, clinics and restaurants can connect to Google so customers can book from your profile. Check whether yours does. If not, add your booking page as the appointment link in your profile.
A monthly Google Business Profile optimisation routine
A profile isn't something you finish. Put half an hour in the diary each month:
- Check your hours, including any bank holidays coming up.
- Add a few new photos.
- Reply to every new review. Our post on how to get more Google reviews has a message to copy for asking.
- Publish a post if you have news or an offer.
- Check nobody has suggested an unwanted edit to your name, category or address.
- Look at the Performance section to see which searches found you, and add any service that customers search for but your profile doesn't list.
For the wider picture, including your website and directories, work through our local SEO checklist. To see how the profile fits with distance and reviews in Google's ranking, read how to rank higher on Google Maps.
Common questions
Which part of my Google Business Profile matters most?
Your primary category. It tends to decide which searches you are considered for, so get it right before you spend time on anything else.
Should I put keywords in my business name?
No. Use your real trading name. Adding services or a town to the name goes against Google's guidelines and can get your profile suspended.
How often should I update my profile?
Check it monthly. Add photos and posts regularly, and update hours before every bank holiday.
Do Google posts help my ranking?
Google doesn't say they do directly. They are still worth doing because they help customers choose you and show your profile is active.