Google Business Profile optimisation is one of the cheapest ways a small business can win more local enquiries. Your profile is what people see in Google Maps and in the map results above the normal listings, often before they ever visit your website. A well kept profile tells Google exactly what you do and where, and gives customers a reason to call you instead of the next business down the list. This checklist works through each part of the profile in the order that makes the biggest difference.
What Google says it looks at
Google is open about the basics. Its own help page, tips to improve your local ranking, says local results are mainly based on three things:
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
- Distance: how far your business is from the person searching, or from the location in their search.
- Prominence: how well known your business is, including how many reviews and positive ratings you have and how many websites link to you.
Google also states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Distance is out of your hands. Relevance and prominence are where optimisation helps.
Step 1: Verify the profile and own it properly
An unverified profile is less likely to show up, and Google says verification makes it more likely your business appears in results. Make sure the business owner is the primary owner of the profile, not a former employee, a relative or a web designer who has since moved on. Add others as managers if they need access.
Step 2: Get your categories right
Your primary category is a key part of telling Google what you do. Choose the category that describes your main service most precisely. A firm that mostly fits kitchens should choose the kitchen category rather than a general builder category, for example. Add secondary categories only for services you actually offer and want work for. Too many loosely related categories can blur what Google thinks you do.
Step 3: Fill in every relevant field
Complete information helps relevance. Check each of these:
- Business name: your real trading name, with no extra keywords or town names added. Google’s guidelines do not allow keywords to be added to the name.
- Address or service area: show your address if customers visit you. If you travel to customers, set a service area of the towns you cover and hide the address.
- Hours: normal hours plus special hours for bank holidays and Christmas.
- Phone number and website link: use the same number that appears on your website.
- Services: list each service with a short description in plain words.
- Business description: explain what you do, who for and where, without repeating keywords.
- Attributes: add any that apply, such as wheelchair access or parking.
Step 4: Keep your details consistent everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number should match across your website, your Google profile and directories such as Yell or trade listings. Mismatched details make it harder for Google to be confident it has the right business. If you have moved or changed phone number, update the old listings too.
Step 5: Add real photos and keep adding them
Google’s tips list photos and videos as a way to show customers what you offer. Use your own: the outside of your premises if people visit, your team, your vehicles and your finished work. Stock images add nothing. A few new photos each month also keeps the profile looking active to anyone checking you out.
Step 6: Build reviews and reply to them
Reviews feed prominence, and they are often what decides who gets the call. Ask every satisfied customer, make it easy with a short link, and reply to every review, good or bad. Google says that responding to reviews shows you value customer feedback. We cover the methods that work, and what Google does not allow, in our guide to getting more Google reviews.
Step 7: Post updates
Google posts let you share offers, news and recent jobs directly on your profile. They are a simple way to show you are active, and they give customers something current to read. Our article on when to publish Google posts covers timing.
Step 8: Make your website back up the profile
Your profile and website work together. The website should have a page for each main service, your contact details matching the profile, and clear mentions of the areas you cover. Links from other local websites also count towards prominence. Our guide to what local SEO is explains how the profile, website and reviews fit together.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Creating a second profile for the same business instead of fixing the first
- Using a virtual office or PO box as a shopfront address
- Leaving old opening hours after a change
- Ignoring negative reviews instead of replying calmly
- Letting the profile go quiet for months at a time
Google Business Profile for Luton and Dunstable businesses
For a local business in Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis or Bedford, the map results are often where the phone calls come from, not the website listings below them. When we built the site for PrimeGuard Removals in Dunstable, we linked it to their Business Profile, showed their Google reviews on the site and added a review link and QR code. In October 2026 they started receiving enquiries from people who found them on Google.
If your profile is unverified, has the wrong category or has no reviews, that is usually the first thing to fix. We can check yours and tell you what is missing.
ST HECS in Luton is another example: its profile shows 30 five-star Google reviews and photos from real cleaning jobs, and the website now displays those same reviews and photos. PaveLocal, our driveway site for Milton Keynes, has its own verified profile linked to the site too.
Help with Google Business Profile optimisation
Ivy Hive sets up and looks after Google Business Profiles as part of our local SEO and reputation work, and we set one up free for new businesses. If you want a second pair of eyes on your profile, get in touch and we will tell you what to fix first.
