How to optimize your Google Business Profile: a step-by-step checklist, by Google's rules

Where do I start: how do I claim and verify my profile?

This guide is the to-do list. If you'd first like to understand how Google decides which businesses to show on the map, start with our guide on local SEO with Google Business Profile.

Step one is to search for your business on Google Maps. If a profile already exists, you'll see the option to claim it; if not, create it in Google Business Profile with a company Google account, not an employee's personal one. Google then asks you to verify it. According to its own help center, verification shows you're authorized to represent the business and makes it more likely to appear in results.

How should I write my business name?

Exactly as it appears on your storefront, website and stationery. Google's guidelines prohibit adding taglines, keywords, cities, hours or phone numbers to the name. “Roma Pizzeria” is fine; “Roma Pizzeria, Best Pizza in Miami” can get the profile suspended.

Which categories should I choose?

The primary category carries the most weight for relevance. Google asks you to use as few categories as possible and pick the most specific one: the one that completes “this business is…,” not “this business has….” A fresh-pasta restaurant is an “Italian restaurant,” not just a “Restaurant”; having a patio or Wi-Fi goes in attributes, not categories.

Secondary categories are for real activities you also do, not for adding keywords.

Should I list my address or a service area?

• If customers visit you, use your real physical address. Google doesn't accept PO boxes or virtual offices.
• If you go to your customers (mobile photography, renovations, catering), create the profile for your base, hide the address and set a service area. Google suggests keeping it within about two hours' drive of your location.
• Each real location gets one profile. Two profiles for the same place, or profiles at addresses that aren't yours, break the rules.

What hours, phone number and website should I use?

• Hours: your customer-facing hours. Restaurants list the hours they seat guests. Use special hours for holidays and closures so nobody shows up to a locked door.
• Phone: one your business answers, ideally a local number rather than a call center. If WhatsApp is your main channel, make the number match your website.
• Website: your business's site or the page for that specific location, not a third-party social profile.
• Attributes: parking, accessibility, Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, payment options. Google lists them among the details that help you show up.

What should I write in the description?

What you do, for whom, where and what sets you apart, in clear and truthful sentences. Google's guidelines don't allow promotions, prices or links in the description. Write it for a person, not a search engine: if it reads like a keyword list, it won't help.

Which photos should I upload, and how often?

• Storefront or entrance, so people recognize you when they arrive.
• Interior and atmosphere, at different times of day if it changes.
• Products or dishes, in good light.
• Your team at work: it builds trust.
• Refresh them regularly and whenever something changes: menu, decor, season. Google recommends adding photos and videos to show what you offer.

Do posts, services and products help?

Yes, because they complete what Google knows about you and what customers see before deciding. Add your services with a short description, or your menu if you're a restaurant, and publish news, events and offers on the profile. You don't need to post daily; you need the profile not to look abandoned.

How do I get and answer reviews?

Ask right after a good experience, with your profile's short link on WhatsApp or a QR code at your location. Answer all of them, negative ones included, calmly and without the customer's personal details. Google says replying shows you value your customers' feedback. What you can't do, like offering discounts in exchange, is covered in our local SEO guide.

What should I check every month?

• Profile performance: searches you appear in, calls, direction requests and website clicks.
• New reviews without a reply.
• Edits suggested by users or by Google: make sure your details are still correct.
• Special hours for upcoming holidays.
• NAP: name, address and phone matching your website, social media and directories.

How we do it at Ikusa Media

As part of our AEO and AI search service, we audit your profile with this same checklist, optimize it, clean up your NAP across your website and directories, and report your profile's real numbers every month. A complete profile also helps ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude describe your business correctly. Tell us about your case in the planner or message us on WhatsApp.