How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile: A Practical Guide That Actually Works
If you run a local business, learning how to optimise your Google Business Profile is one of the most valuable things you can do for your online visibility. Your GBP listing is often the very first thing a potential customer sees when they search for the type of service you offer in your area. It appears above the organic search results, shows your reviews, your location, your opening hours, and increasingly, it is where people make their decision about who to contact without ever visiting a website.
We manage Google Business Profiles for clients across Somerset and the wider UK as part of our SEO services, and the difference between a neglected profile and an optimised one is stark. We have seen businesses go from barely appearing in local results to consistently showing in the map pack within weeks of making the right changes. This guide walks through what actually moves the needle, based on what we do for our own clients rather than what generic advice tells you to do.
Why your Google Business Profile matters more than you think
When someone searches for a service locally, Google typically shows three results in what is known as the map pack or local pack. These three listings sit above the standard search results and include a map, review stars, phone numbers, and links to websites. For many local searches, the map pack is where the decision is made. The searcher picks one of the three, calls them, and never scrolls further.
If your business is not appearing in those three results, you are invisible to a significant portion of local searchers. Optimising your Google Business Profile is how you get there.
We see this with our own listing. As a web design agency in Yeovil with over 100 combined reviews, our Google Business Profile consistently brings in enquiries from people who find us through local search. It works for us in exactly the same way it works for the trades, healthcare, fitness, and construction businesses we build websites for. The principles are the same regardless of industry.
Claim and verify your profile
This sounds obvious, but a surprising number of businesses either have not claimed their Google Business Profile or have a profile that was auto-generated by Google and never verified. If you have not done this, everything else in this guide is irrelevant until you do.
Search for your business name on Google. If a listing appears on the right side of the results with your business details, check whether it says "Own this business?" If it does, you need to claim it. Google will send a verification code by post, phone, or email depending on your business type. Once verified, you have full control over what the listing shows.
If no listing exists, you can create one at business.google.com. The process takes a few minutes, but verification can take up to two weeks if Google sends a postcard.
Get your core information right
This is where many businesses fall down. The basic details on your profile need to be accurate, complete, and consistent with what appears on your website and across other directories.
Business name. Use your actual registered business name. Do not stuff keywords into it. "Insignal Media" is correct. "Insignal Media Best Web Design Agency Yeovil Somerset SEO" is not, and Google may penalise or suspend your listing for it.
Address. If you have a physical location that customers visit, display the full address. If you are a service-area business that travels to customers, you can hide your address and instead set the areas you serve. Make sure the address matches exactly what is on your website, including formatting. "Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset" on your website and "Stoke sub Hamdon, Somerset" on your GBP is the kind of inconsistency that can cause problems.
Phone number. Use your primary business phone number. This should be the same number that appears on your website. If you use a local number and a mobile, use the local number as primary on both your GBP and your site.
Website. Link to your homepage. Make sure the URL matches your live site exactly, including whether it uses www or not.
Opening hours. Set accurate hours and update them for bank holidays and seasonal changes. Nothing frustrates a potential customer more than driving to a business that Google said was open, only to find it closed. If you are a service-area business that operates by appointment, set your hours to reflect when you are available for calls and enquiries.
This consistency across your GBP, your website, and all directory listings is called NAP consistency (name, address, phone). Google uses it as a trust signal. If your details are different in different places, Google is less confident about showing your listing.
Choose the right categories
Your primary category is the single most important factor in determining which searches your profile appears for. Get this wrong and you will not show up for the searches that matter most.
Your primary category should be the one that most accurately describes your core business. For us, that is "Web Designer". Not "Marketing Agency", not "Internet Marketing Service", not "Computer Consultant". Those might all be loosely accurate, but "Web Designer" is the term that matches what most of our potential customers search for.
Google allows you to add secondary categories as well, and you should use them. Our secondary categories include "Internet Marketing Service" and "Search Engine Optimisation Company" because those reflect additional services we offer. A fire and security company might use "Security System Installer" as primary, with "CCTV Installation Service" and "Fire Alarm Supplier" as secondaries.
Take time to research which categories are available and choose the ones that most closely match how customers would search for you. You cannot create custom categories, so you are limited to Google's list, but it is extensive.
Write a business description that works
You have 750 characters for your business description. Use them well. This is not the place for marketing fluff or a list of buzzwords. Write a clear, factual description of what your business does, who you serve, and what makes you worth contacting.
Include your core services, your location or service area, and any relevant credentials. Work in your most important keywords naturally, but do not force them. Google reads this description to understand what your business is about, and potential customers read it to decide whether to contact you.
Our description mentions web design, SEO, PPC, Wix Studio, Somerset, and the fact that we have been operating for over nine years. It is factual, direct, and includes the terms we want to be associated with. That is the approach to take.
Add photos regularly
Businesses with photos on their Google Business Profile receive significantly more engagement than those without. This is not a vague correlation. Google's own data shows that businesses with photos get more direction requests, more website clicks, and more phone calls.
Upload high-quality photos of your work, your team, your premises, and your products. For service businesses, project photos and before-and-after images work well. For our clients in trades and construction, we recommend adding photos of completed projects at least monthly. For healthcare and therapy practices, photos of the practice space and team build familiarity before a patient even walks through the door.
Avoid stock photography. Google and potential customers can both tell the difference between real photos and generic stock images. Authentic imagery builds trust in a way that stock photos never will.
Update your photos regularly. A profile with photos all uploaded two years ago looks neglected. Adding a few new images each month signals that your business is active and current.
Build and manage your reviews
Reviews are the most visible trust signal on your Google Business Profile, and they are a confirmed ranking factor for local search. A business with fifty genuine reviews and a 4.8 rating will almost always outrank a similar business with five reviews in the map pack, all else being equal.
Ask for reviews consistently. The best time to ask is immediately after delivering a good result. Send a direct link to your Google review page (you can generate this from your GBP dashboard) by text or email once a project is complete. Most satisfied customers are happy to leave a review when asked directly and given an easy link to do so.
Respond to every review. Thank positive reviewers specifically for what they mentioned. Respond to negative reviews professionally, address the concern, and offer to resolve it. Your responses are visible to everyone who views your profile, and how you handle criticism tells potential customers as much about your business as the reviews themselves.
Do not buy or fake reviews. Google's detection has improved significantly and penalties include permanent removal of all reviews. It is not worth the risk. Genuine reviews built over time are more valuable and more sustainable.
We have over 100 combined reviews across our platforms, and building that took years of consistently asking satisfied clients. There is no shortcut, but the compound effect is powerful.
Use Google Posts
Google Posts allow you to publish updates directly on your profile. These appear when someone views your listing and can include text, images, links, and calls to action. Think of them as mini blog posts that live on your GBP.
Use them to share new blog posts from your website, announce offers or seasonal promotions, highlight recent projects or case studies, and share news relevant to your customers. Each post is an opportunity to keep your profile fresh and give potential customers another reason to engage.
Post at least once a week if you can. The posts expire after six months, so regular activity keeps your profile looking current. Link each post back to a relevant page on your website to drive traffic and strengthen the connection between your GBP and your site.
Add your services and products
Google allows you to list specific services and products on your profile, each with a description and optional price. This is an underused feature that gives Google more information about what you offer and gives potential customers a clearer picture before they contact you.
List every core service you provide with a brief description. If you offer packages at set prices, include the pricing. This information appears on your profile and helps Google match your listing to more specific search queries. Someone searching for "website SEO audit" is more likely to see your profile if "SEO Audit" is listed as a specific service.
Connect your GBP to your website
Your Google Business Profile and your website should work together. The website link on your profile should point to your homepage, and your website should include your business name, address, and phone number in the same format as your GBP listing.
LocalBusiness schema markup on your website reinforces this connection. It tells Google, in a format it can read programmatically, exactly what your business is called, where it is located, what it does, and how to contact it. If your website is built on Wix Studio, this can be added through the custom code settings on your homepage. If you want to understand more about how this works, we have written about it in detail as part of our post on whether Wix is good for SEO.
Publishing regular content on your website, particularly blog posts targeting local keywords, also strengthens your GBP performance. Google draws on your website content to understand the breadth and depth of what your business offers, which helps your profile appear for a wider range of searches. We have covered why every small business needs a website and how it supports your Google presence in a separate post.
What to focus on first
If you are starting from scratch or have a neglected profile, here is the order of priority:
Claim and verify your profile.
Get your name, address, phone, website, and hours correct and consistent with your website.
Choose the right primary and secondary categories.
Write a clear business description.
Upload at least ten quality photos.
Start asking every satisfied customer for a review.
Begin posting weekly updates.
If you want professional help setting up or optimising your Google Business Profile as part of a broader local SEO strategy, our SEO services cover everything from GBP setup through to ongoing content, link building, and technical optimisation. You can see examples of the results we deliver across our case studies, or get in touch for a conversation about what would work for your business.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to rank in Google Maps?
There is no fixed timeline, but most businesses see noticeable improvement within four to twelve weeks of optimising their profile. The speed depends on your competition, your review count, the quality of your website, and how consistent your NAP information is across the web. Businesses in less competitive areas or niche industries tend to see results faster.
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and managing a Google Business Profile is completely free. There are no paid tiers or premium features. Everything described in this guide can be done without spending a penny on Google itself. The only costs involved are your time or the cost of hiring someone to manage it for you.
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask every satisfied customer directly, ideally within a day or two of completing work for them. Send them a direct link to your Google review page by text or email. Make it as easy as possible. Most people are willing to leave a review when asked personally and given a simple link. Consistency matters more than any single tactic.
Does Google Business Profile help SEO?
Yes. Your Google Business Profile directly influences your visibility in local search results and the map pack. It also sends signals to Google about your business's relevance, authority, and location. When combined with a well-optimised website, a strong GBP listing significantly improves your overall local SEO performance.
Can I optimise Google Business Profile myself?
Absolutely. Everything in this guide can be done by a business owner without technical expertise. The platform is designed to be user-friendly. Where most businesses benefit from professional help is in the broader local SEO strategy that surrounds GBP, including website optimisation, content creation, citation building, and review management.
