For most local businesses, the Google Business Profile drives more calls than the website. It decides whether you appear in the map pack, and it is often the first impression a customer gets. Yet many profiles are half-finished or years out of date.
Work through this checklist and you will be ahead of most of your competitors.
The basics
- Business name: your real-world business name only. Adding keywords or city names that are not part of it breaks Google's guidelines and is a common cause of suspension.
- Address or service area: show your address if customers visit you. If you go to customers, hide the address and set a service area instead.
- Phone number: a local number customers can call, matching your website.
- Website: link to your homepage, or to a location page if you have several locations.
- Hours: accurate regular hours, plus holiday hours for Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and provincial holidays.
Categories
Your primary category is one of the strongest ranking factors in the map. Choose the most specific category that describes your main business, then add secondary categories for other services you genuinely offer. Look at which categories the top-ranking competitors in your area use.
Services and products
Add every service you offer, with short descriptions. These help Google match you to more searches and help customers see at a glance what you do. Products are useful for retailers and also for service businesses with defined packages.
Photos
Upload real photos regularly: your storefront or vehicles, your team, your work and your premises. Avoid stock photos. Profiles with recent, genuine photos tend to attract more engagement.
Reviews
- Ask every satisfied customer for a review, with a direct link to make it easy.
- Respond to every review, positive or negative, politely and without revealing private details.
- Never buy reviews or offer incentives for them. It breaks Google's policies, and fake reviews can breach Canadian competition law.
- If you are in a regulated profession, check your regulator's rules on testimonials first.
French content
If you serve French-speaking customers, especially in Quebec, Ottawa-Gatineau or New Brunswick, write your description and posts in French as well, and respond to reviews in the language they were written in.
Keep it active
Post updates, offers or news a few times a month, answer questions customers ask on your profile, and check regularly that nobody has suggested incorrect edits to your details.
Common mistakes that cause suspensions
- Keywords in the business name
- Using a virtual office or mailbox address
- Creating more than one profile for the same location
- Listing an address at a location where you do not actually operate
If your profile is already suspended or you want help getting the most from it, see our Google Business Profile service.