Guide

Google Business Profile optimisation, step by step

A practical, step-by-step setup for a Google Business Profile that wins calls and map visibility, with the mistakes that get profiles suspended. Built on Google's own guidance.

VAULT 33|27 · Updated 12 November 2026 · Reviewed 12 November 2026 · 3 min read

Before you start

Make sure the profile is owned by the business, with an email address the business controls. Agencies and freelancers should be added as managers, never as owners. If someone else owns your profile today, fix that first: it is one of the most common and costly problems we see.

Step by step

Step	What to do	Why it matters
1. Verify	Complete Google's verification	Google says verified businesses are more likely to show in results
2. Business name	Use your real-world name exactly as customers see it on signage and documents	Adding keywords breaks the guidelines and risks suspension
3. Primary category	Choose the category for your main money-making service	It strongly shapes which searches you appear for
4. Secondary categories	Add only services you genuinely provide	Irrelevant categories dilute relevance
5. Address or service area	Show your address if clients visit; if you go to clients, hide it and set service areas	Accurate location is required by the guidelines
6. Hours and special hours	Regular hours plus holidays and closures	Wrong hours cost visits and trust
7. Phone	A number answered during opening hours, ideally tracked	Calls from the profile are often the most valuable leads
8. Website link	Link to the most relevant page, with tracking parameters so you can measure it	You can see exactly how many visits and enquiries the profile produces
9. Services	List each service with a short, clear description	Matches the words customers search
10. Description	Plain, specific, no keyword stuffing, no links or promotions	First impression for people comparing businesses
11. Photos and videos	Real photos of your team, premises, vehicles and work	Google recommends them, and they build trust
12. Booking or messaging	Add a booking link if you take appointments	Removes a step between interest and enquiry
13. Reviews	Ask every client after every job, and reply to every review	Review count and rating feed into prominence
14. Updates	Post news, offers and recent work when there is something real to say	Shows the business is active
15. Monitor	Check performance monthly: calls, website clicks, direction requests	You manage what you measure

The mistakes that get profiles suspended

Keywords or locations added to the business name.
Virtual offices, coworking desks or addresses where you do not actually serve clients.
Several profiles for the same business at the same address.
Buying reviews, reviewing yourself, or offering incentives for positive reviews.
Changing core details repeatedly in a short time.

If a profile is suspended, fix the cause before requesting reinstatement. Requests that leave the problem in place usually fail.

How to measure what the profile is worth

Add tracking parameters to your website link so visits from the profile show separately in analytics.
Use a tracked phone number if you can, keeping your main number listed as an additional number for consistency.
Record the source on every enquiry in your CRM.
Each month compare profile calls and clicks with won jobs. That is the number that justifies the time spent.

Monthly routine, 30 minutes

Reply to every new review.
Add three to five new photos of recent work.
Check hours, special hours and services are still correct.
Review calls, clicks and direction requests against last month.
Check nobody has suggested unwanted edits to your profile.

Our local SEO service runs this for you, inside Google's guidelines, with the profile always staying in your ownership.

Sources

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