To optimise your Google Business Profile, choose the most specific primary category, fill in every service you offer, write a plain description, add real photos regularly, keep your hours exact and post updates. Do those six things well and you beat most competitors, because most profiles are set up once and abandoned.
Picture a joiner in Headingley whose profile says “Contractor”, has one blurry logo and hours that were last right in 2022. Customers searching “kitchen fitter near me” never see him, and the ones who do click on a rival who looks alive. Every field below fixes a version of that.
This guide assumes your profile already exists and is verified. If you cannot find your business on the map at all, that is a different problem, and that is a diagnosis job before an optimisation one, and worth doing first.
Which Google Business Profile categories should you pick?
Categories are the strongest signal you control, so start here. You get one primary category and up to nine additional ones.
The primary category should describe your main money-maker as specifically as Google allows. “Kitchen remodeler” beats “General contractor” if kitchens pay your bills. Google’s category list uses US spelling, so look for remodeler, not remodeller.
Additional categories should be real things you do, not things you would like to do. Adding “Plumber” to an electrician’s profile does not win plumbing work, it confuses everyone. Look at the top three competitors in Google Maps for your best search. The categories they use are visible by clicking into their profile on desktop, or with a free browser extension. Copy the pattern where it truly fits.
How do you fill in services and products?
Under Edit profile, find Services and list each job you want to be found for. Give each one a short description with the plain wording customers use. “Boiler replacement” and “Combi boiler installation” are different searches.
Add prices or “from” prices where you can. People scanning a profile decide in seconds, and a visible price filters out the wrong enquiries before they ring you.
If you sell products, the Products section works like a small shop window. Even three or four items with photos give you more surface area than a bare profile.
What should the business description say?
You have 750 characters, and only the first 250 or so show before the fold. Lead with what you do and where. Mention the areas you cover, one or two proof points such as years trading or accreditations, and stop.
Skip the keyword stuffing, the phone numbers and the links. Google’s guidelines forbid promotional URLs in the description, and it reads as spam to people anyway. Write it as you would explain the business to a new neighbour.
Which Google Business Profile photos make the difference?
Real ones. Photos of your actual work, premises, vans and team beat stock images every time, and customers can tell the difference within a second.
Aim for a cover photo that shows what you do, a clear logo, and at least ten genuine images across exterior, interior and finished jobs. Then add a few every month. A steady drip of fresh photos tells people, and Google, that you are trading now.
Check your phone settings before you upload. Photos straight off a modern phone are large, so resize to something sensible. Descriptive file names such as bathroom-refit-roundhay.jpg cost nothing and tidy your own records. Do not claim that they are a ranking trick, because nobody outside Google can prove it.
A small habit helps here. Keep a folder on your phone called “profile” and drop in a photo whenever you finish a decent job, with the customer’s permission. When the first Monday comes round, the material is already waiting, and the monthly task takes ten minutes.
How do posts and updates help?
Posts sit on your profile as small updates: an offer, a finished job, an event. They are not a magic ranking lever. Their job is to make a visitor think someone is home.
One post a fortnight is plenty. Use a real photo, two sentences, and a button such as Call now or Learn more pointing at the relevant page of your site. Posts can fade from view after a time, so treat them as a shop window you re-dress, not a permanent archive.
What about questions, attributes and hours?
Google has been phasing out public Q&A on profiles, so do not build a strategy on it. Put your common answers in the description, the services list and a FAQ on your own site instead.
Attributes are the tick-box extras: wheelchair access, online appointments, women-led, free quotes. Tick every one that is true. They cost a minute and can decide between you and a rival on a filtered search.
Hours matter more than owners expect. Set your regular hours accurately and add special hours for bank holidays and Christmas. A customer arriving at a closed door that says open will leave a one-star review, and that is hard to undo. If you take bookings by phone only, say so.
One more thing on timing. Do the categories and services first, because they change what Google thinks you are. Photos and posts come second, because they change what customers think of you. Owners often do it the other way round and wonder why nothing moves.
Do you need a link back to your website?
Yes, and point it at the right page. For a single-location business the homepage is fine. For one service in one place, a dedicated page can convert better. Check that the page loads on a phone and shows the phone number without scrolling.
A tidy profile paired with a well-built site is the usual starting point for our SEO work with local firms.
How to optimise your Google Business Profile every month
Set a diary reminder for the first Monday of each month. Check hours, add photos, post once, answer any reviews and glance at the Performance tab for calls, direction requests and website clicks. Fifteen minutes.
Reviews deserve their own routine, because they influence both rankings and clicks. Our guide to getting more Google reviews sets one out. If you are weighing whether to spend on SEO or PPC as well, that comparison helps. For the website pages your profile links to, keyword research for small business shows how to pick the phrases.
Frequently asked questions
How long until optimisation changes show?
Edits can appear within hours or a few days, but movement in rankings usually takes weeks.
Should I hide my address?
If you serve customers at their homes and do not welcome visitors, yes. Set a service area instead and hide the address. Do not hide it just to look bigger, as listing a fake premises can get the profile suspended. Honesty protects the profile.
Can I add keywords to my business name?
No. Your name must match what is on your signage and paperwork. Keyword-stuffed names are a common reason for suspensions. Not worth it.
Does posting really matter?
It matters as proof of life. Nobody can show you a post that lifted a ranking, so do not expect miracles. Do it because customers see it.
What should I do if someone else edits my listing?
First, check Updates from Google or Suggested edits in your dashboard and reject anything wrong. If it keeps happening, make sure the profile is verified under your own account.
Not sure what your profile is missing? Send us the link and we will review it against this list, free, and tell you the three edits worth making first.
