How to rank your Google Business Profile: a step-by-step optimisation guide.

A Google Business Profile is the most important source of calls and enquiries for most local businesses. It appears in Google Maps, in the local results above the regular links and, increasingly, in answers from AI assistants. The good news: whether it ranks well is largely up to you. Here’s how I optimise profiles, step by step.

What determines your profile’s ranking

Google names three factors that decide the order of local results:

1RelevanceCategories, services, description and website contentLots of influence

2DistanceHow far the business is from the searcher or the location in the queryLittle influence

3ProminenceReviews, mentions, links and brand visibilityLots of influence

You can’t change distance. Relevance and prominence you build step by step - and that’s where all optimisation work goes.

Step 1: primary and additional categories

The primary category is one of the strongest relevance signals. Choose the one that most precisely describes your core service, not the most generic one: “Accountant” rather than “Financial services”, “Pediatric dentist” rather than “Dentist”, if that’s your specialism.

Only add additional categories that genuinely match your offer. Google lets you add several, but every unrelated category blurs the picture of your business.

A practical tip: check which primary categories the top three businesses in Maps use for your most important search term. It quickly shows which category Google considers most relevant.

Step 2: name, address and service area

Don'tNowak Plumbing - 24h Emergency Plumber CheapKeywords added to the name break Google's guidelines and risk suspension.

DoNowak PlumbingThe real name. Describe services and availability in categories, services and opening hours.

• Address: only show it if customers visit your premises. Virtual offices and coworking spaces without permanent staff are against Google’s guidelines.
• Service area: set one if you travel to customers or work remotely. You can then hide your address. List the real cities or regions you serve.
• One business = one profile. Duplicates at the same address are a common source of problems.

Step 3: services, products and description

Services are an underrated place for relevance signals. Add every service you actually provide, with a short description of what it includes and who it’s for. If you sell products, add them in the products section with a photo and price.

Write the business description (up to 750 characters) for people: who you are, what you do, for whom and where. The first sentence should work on its own, as it’s often the only part that’s visible. No links, no capital letters, no keyword lists.

Step 4: photos and updates

• Photos - real ones: your team, premises, projects, logo and cover image. A profile with up-to-date photos looks more credible and attracts more clicks.
• Updates (posts) - short posts about projects, new services, events or offers. You don’t need to post daily. Regularity, e.g. once or twice a month, shows the business is active.
• Opening hours - kept up to date, including holidays. Google shows “open now”, and wrong hours frustrate customers and lead to negative reviews.

Step 5: reviews, the strongest signal you can influence

Reviews affect both your ranking and the customer’s decision. What counts is their number, average rating, frequency and whether you respond.

1. Ask every satisfied customer - ideally right after the job, with a direct link to leave a review (you’ll find it in your profile dashboard).
2. Reply to every review - briefly and specifically to positive ones, calmly and factually to negative ones.
3. Don’t buy or incentivise reviews. Discounts, freebies or asking only the customers you know will leave five stars are against Google’s policies.

If customers describe the service and location in their own words (“boiler replacement in Oliwa”), that’s an extra relevance signal. But don’t hand them ready-made keyword-filled text.

Step 6: a website that confirms your profile

Your profile doesn’t work in isolation. Google compares it with the website it links to and with other sources across the web.

• The profile link should point to a page about your main service and location - often a service page works better than the homepage.
• The name, phone number and address or service area on your website should match your profile exactly.
• LocalBusiness structured data on your website helps connect the site to the profile.
• The same details should appear in business directories and industry sites.

For more on connecting your profile with your website and city-specific content, see my guide to local SEO in Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot.

How to measure results

• The Performance report in your profile shows views, search terms, calls, direction requests and website clicks.
• GA4 - add UTM parameters to your profile link, e.g. ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp. You’ll then see profile traffic separately instead of lumped in with organic search.
• Maps rankings - check a few key terms from different parts of your city, as results depend on where the searcher is.

The most common mistakes that cost rankings

• Keywords in the business name.
• A primary category that’s too generic.
• A virtual office address or several profiles for the same business.
• No services, description or photos - an “empty” profile.
• No replies to reviews, especially negative ones.
• Frequent changes to the name, address or category, which can trigger re-verification.

A plan for the first two weeks

1. Verify your profile and set the right primary category.
2. Fix the name and add your service area or address, hours and phone number.
3. Add all services with descriptions and write the business description.
4. Upload a dozen or more real photos.
5. Add your website link with UTM parameters.
6. Reply to all existing reviews and ask recent customers for new ones.
7. Publish your first update.

If you’d rather have someone who optimises profiles every day handle this, book a free consultation.