How to Improve Your Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile takes minutes to set up but a bit longer to get right. Here is a practical, honest look at the areas worth spending time on, and the ones that make the biggest difference to how complete and trustworthy your listing looks.
Get the basic details exactly right
Before anything else, check the fundamentals: business name (no keyword-stuffing, just your real name), correct category, accurate address or service area, a working phone number, and up-to-date opening hours. These small details are easy to overlook once a profile is set up and then forgotten.
Double-check your hours around bank holidays especially. Nothing looks worse to a potential customer than turning up to a shut door because the listing was wrong.
Write a clear, honest description
Your business description is a short chance to explain who you are, what you do, and who you do it for, in plain language. Avoid vague filler and avoid overselling. Say what you actually offer and where.
If you are stuck on wording, our Google Business Profile description generator gives you a solid starting point you can then tweak to sound like you. Our separate guide on what to put in your description covers this in more depth.
Add real, recent photos
Listings with genuine photos tend to feel more trustworthy than ones with none, or with old stock images. Add:
- Photos of your actual premises, inside and out.
- Photos of your work, finished jobs, products, or the service in action.
- A photo of you or your team, people like to see who they are dealing with.
Refresh these every so often rather than uploading once and forgetting about it.
Encourage and respond to reviews
Reviews add credibility that nothing else on your profile can. Make it a habit to ask satisfied customers to leave one, ideally straight after a good experience, and always reply, thanking people for positive reviews and responding calmly and professionally to any negative ones. A thoughtful reply to a complaint often reassures future customers more than the complaint itself puts them off.
Use posts and keep the Q&A section tidy
Google Business Profile lets you publish short posts, offers, updates, events, and answer questions that customers ask directly on your listing. Checking the Q&A section every so often and answering anything outstanding yourself (rather than leaving it to strangers to guess) keeps your listing accurate and prevents wrong information sitting there unchallenged.
Link a proper website
Your profile has a website field for a reason, it gives customers somewhere to see your full range of services, prices and photos beyond what fits in a listing. A simple one-page site is enough for most local businesses.
LaunchSite builds and manages that site for you, from £39.99/month on a 24-month plan with no upfront build fee, including hosting, SSL, a standard domain, email forwarding and monthly updates. Your first draft arrives within 3 working days of completed onboarding.