The Google Business Profile checklist for local businesses

When someone searches for “dentist near me”, “cake shop open now” or your business name, the box that appears on Google Search and Maps is your Google Business Profile. For many customers it is the first thing they see about you, and often the only thing before they call, ask for directions or walk in.

It is free, and most of it takes an afternoon to set up. The difference between a profile that helps and one that does not is mostly in the details, and in keeping them current. Work through this checklist in order, then use the weekly and monthly sections to keep it alive.

Part 1: Claim and verify

• Search for your business first. A profile may already exist, created by Google or a customer. Claim it rather than creating a duplicate.
• Sign in with a business Google account that you control and will keep, not a former employee’s personal email. Add a second owner or manager so you are never locked out.
• Complete verification. Google may ask for a video of your premises, a phone or email code, or a postcard, depending on your business. An unverified profile can be edited by others and may not appear fully.
• Remove duplicates. If you find two listings for the same place, for example after a move or a change of owner, ask Google to merge or remove the extra one so reviews are not split.

Part 2: Get the basics exactly right

• Business name: exactly as it appears on your signboard and website. No added keywords, areas or slogans.
• Primary category: the single most accurate description of what you are, such as “Dental clinic”, “Bakery” or “Real estate agency”. This is one of the most important choices on the profile.
• Additional categories: add the others that genuinely apply (Google allows several), such as “Cake shop” alongside “Bakery”. Do not add categories for things you do not offer.
• Address and map pin: check the pin sits on your actual entrance. If you serve customers at their location and have no shop, set a service area and hide the address.
• Phone number: one that is answered during opening hours, the same as on your website.
• Website: link to the most relevant page. A multi-branch business should link each profile to that branch’s page.
• Hours: regular hours for every day, and special hours for public holidays and festivals. Wrong hours are one of the most common reasons customers leave an angry review.

Part 3: Describe what you offer

• Description: up to 750 characters. Say what you are, where, who you serve and what makes you different, in plain words. Put the most important part in the first two lines. No links, no prices that change often, no claims you cannot support.
• Services: list every main service, in the words customers use (“root canal treatment”, not only “endodontics”), with a short description and a price or price range where you are comfortable sharing one.
• Products: retailers and restaurants can add products or menu items with photos and prices.
• Attributes: tick the ones that apply: wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, women-led, accepts UPI or cards, home delivery. Customers filter by some of these.
• Booking or ordering links: add your appointment, table booking or ordering link if you use one.

Part 4: Add photos people want to see

Photos answer questions before customers ask them: what the place looks like, whether it is clean, where to park, what the food is really like. Add real photos, taken in good light, not stock images:

• Your logo and a cover photo.
• The outside of the building, from the street, as a customer would see it arriving, so they recognise it.
• The inside: reception, seating, counter, rooms.
• Your products, dishes or work, and your team at work (with their permission).

Add a few new photos every month. Customers also upload photos to your profile; check them occasionally and report any that are not of your business.

Part 5: Post every week

Google Business Profile lets you publish short posts with a picture and a button such as Call, Book or Learn more. They appear on your profile and show people that the business is active. Use three kinds:

• Updates: a new service, seasonal menu, new arrivals, a useful tip, holiday hours.
• Offers: with clear dates and terms.
• Events: a health camp, a tasting evening, a workshop, with date and time.

Keep posts short and practical. Write them for Google rather than copying an Instagram caption with a dozen hashtags. One post a week is a realistic rhythm; our guide to planning a month of posts shows how to fit it into your calendar.

Part 6: Answer customers’ questions

Where your profile still shows a Questions and answers section, answer every question promptly and correctly, and remove anything misleading. Google has been scaling this feature back in some places, so put the same answers on your website’s FAQ page and in your description as well, where customers and search tools can always find them. If your profile receives messages or calls through Google, make sure someone is responsible for answering them during opening hours.

Part 7: Ask for reviews, and reply to all of them

Reviews influence whether people choose you, and how your profile shows up in local results. Build a steady habit rather than a one-off drive:

• Ask every customer, not only the happy ones, at the moment the service ends. A short message with your direct review link works well, and so does a QR code at the counter or on the bill.
• Never pay or reward for reviews, and never write them yourself or ask staff to. It breaks Google’s policies and, in many countries including India, consumer rules too.
• Reply to every review within a day or two. Thank people by name and mention what they mentioned. For a critical review, apologise for the experience, explain briefly what you are doing about it, and offer a phone number to continue privately.
• Protect privacy. A clinic should never confirm in a reply that someone is a patient or discuss treatment; a simple “please call us so we can help” is enough.
• Report reviews that break the rules, such as spam or reviews from people who were never customers, through the profile. Do not argue in public.

Your weekly and monthly routine

Every week (15 minutes)

1. Publish one post.
2. Reply to all new reviews.
3. Answer any new questions or messages.

Every month (30 minutes)

1. Add three to five new photos.
2. Check hours, and add special hours for the holidays coming up.
3. Check that services, prices and the description are still accurate.
4. Look at the performance figures: searches, calls, direction requests and website clicks. Note what changed after your posts and offers.
5. Check that nobody has suggested an edit that changed your details. Anyone can suggest changes, and Google sometimes accepts them.

Where Baila Lento fits

Baila Lento writes Google Business Profile posts in your brand alongside your Instagram and Facebook content, and publishes them only after you approve. It also tracks your Google listing and where you appear in local search, so you can see what changes month by month.