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Google Business Profile basics: what Google says, and what to check first
Updated
Short answer
Verify your Business Profile first, then fill in your address, hours, and category accurately. Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence, and that you cannot pay to rank higher.
Three main factors
Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the searcher. Prominence is how well known your business is, and it includes links from other sites and your review count and rating. Distance is outside your control. What you can do is keep your profile accurate and complete, which Google asks for. Google also says you cannot pay or ask for a better local ranking.
What you can do today
The order is our own suggestion. Work through these from the top.
- Verify your business
- Keep your address, hours, special hours, and category up to date
- Add photos of your services or location
- Reply to reviews
Keep your site and profile consistent
This part is our opinion. If your profile and your website show different hours or phone numbers, customers get confused. When you change one, change the other.
The service we are preparing works from your website and does not read Google Maps data yet.
Asking for reviews
Google says you can ask customers for reviews. It prohibits offering rewards in exchange, asking only people likely to leave good reviews, and pressing people to write one on site. In regulated fields like healthcare, also check your industry rules before asking (this is our own note).