📍Optimizing your Google Business Profile: the 10-point checklist

For local searches, your Google Business Profile is often more important than your website. You can act on these ten points today — every one of them improves either your visibility or your click-through rate.

The checklist

1. Verify ownership. Without a verified profile you control nothing. Manage your profile at google.com/business.
2. Choose the primary category precisely. “Dentist” ranks differently from “dental clinic”. Pick the category your customers actually search for.
3. Add every secondary category. If you offer several services, each matching category belongs in your profile.
4. List services individually. Add every service with a short description under “Services” — Google surfaces them for matching searches.
5. Keep opening hours current — including holidays. Nothing costs more trust than “open” on a day you are closed.
6. Upload your own photos. Team, premises, work in progress. Profiles with original photos get noticeably more interaction than those with stock imagery.
7. Write a description with search terms. 750 characters, your most important services and your location — phrased naturally, no keyword stuffing.
8. Collect reviews actively. Ask satisfied customers at the right moment — with a short link or QR code. Consistency beats volume.
9. Reply to every review. Including critical ones — factually and constructively. Future customers read your replies.
10. Use posts. Publish offers, news and events as profile posts. The signal to Google: this business is active.

How quickly does it work?

Local SEO responds comparatively quickly: improvements in visibility and calls often show within four to eight weeks. Track the progress in your profile under Insights — there you see calls, website clicks and direction requests.

Want more depth? In the blog article Local SEO: how to get found in your city we explain the strategy behind this checklist.