Most local businesses have a Google Business Profile. Very few have actually set it up properly — and even fewer are keeping it up to date.
That’s a problem, because your GBP is often the very first thing someone sees when they search for a business like yours. Before they visit your website. Before they read a single review. Before they pick up the phone.
If your listing looks neglected, that’s the impression you’re giving. And in a local market where you’re competing with businesses down the road, first impressions matter.
Here’s a plain-English checklist to help you work out whether yours is doing its job.
1. Your basic information is wrong or incomplete
Name, address, phone number, website URL, opening hours. Get any of these wrong and you’ve got a problem — not just for customers, but for Google too.
Google cross-references your business details across the web. If your GBP says one thing and your website says another, it creates inconsistency — and Google doesn’t like inconsistency. It affects where you show up in local search results.
Also worth checking: do you have special hours set for bank holidays? Most businesses don’t bother, then wonder why they’re getting calls on days they’re closed.
2. You haven’t chosen the right categories
Your primary category is one of the most important signals Google uses to decide which searches to show you in. Get it wrong and you could be invisible for the searches that actually matter to your business.
Beyond that, most businesses pick a primary category and leave it there. But you can add secondary categories too — and for businesses that offer multiple services, that’s worth doing.
Have a look at what categories your competitors are using. It’s not about copying them, it’s about making sure you’re not accidentally limiting your own visibility.
3. Your photos are outdated or missing
Google actively favours listings with regular, good-quality photos. It’s one of those signals that tells them your business is active and worth showing to people.
No photos, or photos that haven’t been updated in years, sends the opposite message. And from a customer’s perspective, a listing with no photos looks like a business that can’t be bothered — which isn’t the impression you want to give.
You don’t need professional photography. A few decent shots of your premises, your team, your work — taken on a modern smartphone — is absolutely fine.
4. You’re not posting updates
GBP has a posts feature that most businesses either don’t know about or have completely given up on. Updates, offers, events — you can publish them directly to your listing.
Posts disappear after seven days, which puts a lot of people off. But here’s the thing: the activity signal still counts. Google can see that you’re keeping your listing current, and that matters.
A short update once a week takes minutes. It doesn’t have to be War and Peace.
5. You have unanswered reviews
This one is big. Every review — good or bad — deserves a response. Not just because it shows potential customers that you care, but because Google takes engagement on your listing into account.
Ignoring a negative review doesn’t make it go away. Responding to it professionally — acknowledging the issue, offering to put it right — shows everyone reading that you handle problems like an adult. That can actually work in your favour.
And for positive reviews: a quick, genuine thank you goes a long way. Don’t just copy and paste the same response every time. People notice.
6. Your Q&A section is empty
Most business owners don’t even know this section exists. Google Business Profile has a Q&A feature where anyone can ask a question about your business — and anyone can answer it.
That’s right. Anyone. Which means if you’re not seeding it with your own questions and answers, a stranger might do it for you — and get it wrong.
The fix is easy. Think about the questions you get asked most often — opening hours, parking, whether you offer a particular service — and add them yourself. It also helps with visibility for those search terms.
7. Your business description isn’t doing any work
You’ve got 750 characters to tell Google and potential customers who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you. Most businesses either leave this blank or fill it with a list of keywords that reads like it was written by a robot.
Your description should sound like you. What makes your business different? Who do you help? Why do you do what you do? Write it for a real person, not an algorithm — the algorithm will still pick it up.
So, how does yours stack up?
If you’ve read through this list and you’re thinking “I need to sort that” — you’re not alone. GBP is one of the most underused free marketing tools available to local businesses, and most of the common issues are completely fixable without spending a penny.
If you’d like someone to look at yours properly — alongside your social media and website SEO — that’s exactly what my Marketing Audit covers. You’ll get a clear, no-jargon report on what’s working, what isn’t, and what to prioritise first.