Google Business Profile optimization: the complete 2026 checklist

Your Google Business Profile (still called "Google My Business" by most people) is often the first thing a customer sees of you, before your website. Optimizing it comes down to two jobs: help Google understand what your business is, and give the person searching a reason to pick you.

This guide goes through every section of the profile, roughly in order of impact, with what Google says and what the data shows. It also flags the advice that keeps circulating but doesn't work.

How does Google rank local businesses?

Google spells it out: local results are based on three factors.

On reviews, Google is explicit: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." It is just as explicit on the rest: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."

The industry's reference survey (Whitespark, Local Search Ranking Factors 2026, 47 experts, published November 2025) ranks the primary category as the top local pack factor, ahead of proximity. A wrong primary category is one of the most damaging negative factors. How much each factor weighs, with the studies behind it, is in our guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps.

Where should you start?

If you only have an hour, work in this order. It goes from what matters most to what matters least.

1. Make sure the profile is verified and yours

   Google recommends verifying your business: it confirms you're allowed to represent it and can help it show up in results. Also check for duplicates (two profiles for the same location split your reviews) and for edits Google made based on suggestions from the public.

2. Use your real business name

   The profile name should be your storefront name and nothing else (more below).

3. Pick the most specific primary category

   This is the single most important setting. Then add the secondary categories that truly apply.

4. Fix your hours and add special hours

   Start with the next public holidays.

5. Fill in services, attributes, description and photos

   Every empty field is information Google and your customers don't have.

6. Start a steady flow of reviews and reply to them

   This is the prominence lever you control most. See our guide on how to get more Google reviews.

How do you choose Google Business Profile categories?

Choose the primary category that says what your business is, not what it sells. Google's own test: pick categories that complete the statement "This business IS a," not "this business HAS a." A taco shop that also sells ice cream is a "Mexican restaurant," not an "Ice cream shop."

Google's rules:

• use as few categories as possible, as specific as possible;
• don't use categories as keywords;
• skip a general category when a more specific one already covers it ("Restaurant" on top of "Pizza restaurant");
• a distinct business inside yours (a pharmacy inside a grocery store, a restaurant inside a hotel) gets its own profile.

Secondary categories cover your other real lines of business. An HVAC company that also does duct cleaning and water heater installs can list those, as long as it actually does them.

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The safe reading: add every relevant category and nothing off-topic. Adding "Plumber" to an electrician's profile to catch more searches muddies the signal and can get your profile edited by Google. How to choose, and the mistakes to avoid, are in our guide to Google Business Profile categories.

What should the business name be?

Your real name, as it appears on your storefront, website and paperwork. Google bans taglines, all-caps words, hours, phone numbers, URLs, and product or location details in the name.

"Rivera Plumbing" is fine. "Rivera Plumbing | 24/7 Emergency Plumber Austin TX" is not.

Keywords in the name do lift rankings, which is exactly why Google hunts for it. The risk is a suspended profile, sometimes a restricted account (causes and appeals in Google Business Profile suspended: what to do). It isn't worth a few positions.

How do you write the business description (750 characters)?

Write it for customers, not for Google. The description is capped at 750 characters, and only the beginning shows before "More."

Google suggests covering what you offer, what makes you different and how long you've been in business. It bans links ("No links of any type are allowed"), HTML, prices, promotions and offers.

Tests published since 2020 have found no direct effect of the description on local pack rankings. It helps convince people, and it gives Google's AI material to answer questions about you.

A structure that works, to adapt (example):

Family-owned bakery in Columbus since 1998. We bake sourdough, croissants and seasonal pastries from scratch every morning, using flour from Ohio mills and no additives. Custom birthday and wedding cakes by appointment. Patio seating in summer, step-free entrance.

Avoid repeating keywords and generic filler. In some regions Google offers an AI-written description suggestion: read it carefully, it can get facts wrong.

Do business hours affect ranking?

Indirectly, yes. Being open at the time of the search ranks high in the expert survey, and a profile with no hours is penalized. More to the point, a customer who finds the door locked rarely leaves a good review.

• Enter your real hours, day by day.
• Add special hours for holidays (Thanksgiving, July 4th, Christmas Eve), vacations and events. Without them, Google shows your regular hours.
• For a seasonal closure, mark the business "temporarily closed."
• Don't switch to 24/7 to look always open: false information is a suspension risk.

Google says some businesses shouldn't list hours at all: lodging, schools, movie theaters, event venues, and appointment-only businesses.

What are attributes for?

Attributes are the small factual details on your profile: Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, wheelchair-accessible entrance, accepts credit cards, women-owned, veteran-owned and so on. Google lists them among the details to keep current.

They work as filters in Maps and answer practical questions before customers ask. The list depends on your category and country, and some attributes are filled in from customer feedback, so check what Google shows.

Should you add products and services?

Yes. Services saw the biggest jump of any factor in the 2026 Whitespark survey, because they say exactly what you do.

• Predefined services: Google suggests a list based on your category ("Faucet installation" for a plumber). Check the ones you actually offer.
• Custom services: for everything else. No prices or phone numbers in the service name.
• Add a short description to each service.
• Products: retailers can showcase best sellers with a photo, description and price.

Which photos should you add?

Real, sharp, recent photos: logo, cover photo, exterior (so people recognize you when they arrive), interior, team, finished jobs or products. Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, 720 × 720 pixels recommended, without heavy edits or filters.

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Two mistakes to avoid: AI-generated photos (they don't show your business and put the profile at risk) and geotagging. Google strips photo metadata on upload, and geotagging ranks last of 187 factors in the Whitespark survey.

Are Google Business Profile posts still worth it?

For customers, yes. For rankings, not really. There are three post types: updates, offers (title, dates and times required) and events. Posts older than six months are archived.

A Sterling Sky test found no effect of posts on the local pack. Localo saw a 9.3-point gap for profiles with ten or more live posts, but no effect from posting frequency. Post when you have something to say: a new service, a holiday closure, an event. One post a month is enough to show the profile is alive. Rules, how long posts stay visible and ideas by industry: see our guide to Google Business Profile posts.

What happened to Google Business Profile Q&A?

It's going away. Google shut down the Q&A API on November 3, 2025, with no replacement. Local SEO specialists report the public section has been phased out of profiles since December 2025, though it lingers in some countries and categories. Check your own profile.

Google is replacing it with AI answers. In the US and India, Ask Maps (Gemini) has answered questions about places since March 2026, drawing on reviews among other sources. For a business owner, the takeaway is simple: answers to your common questions belong in your profile (attributes, description, services), in your review replies and on your website, not in a Q&A box.

How do reviews affect your profile?

Reviews count twice: for ranking (prominence) and for the customer's decision.

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On the customer side, BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults found that 74% look at reviews from the last three months and 68% will only use a business rated 4 stars or higher. Volume, freshness and rating work together.

What to do:

• Ask every customer for a review, with your Google review link or a QR code. Ready-to-send wording is in our review request SMS and email templates.
• Never filter customers before sending them to Google ("review gating") and never pay for reviews. Google bans both, and the FTC rule on fake reviews applies in the US. See fake Google reviews: the rules.
• Reply to every review, positive and negative, in your own words. Method and examples in how to respond to Google reviews.
• Don't feed customers keywords for their reviews: a 2023 Sterling Sky test showed no gain, and it reads as fake.

Why does NAP consistency matter?

Because Google and AI tools cross-check sources. Your name, address and phone number (NAP) should be identical on your profile, your website, your social accounts and directories such as Yelp, the BBB, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places and the sites of your industry.

Three checks:

1. The website page linked from your profile shows the same phone and address as text, not inside an image.
2. The profile links to your own website, not a Facebook page or a third-party site. Google asks for a website and phone number that belong to the business.
3. If your site has LocalBusiness structured data, it uses the same details. Don't add your own reviews as an aggregate rating: Google won't show them as stars (see review schema and Google stars).

Which tips should you ignore?

Google Business Profile optimization checklist

• Profile verified, no duplicate, marked as open.
• Name matches your storefront, no city or keyword added.
• Most specific primary category, every secondary category relevant.
• Accurate hours and special hours for the next holidays.
• Description of 500 to 750 characters, no links, prices or promotions.
• Predefined services checked, custom services described.
• Attributes reviewed (accessibility, payments, Wi-Fi, outdoor seating…).
• Logo, cover, exterior, interior and team photos, at least one new photo per quarter.
• A steady flow of new reviews, and a reply to every one.
• Same name, address and phone on your website, profile and directories.

Automate the audit with Revys

Running this check by hand once is doable. Repeating it every month for one or ten locations is not. The Revys Google Business Profile advisor (Pro plan) does it from your profile data, read through the official Google Business Profile API.

• A score out of 100 based on 31 checks of the profile and its reviews, plus 7 checks of your website (link, contact details, structured data). Each issue is ranked by severity, and the most serious ones weigh three times more.
• Specific actions: "a negative review has been waiting for a reply," "the name seems to contain added words," "no new photo in three months."
• AI-written suggestions: a draft description, secondary categories to look at, post ideas based on what customers praise in your reviews.

Review replies live in the same place with AI review replies. Pricing starts at $7.90 a month for your first location.

A well-kept profile is also the first source Google's AI uses for local businesses. Next step: how local businesses show up in AI search.

FAQ

How do I optimize my Google Business Profile?

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Verify the profile, pick the most specific primary category, fill in hours, special hours, services, attributes and photos, then build a steady flow of reviews and reply to every one. Google ranks on relevance, distance and prominence, and you can't pay for a better local ranking.

How much does it cost to optimize a Google My Business profile?

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Nothing if you do it yourself: the profile and every field in it are free. Agencies charge for the time it takes. Tools like Revys automate the audit and review replies from $7.90 a month per location.

How many categories should a Google Business Profile have?

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One primary category, as specific as possible, plus only the secondary categories that describe what your business really is. Google asks for as few as possible; a Localo study of 16,098 profiles saw no extra gain past six secondary categories.

Does the business description help Google Maps ranking?

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Published tests have not shown a direct effect on local pack rankings. Write it for customers: up to 750 characters, no links, no prices and no promotions.

Do Google Business Profile posts help ranking?

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There is no solid evidence that they do, and posting frequency doesn't seem to matter. Posts are still useful to show an active profile and announce news, offers or events. They are archived after six months.

Is the Q&A section still on Google Business Profile?

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It is being phased out. Google shut down the Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and the public section has been disappearing from profiles since late 2025. Customer questions now go to Google's AI, which answers from your profile, your reviews and your website.

Sources

1. Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
2. Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
3. Google Business Profile Help: Manage your Business Profile description
4. Google Business Profile APIs: deprecation schedule (Q&A API discontinued November 3, 2025)
5. Localo: Whitespark × 16,098 Google Business Profiles data (September 14, 2026)
6. BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (February 11, 2026)