How To Set Up And Optimize Google Business Profile For Local SEO

Your next customer is already searching—will they see your best side or a half-empty card with missing hours and zero photos? We’re pulling back the curtain on Google Business Profile and showing how to turn that free listing into a steady flow of local leads.

First, we explain what a Google Business Profile actually is and why most businesses already have one, claimed or not. Then we walk step by step through claiming or creating your listing, choosing the right categories, writing a search-friendly description, and adding high-impact photos and videos. We share practical examples for restaurants and service businesses, highlight the map pack advantage for “near me” searches, and unpack verification options like postcard, phone, and email so you can get fully approved fast.

From there, we dive into the details that move rankings: NAP consistency across your website, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, and directories; how tiny address variations can split your authority; and why regular posts act like a mini blog that keeps your listing fresh. We cover a complete review strategy—when to ask, what to say, and how to respond to both praise and complaints—to build trust and signal activity to Google. You’ll also learn a crucial safeguard many owners miss: anyone can suggest edits to your listing. We show how to monitor and lock down your details so a competitor can’t mark you “closed” or change your hours without you knowing.

By the end, you’ll have a simple maintenance cadence—claim it, fill it out, post updates, get reviews—that protects your brand and boosts local SEO. If this helped, subscribe, share it with a fellow owner, and leave a quick review so more entrepreneurs can find us. Ready to optimize your Google Business Profile and win more local searches?

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Transcript

What A Google Business Profile Is

SPEAKER_01 0:00

So, what is a Google business profile?

Creating And Completing Your Listing

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Google Business Profile. That's that's probably one of the most important things for local businesses to claim. And it's interesting because most businesses have a Google business profile. Whether you claim it or not, it's going to be there. And so, but you don't have any control over it unless you claim it. So if there's already one there, go ahead and claim it. And but if there's not one, then what you're going to do is you're going to go to, I believe it's Google, Google.com slash business, and then you can start. Um, you can create a Google business profile. That's where you're going to enter in all the information about your business. And um, you're going to start by entering your business name, the address or service area. If you're like a service-based business and don't have a physical address, yeah. Um, your categories, you're going to add your logo, your photos, any videos that you have. And I mean, it's almost like a mini website.

Why Reviews And Photos Matter

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yeah, it is. Yeah. And and like we, I'm not sure if we even said this. It is free. So it's you don't have to pay for this. This is something you just claim. And I think everyone knows what these this is, even if you weren't kind of aware. It's like when you search something, like if I searched local haircut places, like to get barbershops, right? Like uh the list of barbershops pops up with the little Google map in the corner, and that is the local business, the business listings, the Google business profiles. Yeah. And so you want to be on there because it's the first thing at the top of any local search. If you're saying restaurants near me, you want your restaurant on there so that way it that Google's more likely to feed you at the top. Um, now this is also where Google business or Google reviews are housed, right? So um, as a local service, it Google reviews are extremely important.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Right. Like how often, I mean, how much do you rely on reviews? Like if you're looking for someone to do flooring at your like you're gonna look at the reviews. If someone doesn't have a lot of reviews, or if even worse, has bad reviews, yeah, you know, you're not gonna go with them. You're gonna go with somebody else. So you want to make sure that you're gonna fill out all the information that you possibly can within your your business profile. One of the most important things I think is is photos, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

So if you own a restaurant, take photos of the food, like those appetizers, entrees, the atmosphere, make it colorful, like it's the first thing that people are gonna see.

Verification Options And Requirements

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Yeah, right. They they kind of want to know what to expect when they walk in the doors, and so put that in. If you have videos, even better, like put in some videos people can see. If you're a service-based business, take pictures of the jobs that you're doing and post them on Google Business. Make sure to put a link to your website, that's super important, and also a description of your business. Yeah. After you put in all that information, what you're gonna need to do is verify your listing. Yeah, so even if you're a service-based business and don't have a physical storefront, you're gonna need to give Google an address that you can receive mail and that they'll send you a postcard with a code on it, and then you'll enter in that code on your Google business profile. Yeah. And then it verifies it. Just it, they just want to make sure that you're a real business and that you're a real person.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

And you can do this postcard, email, or phone, correct?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Um, I believe well, it depends on the business. Okay. A lot of times they will send a postcard.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I think I think if if I if I'm right, or it probably not. Yeah, that's always a good option. But uh if it's if you have hours of where you're located, I think the postcard is like required. But if you are just a service area, you can do email or phone. Because I've done several area businesses um that like don't really have a storefront shop, it's more they do it's a service, but they they build it something in-house and then they go deliver it. And I could do it, I verify them through email or phone. Oh, okay. So you should you could do it either on, and it might just be dependent on your type of business.

Protecting Your Listing From Edits

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Yeah. So if Google requires it, then just go through the process. If they don't, that's great. Like makes it that much easier, and just go ahead and claim that. Because one thing that people don't realize, your competitors can change your Google business listing.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Really? I did not know that.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah, anyone can. You can go in and say, This location's closed.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

It's almost like Wikipedia.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Yeah, kind of interesting, yeah. And or they can be like, the hours are different or whatever. Yeah, like holiday hours are closed. Oh, gotcha. This is located, this is here. And so you want to make sure you claim that because then you want to have control over those changes that people can submit.

Keep NAP Details Perfectly Consistent

SPEAKER_01 4:48

So though if they submit a change, you either have to approve it, you can approve it, or say, no, this is a very good tip. I did not know that. Um, another thing is make sure that on every platform, from Instagram, Facebook to Google to your everything, make sure all your information is consistent. Don't have contradictory like locations. Like if you have a P.O. box, you can put a P.O. box on this one, but then you actually have a physical address here.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Don't do that because it'll start to I'm gonna go one step further, even. Say you have like West or East in your address. Yeah. Don't spell out West on your address, on one address, and then put W for another address. Not even just flag it, but just it just confuses Google. Like we I mean, you think it would be smarter by now. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

But that counts almost as two different locations. And so you want to be exact in your address, in your phone number, and in your name on everything that you do Google business, website, social media profiles, everything. Uh Yelp, you know, like any of those review platforms, make it exact. And and that will avoid a lot of headache in the future if you want to just optimize your your business listing.

Getting And Responding To Reviews

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Yeah. The another one is we already uh touched on it for you reviews, are so important, extremely important. And the more the higher your reviews, Google also see that like you it's more an active business versus a business that has nothing. It's just basic information. So make sure that you're getting reviews. And we always tell people for every client that when we set up a new Google business profile, message every friend and family, message anybody to send put reviews. Just get your some you need a little bit to get going and then pass customers, start sending out emails, do phone calls depending on what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

The friends and family is great, however, like it's always better if they're actual customers. For sure. Yes, you know, and and you know the customers that are gonna give you good reviews, and the customers are gonna give you bad reviews. Like start out with the good reviews. Yeah, people as as time goes on will leave bad reviews. We encourage you to respond to those, yeah, to show, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Yeah, not just bad reviews, good reviews. Respond to those too, because the more interaction on there, the better.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

But but how you interact with the bad reviews is going to determine whether people like give credit to those bad reviews or not.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

And so make sure that you're you are responding to all of them, but take extra care in those negative reviews.

Posting Updates And Staying Active

Simple Action Plan And Resources

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Yep. You can also post updates on there, so you can actually stay active. You can post new photos, you can do a bunch of different updates. Um, it's almost like uh YouTube also has this, it's called their community section. And um a lot of new people on YouTube don't do it as well. It's very similar. I mean, it makes sense because they uh Google owns YouTube, and so it's all kind of set up the same. And it's kind of just a community post. It's nothing crazy, it's not like it's a good idea. It's almost like a mini blog. Yeah, and so post that stuff like different things you're doing, events, maybe you're doing karaoke if you're a restaurant on certain nights, make sure you put that out there. Like, make sure that's active as well. The more active and filled out your Google business profile is, the more act, the more likely it is going to be ranked higher. So um, it is in your best interest to stay up on those things.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

So, to summarize, claim it, fill it out, post updates, get reviews.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Get reviews. If you like this episode, make sure you like and subscribe below, leave a comment, and share this episode with a friend that's also trying to grow their business.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

We want to help as many entrepreneurs learn how to launch and grow their business. So we've created a launching pros app at app.launchingpros.com where we have detailed checklists on not only how to start your business, but on how to grow it. There's free tiers, a lot of great information. Go on app.launchingprose.com to check it out.