Free tool for local business owners

Is your Google Business Profile actually working?

Your GBP is your most valuable free marketing asset. Most businesses have one. Almost none have it optimized. This tool tells you exactly where yours stands.

20 checkpoints  ·  5 minutes  ·  Actionable results

0 of 20 answered0 / 20
01 Profile completeness 0 / 6
Business name, category, and description are complete
Your primary category should match your core service. Your description should use your 750 characters and include local keywords naturally.
Your description is one of the most underused fields on GBP. Write it as if a potential customer is reading it for the first time — what do you do, who do you serve, what makes you different.
Website, phone number, and address are listed and accurate
Inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across the web hurts your local search ranking. What's on your GBP should exactly match your website and other directories.
Check that your phone number, address format, and business name match exactly on your website, Yelp, Facebook, and any other directories where you're listed.
Business hours are accurate and include special hours
Outdated hours are one of the most common reasons customers lose trust in a business before they even contact you. Holiday and special hours should be updated in advance.
Set a recurring calendar reminder to review your GBP hours before every major holiday. Google will sometimes flag businesses with outdated hours in search results.
Service area or physical location is correctly set
If you serve customers at their location, your service area should be defined by city or zip code — not just your business address. This directly impacts which searches you appear in.
Add every city and zip code you actively serve. Don't pad it with areas you rarely work in — Google's algorithm is smart enough to penalize overreach.
Business attributes are filled out
Attributes like "women-owned," "veteran-owned," "wheelchair accessible," or "free Wi-Fi" appear in search results and help customers make decisions. Most businesses skip these entirely.
Go to Edit Profile → More → Attributes and fill out every applicable option. These are free differentiators that show up prominently in your listing.
Products or services are listed individually with descriptions
The Services and Products sections are indexed by Google. Each service should have its own name, description, and price range if applicable. This is free SEO that most businesses ignore.
Write a 2-3 sentence description for each service. Include the words customers actually use when they search for what you do — not internal jargon.
02 Visual presence 0 / 5
Logo and cover photo are uploaded and on-brand
Your logo should be clean and legible at small sizes. Your cover photo is the first visual impression — it should represent your business clearly and professionally.
Cover photo optimal size is 1200x628px. Avoid stock photos — real images of your business, team, or work perform significantly better for trust and engagement.
At least 10 photos are uploaded across different categories
Businesses with more than 100 photos get significantly more direction requests and calls than those with fewer. Photo categories include exterior, interior, team, products, and work in progress.
Aim for at least 3 photos in each available category. Ask satisfied customers if you can photograph their completed project or service with their permission.
Photos have been added within the last 30 days
Google rewards active profiles. A profile where the most recent photo is 18 months old signals to both Google and potential customers that the business may not be actively managed.
Set a monthly reminder to add at least 2-3 new photos. Behind-the-scenes, team moments, and before/after work photos perform well and require no professional photography.
Photos are high quality — no blurry, dark, or irrelevant images
Low-quality photos actively hurt your listing. A blurry or poorly lit photo tells potential customers more about your standards than any description can. Quality over quantity.
Audit your existing photos right now and delete any that are blurry, poorly lit, or don't represent your business well. A smaller number of great photos beats a large gallery of mediocre ones.
A video has been uploaded to the profile
Video content on GBP is rare — which means it's a differentiator. A 30-60 second walkthrough of your business, team introduction, or customer testimonial can significantly increase engagement.
You don't need professional video production. A well-lit, steady iPhone video of your team or workspace is more authentic and performs better than over-produced content.
03 Review health 0 / 4
You have 10 or more Google reviews
10 reviews is the threshold where most consumers begin to trust a business. Below 10, you're invisible to a large segment of potential customers who filter by review count before making contact.
The fastest way to get reviews is a direct text or email to recent customers with a direct link to your review page. Ask within 24-48 hours of completing their service while the experience is fresh.
Your average rating is 4.0 or higher
Most consumers won't contact a business with a rating below 4.0. A rating between 4.5 and 4.9 is the sweet spot — perfect 5.0 ratings can actually appear suspicious to savvy consumers.
If your rating is below 4.0, focus on generating new positive reviews before addressing negative ones. Volume of recent positive reviews will pull your average up over time.
You have received at least one new review in the last 30 days
Recency matters. A business with 50 reviews but none in the last year looks stagnant. Google's algorithm prioritizes recent activity — fresh reviews signal an active, operating business.
Build a review request into your standard post-service process. A simple text message with a direct link sent the day after job completion is the most effective approach.
You respond to every review — positive and negative
Response rate is a ranking factor. More importantly, how you respond to negative reviews is one of the most powerful trust signals a potential customer can see. It shows you care and you're professional.
Respond to positive reviews with specificity — reference what they mentioned. For negative reviews, acknowledge, apologize if warranted, and offer to resolve it offline. Never argue publicly.
04 Post activity 0 / 3
You have posted an update within the last 7 days
GBP posts expire after 7 days and disappear from your profile. Posting weekly keeps your profile active, signals to Google that you're engaged, and gives potential customers something to read beyond your basic info.
Batch your posts — write 4 posts at once and schedule them weekly. Topics that perform well: team spotlights, before/after work, local community involvement, seasonal offers, and customer stories.
Your posts include photos or graphics — not just text
Posts with images get significantly more engagement than text-only posts. The image is the first thing a customer sees when scrolling your profile — it needs to stop them.
Even a simple branded graphic with a quote or stat performs better than no image. Canva has free GBP post templates that take less than 5 minutes to customize.
You have used the Offer or Event post type in the last 90 days
Offer and Event posts display differently in search results — they show a badge and can appear more prominently. Most businesses only use the Update post type and miss this opportunity entirely.
Create a seasonal offer post once per quarter at minimum. Even a small offer — free consultation, 10% off first service — gives customers a reason to act now rather than later.
05 Q&A & engagement 0 / 2
You have seeded the Q&A section with your own questions and answers
Anyone can ask and answer questions on your GBP — including you. Most businesses have an empty Q&A section. Seeding it with the questions customers most commonly ask controls your narrative and improves SEO.
Think of the 5 questions you get asked most often before someone hires you. Add those as questions and answer them thoroughly. This content appears in search results and can directly influence decisions.
You monitor and respond to questions within 24 hours
Unanswered questions on your GBP are a missed sales opportunity. If someone asks a question and a stranger answers before you do — or it goes unanswered — it signals that nobody is minding the store.
Turn on GBP notifications so you're alerted when a new question is asked. Set a goal to respond within 24 hours. Speed of response is itself a trust signal.
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