Managing Your Google Business Profile

Why GBP matters more than you think

When someone searches for a service in their area - 'plumber near me,' 'accountant in Sheffield,' 'commercial cleaning Leeds' - the first thing they see isn't a website. It's a Google Business Profile listing. Your photo, your reviews, your star rating, your opening hours, and your latest posts, all displayed prominently before any organic search result.

This is the first impression for the majority of your potential customers. Not your website. Not your Facebook page. Your Google Business Profile. And most businesses treat it as an afterthought - something they set up when they first registered and haven't touched since.

Google rewards active profiles with better visibility. Businesses that regularly post updates, respond to reviews, and add photos appear higher in local search results and in Google Maps. It's one of the few areas in digital marketing where a small, consistent effort produces a disproportionate result.

Think of it this way: your Google Business Profile is the front door of your business for anyone who finds you through search. If the front door looks neglected - no recent activity, few reviews, outdated information - people walk past. If it looks well-maintained and busy, they walk in.

The basics most businesses get wrong

Before worrying about advanced features, most businesses need to fix the fundamentals. The number of profiles we see with basic errors is staggering.

Start with your business categories. Google lets you choose a primary category and multiple secondary categories. Getting these right is critical for appearing in relevant searches. A kitchen fitter whose primary category is 'home improvement store' is invisible to people searching for kitchen installation services. Check your categories and make sure they accurately describe what you do, not a vaguely related alternative.

Your business description should clearly state what you do, where you do it, and what makes you different. You've got 750 characters - use them. Don't stuff it with keywords, but do make sure the key services and areas you cover are mentioned naturally.

Opening hours seem simple, but getting them wrong causes real problems. If Google says you're open and someone calls to find an unanswered phone, they move on. If Google says you're closed when you're actually available, you miss the enquiry entirely. Set accurate hours and update them for holidays.

Service areas matter for businesses that travel to customers. If you're a mobile service, define your service area clearly. This helps Google show your profile to people searching within the area you actually cover, rather than just near your registered address.

Your phone number should go to someone who answers. This sounds obvious, but we've seen profiles with old numbers, mobile numbers that go to voicemail during work hours, and even fax numbers. Make sure the number on your profile is the one you want customers to call, and make sure someone picks up.

Reviews: the most powerful social proof you have

Reviews are the single most influential element of your Google Business Profile. They affect your search ranking, your click-through rate, and - most importantly - whether a potential customer decides to contact you.

Both volume and recency matter. A business with 150 reviews averaging 4.7 stars looks more trustworthy than a business with 8 reviews averaging 5.0 stars. The larger number suggests consistent quality over time. But reviews from three years ago carry less weight than reviews from last month, both with Google's algorithm and with potential customers.

Getting reviews doesn't need to be awkward. The simplest approach: after completing a job successfully, send the customer a text message or email with a direct link to your Google review page. Something like: 'Thanks for choosing us. If you're happy with the work, we'd really appreciate a Google review - it helps other customers find us.' Keep it simple, don't be pushy, and don't offer incentives (Google prohibits this and can remove your profile).

Respond to every review. Every single one. Thank positive reviewers genuinely - not with a copy-paste template, but with a brief, personal response that mentions something specific about their job. For negative reviews, respond professionally and constructively. Acknowledge the issue, explain what you've done to address it, and invite them to discuss it further offline. Potential customers read your responses to negative reviews more carefully than they read the positive ones - it tells them how you handle problems.

Don't panic about the occasional bad review. Every business gets them. A profile with nothing but five-star reviews actually looks suspicious. What matters is the overall pattern: a high average, recent reviews, and thoughtful responses to any criticism.

Photos: show your work

Google Business Profile with photos gets significantly more engagement than profiles without. Google's own data shows that businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to their website than those without.

What to upload: completed project photos, before-and-afters, team photos, your premises (if customers visit), your vehicles, and any equipment that demonstrates capability. These photos should show real work - not stock photography, not heavily filtered images, but genuine examples of what you do.

Quality matters but perfection doesn't. A clear, well-lit photo taken on a smartphone is perfectly fine. A blurry photo taken in the dark isn't. Take photos during daylight when possible, clean up the immediate area before shooting, and take multiple angles so you can choose the best one.

Add photos regularly, not all at once. Uploading 50 photos in January and then nothing for the rest of the year sends the same 'abandoned' signal as not posting at all. Two or three new photos per week is ideal. Make it part of your job completion process - photos before, photos after, upload to GBP.

Posts: the feature nobody uses

Google Business Profile has a posting feature that works similarly to social media posts. You can share updates, offers, events, and product information directly on your profile. And almost nobody uses it.

This is a missed opportunity. GBP posts appear directly in your profile listing when people search for your business. They show recent activity, demonstrate that the business is active, and give you another chance to showcase your work.

Posts expire after seven days, which is actually a benefit - it means freshness is built into the system. A post from last week shows you're active. You don't need to worry about your feed looking dated.

What to post: a completed project photo with a brief description, a seasonal offer, a new service announcement, or a simple update about what you've been working on. It doesn't need to be elaborate. A photo, two or three sentences, and a call-to-action button. Five minutes, done.

Posting once a week is enough. Make it a Monday morning habit - post a photo from last week's work with a quick caption. It takes less time than making a coffee and it keeps your profile looking active to every person who searches for you.

Q&A: control the narrative

There's a Q&A section on your Google Business Profile that most businesses don't even know exists. Anyone can ask a question on your profile, and - here's the important bit - anyone can answer it. If you don't answer, a random member of the public might, and their answer might be wrong.

Take control of this feature. Check it regularly and answer any questions promptly and helpfully. Better yet, pre-populate it with common questions and answers. Think about what potential customers typically ask you - 'Do you cover the Manchester area?' 'Do you offer free quotes?' 'How far in advance do I need to book?' - and add these as Q&A pairs yourself.

This serves two purposes. First, it answers questions before prospects need to ask, reducing friction in the enquiry process. Second, it gives you control over the information associated with your profile, rather than leaving it to chance.

The 10-minute weekly routine

Managing your Google Business Profile doesn't need to consume your week. Here's a simple routine that covers everything:

• Monday: Post a project photo from last week with a brief caption. Two minutes.
• Wednesday: Check for and respond to any new reviews. Three minutes.
• Friday: Answer any new questions in the Q&A section. Check your profile information is still correct. Two minutes.

That's seven minutes. Call it ten to account for the occasional longer review response or a second photo to upload.

Ten minutes a week to maintain arguably the most important online presence your local business has. Ten minutes to appear higher in local search results, build social proof through reviews, and show every potential customer that you're active, professional, and doing the kind of work they need done.

There's no social media platform, no marketing tactic, and no advertising channel that offers a better return on ten minutes of your time. If you're going to do one thing for your online presence this week, make it this.