Google Business Profile: what matters for a local business

Q: How do I manage my Google business listing?

Sign in to the Google account that owns the listing and edit it from there. Keep it in your own account. The weekly work is a post, a few photos, same-day review replies and keeping your hours right; the table above has the full list.

The short answer

What matters most is a listing that is complete, correct and active: the right primary category, your services and areas, accurate hours, real photos of your work, and replies to your reviews.

Two things you do once and get right yourself: verification and the primary category. Everything else is steady weekly upkeep: a post, a few photos and same-day review replies.

The SEOrted teamUpdated 16 October 20266-minute read

A small local shopfront on a quiet street in morning light, door open

What matters most

Six parts of the listing do most of the work.

01
The primary category
It tells Google what you are, so it decides which searches you can show up for. Choose it yourself, carefully, and change it only when the business changes.
02
Your services and the areas you cover
List them the way customers search for them, so the listing matches the work you actually want.
03
Accurate hours, including holidays
Wrong hours cost calls. Set Christmas and public holiday hours ahead of time, not on the day.
04
Real photos of your work
Recent photos of real jobs, each with a short line about the job, show customers what you do and give the listing something current.
05
Reviews, and your replies
Customers read them before they call, and AI assistants now read them too. BrightLocal found AI use for local recommendations rose from 6% to 45% in a year (US survey, Feb 2026).
06
A post every week
A short post about a job, a season or a service. It keeps the listing from looking abandoned.

Setting it up

Create or claim the listing, verify it, then fill every field.

Create the listing, or claim it if Google already shows your business.
Verify it. Google picks the method for you: phone or text, email, a video call or a postcard.
Choose your primary category, then add any secondary ones that fit.
Add your services and the areas you work.
Set your hours and any holiday hours.
Add your phone number and website, the same as everywhere else you’re listed.
Add your first photos of real jobs.
Write a short description of what you do and where.

The weekly upkeep

A listing that’s kept current every week does more than a perfect one left alone.

What to do on your Business Profile, and how often
Task	How often	Notes
A post	Every week	A finished job, a season or a service, with a photo.
Photos of your work	Every week	One to three of your own photos, each with a line about the job.
Review replies	The same day	Every review, good or bad. Calm and specific beats long.
Hours	Whenever they change	Holiday hours set ahead of time.
Services and categories	Check monthly	Add new work; remove what you no longer do.
Your details everywhere	Check monthly	The same name, address, phone and website on your site and in directories.

Reviews, the right way

Ask every customer, reply to every review, and never pay for one.

01
Ask everyone, the same way
Ask every customer after the job, not only the ones you think are happy. Google doesn’t allow businesses to “selectively solicit positive reviews” (Google’s policy).
02
Never pay or discount for one
No discounts, gifts or prizes in exchange for a review. Google’s policy rules them out.
03
Reply the same day
A short, specific thank-you shows the next customer someone is paying attention.
04
Answer unhappy reviews calmly
Say what you’ll do about it and take the detail offline. Whether and how to reply to a hard one is always your call.

Mistakes to avoid

Each of these can cost you calls, or the listing itself.

Giving anyone your Google password

The listing should stay in your own Google account. Ask whoever helps you how they’ll get access without your password.

A call-tracking number on the listing

A different number from your website and directories breaks the match Google and AI assistants look for between your name, address and phone.

Extra words in your business name

Google says the name should reflect your “real-world name”, and bans service or product information in it.

Photos that show customers’ homes or cars

Leave out house numbers, number plates and faces unless the customer has said yes.

A different phone or address in each directory

Keep one version of your details everywhere, and fix old listings when anything changes.

Where SEOrted fits

If you’d rather not do the weekly part, your team drafts the posts, photos, replies and updates once your listing is connected, and each one is checked before it goes live. See how your Business Profile is run for you.

Elsewhere, Websites That Sell list Business Profile optimisation from A$665 a month plus GST, and Clickmatix’s local tier at about A$800 to A$1,500 a month includes it. With us it’s part of A$749 a month, with your website and SEO team. See what’s included.

Questions people ask

How do I manage my Google business listing?

Keep it in your own account. The weekly work is a post, a few photos, same-day review replies and keeping your hours right; the table above has the full list.

How long does it take for my business to show up on Google Maps?

There’s no fixed timeline. Verification comes first.

Google chooses how you verify: phone or text, email, a video call or a postcard (Google’s help). After that, a complete, active listing gives Google the most to work with.

How do I set up Google Maps for my business?

Create or claim your Business Profile, verify it, then fill every field.

Start from Google’s “find your business” help page, choose your primary category carefully, and add your services, areas, hours and real photos.

Do I need a website as well as a Business Profile?

Yes. The listing links to it, and AI answers cite both.

Your website holds the detail the listing can’t: a page for each service and area, your job photos and your prices. The two should say the same thing.

Can I offer a discount for a review?

No. Google doesn’t allow incentives for reviews.

Google’s policy says businesses may not “offer incentives” for reviews or “selectively solicit positive reviews” (Google Maps content policy). Ask every customer, not just the happy ones, and reply to every review.