Most advice about your Google Business Profile reads like a list of tricks: add a keyword to your name, stuff your categories, post every day. Google’s own help pages say something different, and some of the popular tricks can get a profile suspended. This checklist is built from what Google documents, so you can fix the things that matter without risking the listing you already have.

One caveat before we start. Google states plainly that “there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” Everything below improves the quality and accuracy of your profile, which is what the system uses to match you to searches. It does not buy a position.

How Google says local results are ranked

According to Google’s page on improving your local ranking, local results are mainly based on three things:

Two of those three are things you can work on. Relevance is the profile itself. Prominence is reviews, links and real-world reputation. The rest of this guide follows that split.

Step 1: Fix the fields Google’s guidelines cover

Google’s guidelines for representing your business are specific, and breaking them can lead to suspension.

Business name. Use the real-world name that appears on your storefront, website and stationery. The guidelines do not allow marketing taglines, store codes, hours, phone numbers, URLs, service descriptions or location details such as “near downtown” in the name. Legal terms like LLC are allowed only with real-world proof, such as signage or invoices. Adding unnecessary information “could result in the suspension” of the profile.

Address. Use a precise, real address. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not acceptable, and virtual offices are not eligible. If you serve customers at their location and do not have a storefront, such as a plumber working from home, the guidelines say to hide your address and set a service area instead.

Categories. Use as few as possible, and pick the most specific ones that describe your core business. Google’s test is whether the sentence “This business IS a…” fits, not “HAS a…”. Categories are not a place for keywords.

Hours. List regular customer-facing hours, and use special hours for holidays. For restaurants, Google’s guidance is to use dine-in hours.

Phone and website. The number should connect to your individual location, and a local number is better than a call center when possible. The website should represent that location.

Description. It cannot contain links, promotions, prices or gimmicky content.

Step 2: Get verified and stay verified

Verification tells Google you are authorized to represent the business. The verification page lists the methods: phone or text, email, a live video call and a postcard with a 5-digit code. Google decides which ones you see, based on business type and region, and you cannot choose.

Two details save a lot of grief. If you are waiting for a postcard, do not edit the business name, address or category, and do not request a second code, because that invalidates the first. Codes expire after 30 days, and most arrive within 14 days.

Step 3: Build reviews the way Google allows

Reviews feed the prominence side of the equation, so this is where owners are most tempted to cut corners. Google’s tips for getting reviews are clear on both sides:

What you can do: remind customers to leave a review by sending them a Google link or a QR code. Customers must be signed into a Google Account to post.

What you cannot do: offer free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews. Google calls this “fake & misleading content” and strictly prohibits it, including incentives tied to changing or removing a negative review.

How to reply: keep replies professional, short and specific. Avoid generic thank-yous, do not use replies to offer deals, and never share a reviewer’s private information. For a negative review, acknowledge any real mistake, explain what you can and cannot do, and move complex issues to a phone call or email. If a review breaks Google’s content policies, you can flag it.

A simple routine works better than a campaign: ask every customer at the end of the job, make the link easy to open on a phone and answer every review within a couple of days.

How RankMaster approaches local profiles for US businesses

RankMaster is a Brazilian SEO and GEO agency that works remotely in English for US businesses. A Business Profile is one piece of a bigger local presence, and it only works when the information matches your website. We handle it as part of a recurring plan with three deliverables:

If you want to see how this fits into a wider plan, read our guide to what generative engine optimization services include or talk to us through the contact section for a free analysis.

Step 4: Make the profile and the website say the same thing

Google’s local guidance says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local results. The same logic applies to AI answers: they draw on whatever they can find about you, and conflicting facts are a problem for any system.

Check these on your own website against your profile:

  1. Business name, exactly as in the profile.
  2. Address and suite formatting.
  3. Phone number, and the same number in the footer and contact page.
  4. Opening hours, including holiday changes.
  5. Services you actually offer, using the same wording.

Then add LocalBusiness structured data to your site. Google’s documentation lists name and address as required properties, with opening hours, geo coordinates, phone number, price range and URL as recommended. It also notes that following the guidelines makes a page eligible for rich results but does not guarantee them.

Step 5: Keep it alive

Google’s ranking page recommends adding photos and videos, keeping hours current and replying to reviews. For most small businesses, a monthly 15-minute routine is enough:

Mistakes that put a profile at risk

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay Google to rank higher in the local results?

No. Google’s help page states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

Should I add keywords to my business name?

No. The guidelines say the name should match your real-world name, and extra information can lead to suspension.

How long does verification take?

Google says verification reviews usually take up to 5 business days, and postcard codes mostly arrive within 14 days, expiring after 30.

Can I ask customers for reviews?

Yes, by sending a Google link or QR code. You cannot offer discounts or free items in exchange.

I work from home and travel to customers. Do I show my address?

If you have no storefront, Google says to hide the address and use a service area.

A 15-minute audit to start with

Open your profile and your website side by side. Compare the name, address, phone, hours and services, one line at a time. Fix every mismatch, starting with whichever source is wrong. Then check your categories against the “This business IS a…” test and remove any that fail it. Those two passes cost nothing and catch the most common problems. If you want help with the rest, start a free analysis through the RankMaster contact section.