Your Google Business Profile, and How It Feeds the Site

The free listing that sits above everything

For a business with a physical location or a service area, the Google Business Profile is the most visible thing you own after the site itself. It powers the map result, the star rating, the “Directions” and “Call” buttons, and the panel that appears on the right when somebody searches your name. It costs nothing and it is claimed at google.com/business.

Filling it in properly

• Name. Your actual trading name, written exactly as it appears on your board and in your website footer. Do not append service keywords to it.
• Category. Choose the most precise primary category available, then add secondary categories for genuinely separate services.
• Hours. Including the lunch break if you close for one, and including special hours for Diwali, Holi, Eid, Onam or Pongal, whichever apply to you. Nothing annoys a customer more than a shuttered shutter at a time Google said you were open.
• Phone. The number a human answers, ideally the one that also has WhatsApp.
• Website. Link to the most relevant page, not always the home page. A single-service listing can point straight at that service page.
• Photos. Exterior so people recognise the building, interior so they know what to expect, and the team. Real photographs, not stock images.

Reviews, handled correctly

Ask satisfied customers for a review in person or over WhatsApp, using the short review link Google generates for you. Never offer a discount or a gift in exchange, and never write reviews yourself. Reply to every review, positive and negative, in a calm and factual tone. A measured reply to a complaint is read by far more prospective customers than the complaint itself.

Keeping it alive

The profile has a Posts feature. A short update every few weeks with one photo, such as new timings, a new service, a festival closure, keeps the listing looking attended to. Link each post back to the matching page on your site so the two reinforce each other.

The five-minute audit

Search your business name on a phone that is not signed in to your account. Is the address right? Are the hours right? Does the website link land on a working page? Is the top photo one you would choose? Fix whatever is wrong before you spend a rupee anywhere else.