This guide is for small business owners, local marketers and agency staff who already have a Google Business Profile and want it to bring in more calls, direction requests and visits. If you have not claimed a listing yet, start with our older post, Google My Business: How to List Your Business in Google, then come back here. Everything below is based on Google’s own Business Profile Help pages, and where those pages are silent, this article says so rather than guessing.
How Google decides which businesses to show
Google says local results are based mainly on three factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Its ranking tips page defines them like this (see Tips to improve your local ranking on Google).
| Factor | What Google says it means | What you can influence |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your profile matches what someone is searching for. Complete, detailed information helps Google match you to a search. | Fill in every section accurately; choose specific categories. |
| Distance | How far each business is from the searcher. If the person has not shared a location, Google uses what it knows about their location. | Mostly nothing. Make sure your address or service area is correct. |
| Prominence | How well known a business is, based on factors such as links from websites and review counts. More reviews with positive ratings can help. | Earn genuine reviews; build your wider web presence. |
One line from that page is worth remembering: there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Everything that follows is about giving Google accurate information and giving customers a reason to choose you, not about tricks.
Step 1: Verify and complete the basics
Google lists verification as the first tip, because it tells Google you are authorised to represent the business and makes it more likely to appear in results. After that, keep your information complete and accurate. The ranking tips page names the full address (if customers can visit), business hours including special hours, the business category, and attributes such as parking or Wi-Fi.
Step 2: Follow the rules for your name, address and categories
Google’s guidelines for representing your business on Google are where many profiles go wrong. Edits and suspensions often trace back to these rules.
Business name
Use the real-world name customers know from your signage, website and stationery. According to the guidelines, do not add:
- Marketing taglines (the example given turns “TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank” into “TD Bank”)
- Store codes, hours, phone numbers or URLs
- Product or service descriptors (the guidelines say “Verizon Wireless 4G LTE” should be “Verizon Wireless”)
- Location details such as “inside Best Buy” or “near SOHO”
- All-caps styling or the same name repeated in several languages
In short, a keyword-stuffed name such as “Best Cheap Plumber Downtown Joe’s” is not allowed. Legal suffixes like LLC or Inc are generally not allowed either, unless real-world proof such as signage or invoices consistently shows them.
Primary and secondary categories
The guidelines tell you to use the fewest categories that describe your core business, and to make them as specific as possible. Categories should say what the business is, not what it has, so do not use them as keywords or to describe attributes. The Google pages reviewed for this article do not explain exactly how categories are weighted in ranking, so treat any claim that adding many categories will lift you as unconfirmed. A practical approach is to pick the most specific category for your main service, then add a secondary one only when it describes a genuine, separate part of the business.
Address and service areas
- Use the precise, real-world address. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not acceptable.
- One profile per physical location.
- Service-area businesses with no customer-facing storefront should hide their address. Hybrid businesses with a staffed storefront can show it and also set a service area.
- Service areas generally should not extend more than about two hours’ driving time from the base.
- Virtual offices are not eligible.
Step 3: Set regular and special hours
Google’s hours page describes three types: main hours (your regular opening times, or marked as closed), special hours (different hours for holidays or other temporary periods) and more hours (separate hours for individual features you offer). To change them, sign in to the Google Account linked to the profile, choose Edit profile on Search or in the Google Maps app (Business, then Edit profile), make the change and select Save. Google reviews changes before they go live, so do not leave holiday updates until the day before. See Edit your business hours.
The representation guidelines add that you should list regular, customer-facing hours, and that businesses with varied or appointment-only schedules, such as hotels and event venues, should not list hours at all.
Step 4: Add photos and videos
Google recommends adding photos and videos to show what you offer and tell your story. Its photo and video guidelines give these technical limits:
- Photos: JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, recommended 720 x 720 px, minimum 250 x 250 px.
- Photos should be in focus, well lit and an accurate representation of the business, without heavy filters.
- Videos: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher.
- New media can take 24 to 48 hours to appear.
- A low-quality cover photo may be replaced by a user-submitted photo, and your logo may not display unless the profile includes a name, valid street address, categories, a phone number and opening hours.
Step 5: Products, services, descriptions and posts
Google’s ranking tips page mentions in-store products only: if you are a retail business in an eligible country or region, showcasing them means they might appear in local search results and customers can check stock. For service businesses, list your services and write a description in plain language that matches how customers describe their problem. The Help pages reviewed here do not state that posts or descriptions directly change ranking, so use them to inform customers, not as a ranking tactic. Regulated items such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pharmaceuticals are not allowed in the product catalogue.
Step 6: Ask for reviews and reply to them properly
Reviews feed prominence, but Google’s review guidance is clear that they must reflect a genuine experience. What is allowed:
- Asking customers to leave a review using a Google link or QR code.
- Remembering that reviewers need a Google Account (it can use a non-Gmail email address).
- Replying to reviews, which the ranking tips page says shows you value feedback and can help you stand out.
For replies, Google advises keeping them professional, short and specific rather than sending the same thank-you to everyone, and not using replies to promote deals. For negative reviews, it suggests acknowledging real mistakes, apologising where appropriate, never sharing a reviewer’s private information or making personal attacks, responding promptly, and moving complex issues to a private conversation. If a review breaks Google’s content policies, you can flag it.
What not to do: fake reviews, gating and incentives
Google’s prohibited and restricted content policy covers this in its fake engagement and rating manipulation sections. Based on that page:
- Fake reviews are banned. This includes content that does not reflect a genuine experience, content posted from multiple accounts by one person, and content created with emulators or device tampering.
- Paid reviews are banned, whether paid directly or in kind.
- Incentives are banned. Offering payment, discounts or free goods or services for posting, revising or removing a review is prohibited.
- Review gating is banned. The policy says merchants may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews. Asking only your happiest customers, or screening them first, falls under this.
- Quotas are banned. Merchants may not require staff to meet review quotas or include specific content such as staff names.
- Conflicts of interest (current or former employees, contractors, competitors, relatives) make a review prohibited.
- Unusual patterns of reviews that suggest manipulation are prohibited.
The policy does permit asking for genuine reviews without incentives or attempts to influence the rating or content. The safest routine is to send the same review link to every customer, whatever their experience. For wider context on why shortcuts backfire, see our post on white hat vs. black hat SEO.
Key takeaways
- Google ranks local results using relevance, distance and prominence, and you cannot pay for a better ranking.
- Verify the profile and keep every field complete and accurate, including special hours.
- Use your real business name only; no keywords, taglines or descriptors.
- Choose few, specific categories that say what you are.
- Add real photos that meet Google’s size and quality guidance.
- Ask every customer for a review the same way, reply to reviews, and never offer incentives or screen reviewers.
FAQ
Can I pay Google to rank higher in local results?
No. Google’s ranking tips page states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Can I put keywords in my business name?
No. The guidelines say to use your real-world name and not to add taglines or product and service descriptors.
Is it allowed to ask customers for reviews?
Yes, if you ask for genuine reviews without incentives and without selectively asking only happy customers. Google suggests using a link or QR code.
