Google Business Profile: how to reach the map top three

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free company profile that appears in Google search and in Maps. For a local business it is often the single most productive marketing action there is: a well-run profile brings calls and visits without a euro of ad budget.

In this guide I go through creating, optimising and maintaining the profile, and which factors decide whether you reach the top three in map results.

Why the profile is a local business’s most important channel

When somebody searches for “dentist Manchester” or “plumber near me”, Google shows the map pack first: three companies with their map, reviews and phone numbers. Those three places collect the bulk of the enquiries, and many customers call straight from the search result without visiting any website.

The profile also affects AI search. When somebody asks an AI for a recommendation for a local service, the answer is built largely on Business Profiles and reviews. More on this on our GEO service page.

Creating and verifying the profile

Create the profile at business.google.com. Google verifies the company’s existence usually by postcard, phone or video. Verification is compulsory and takes from days to a couple of weeks.

If a profile for your company already exists (Google creates them automatically), claim it rather than making a new one. Two profiles for the same company confuse Google and split the reviews in half.

A ten-point optimisation

1. Fill in every field

An empty field is a lost opportunity. Google itself says complete profiles get significantly more enquiries than partial ones. Work through the whole form in one go.

2. Choose the primary category precisely

The primary category is the single most influential factor. Choose the most specific option available (“dental clinic” rather than “healthcare”) and add the other fitting ones as additional categories. Look at what the competitors in the top three use.

3. Write the description for the customer

Say what you do, for whom and in what area. Use the words customers search your services with, naturally. Avoid ad speak; it does not improve visibility and does not convince the reader.

4. List services and products separately

The services section is underrated: the services entered there help Google connect your profile to precise searches. Add each service as its own entry with a short description, and a price if you can state one.

5. Add real photos regularly

Photos of the premises, the workmanship and the team. Genuine photos work better than stock images, and adding them regularly signals to Google that the business is active. A few photos a month is enough.

6. Keep opening hours current

Especially exceptional hours around public holidays. Wrong information produces wasted trips and bad reviews, and Google tracks how reliable a profile’s information is.

7. Collect reviews systematically

The number of reviews, the average, their freshness and their content all affect both ranking and clicks. Ask every satisfied customer for a review and respond to every one, including the bad ones. Responses are themselves content that Google and AI services read.

8. Publish updates

You can publish short updates about offers, new products and events on the profile. They show in the search result and keep the profile active. One post a week or two is enough.

9. Answer questions

Anyone can write in the questions and answers section. You can also add the most common questions yourself and answer them, so the right information is immediately visible and somebody else does not answer wrongly on your behalf.

10. Make sure the basic details are consistent

Name, address and phone number in exactly the same form on the profile, on the website and in directories. Contradictory information weakens trust and local visibility.

What decides map result ranking

Google itself names three main factors:

• Relevance. How well your profile matches the search. Categories, services and the description affect this.
• Distance. How close you are to the searcher. You cannot influence this, but it explains why you appear at different positions in different places.
• Prominence. How well known the business is: reviews, mentions elsewhere online and the site’s visibility.

In practice this means categories and reviews are the two things worth investing in most. Local search engine optimisation of the website supports the profile, and done well the two reinforce each other.

Track the results

The profile’s insights show how many people found you through a search, how many called, asked for directions or visited your site. These are concrete enquiries, not impressions. Look at the numbers monthly and compare them against your actions: the effect of new reviews and updates usually shows within a few weeks.

The most common mistakes that block visibility

The wrong primary category. Too general a category drops you out of precise searches. If you are specialised, pick the category that matches your specialisation, not the broadest one available.

Stuffing keywords into the company name. “Company Ltd – the best cheap dentist in Manchester” breaks Google’s rules and can lead to the profile being restricted. Use only the official name.

Several profiles for the same location. Duplicates split the reviews and confuse Google. Merge or remove the extras.

An oversized service area. If you set the service area to the whole country, Google cannot connect you to any particular place. Keep the area realistic.

Forgetting the profile. A profile filled in once decays: opening hours go stale, reviews go unanswered and photos age. Activity is part of the ranking.

How the profile and the website work together

The profile and the site support each other when they tell the same story. Three practical things:

Link from the profile to the site, preferably straight to the relevant subpage rather than always the front page. If you are promoting a particular service, the link goes to that service’s page.

Add LocalBusiness structured data to the site with the same basic details as the profile. It confirms to Google that this is the same company.

Build a page on the site for each location and for your most important service areas. A page describing the service in that specific area supports both organic visibility and map results.

Managing several locations

If you have several locations, each one needs its own profile with its own address and phone number. A shared number for all locations weakens local relevance.

Google Business Profile Manager lets you manage all the profiles from one account, and details can be updated in bulk. Reviews and updates are still worth handling location by location, because they are local.

Summary: a monthly routine for the profile

Once the profile has been tuned into shape, maintenance takes about half an hour a month. The routine is simple: respond to all new reviews, add a few fresh photos, publish one or two updates and check the opening hours for upcoming public holidays.

While you are there, look at the insights for how many calls and direction requests the profile produced last month. That number tells you directly whether the effort pays off, and it is often surprisingly large compared with website visitor numbers.

Four times a year it is worth going through the categories and the service list too: new services arrive, old ones drop away, and the profile has to match what you actually sell today.

Frequently asked questions

What is Google Business Profile?

It is Google’s free company profile that appears in search and in Google Maps. The profile carries contact details, opening hours, services, photos and reviews, and it is a local business’s most important visibility channel.

How do I reach the top three in Google Maps?

Choose the most specific primary category available, fill in all the details, list your services, collect reviews continuously and keep the profile active with photos and updates. Distance to the searcher also matters, so ranking varies with where the search is made.

Is Google Business Profile free?

It is. Creating the profile, maintaining it and all its features are free of charge. Only separately purchased ads cost money.

Do I need premises to get a profile?

Not necessarily. A service-area business (a fitter who comes to the home, for instance) can create a profile without a public address and define a service area instead.

How often does the profile need updating?

The basic details whenever they change, and photos and updates to maintain activity about once a week or two. Review requests should be a continuous routine rather than a campaign.