To edit and optimise your Google Business Profile, sign in to the Google Account connected to it, search for your business, select Edit profile, update each field accurately and save. Focus first on verification, your primary category, services, hours, contact details, service area, photos and reviews. Never add keywords to your business name unless they are part of the real name.
How to edit your Google Business Profile
On a computer, sign in to the Google Account that owns or manages the profile, search your business name or 'my business', then select Edit profile. In the Google Maps app, tap Business and then Edit profile. Google reviews edits before publishing them, so some changes appear quickly and others take longer. Google's current Business Profile editing instructions cover both Search and Maps.
If the editing controls do not appear, check that you are using the correct Google Account and that the profile has been claimed and verified. Verification establishes that you are authorised to represent the business. Do not create a second profile to work around an access problem because duplicate profiles can create a larger visibility issue.
The 15-point optimisation checklist
1. Confirm ownership and verification. Make sure the real business owner keeps primary ownership and each staff member or provider uses their own manager access. Never share the owner's password.
2. Use the real-world business name. Enter the name shown on your signage, invoices and branding. Adding services, suburbs or promotional wording to the name can breach Google's Business Profile representation guidelines.
3. Choose the most specific primary category. Your primary category should describe the main thing the business is, not every service it offers. Add only the secondary categories genuinely needed to cover the rest.
4. Check your phone number and website. Use a direct local number where practical and link to the most relevant canonical page on your website. Test both from a mobile phone.
5. Set normal and special hours. Keep public hours accurate, add holiday or seasonal hours when needed, and state after-hours appointments clearly if they are available on request.
6. Set the address or service area correctly. Show a customer-facing address only when customers can genuinely visit during stated hours. Service-area businesses should hide residential addresses and select the real areas they serve.
7. Write a useful business description. Explain what you do, who you help and where you operate in plain English. Do not stuff locations, add links or turn the description into a promotion.
8. Add every genuine service. Use the services section to name the work customers can actually buy. Keep descriptions short, specific and consistent with the matching pages on your website.
9. Upload current, original photos. Add a clear logo, cover image, team, premises, vehicles and completed work. Real photos help customers recognise the business and judge whether it is credible.
10. Build a steady review process. Ask real customers for honest reviews after the work is complete, never offer rewards and never filter requests so only happy customers receive them. Reply calmly and specifically to every review.
11. Publish useful updates. Use posts for genuine news, seasonal information, completed projects and service reminders. Treat posts as customer communication, not a place to repeat the same keywords every week.
12. Keep business details consistent elsewhere. Your name, address, phone and website should agree across your site, Localsearch, Facebook and relevant directories. Listings management is the supporting layer that keeps those signals clean.
13. Link the profile to a strong local website. The profile should lead to a fast page that clearly confirms the service, location, business identity and next action. A thin or unrelated landing page wastes the visit even when the profile ranks.
14. Check performance monthly. Review calls, website clicks, direction requests and the search terms available in Business Profile performance. Compare trends over time rather than treating one busy week as proof.
15. Recheck the profile every 90 days. Hours change, staff leave, services evolve and customers add photos. A quarterly check prevents small inaccuracies from becoming trust problems.
What actually helps local visibility
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot optimise your way around the searcher's distance, but complete and accurate information helps relevance, while reviews, links and wider recognition contribute to prominence. Google's own local ranking guidance also states there is no way to request or pay for a better organic local ranking.
That means optimisation is not a trick. It is the work of making the profile accurate, complete and useful, then supporting it with a strong website, genuine reviews and consistent local information. This is where Google Business Profile optimisation and Local SEO overlap.
How this supports AI answers
AI-generated search features need clear, consistent information to understand a business. Your profile is one important public source, but it is not the whole picture. The website, reviews, directory listings and independent mentions need to confirm the same basic facts. Clear service descriptions and direct answers make those facts easier for both customers and machines to interpret.
Do not create content purely for an AI crawler. Write the shortest accurate answer a customer would actually find useful, support it with first-hand detail and keep the business facts consistent. That same approach strengthens traditional SEO and answer-engine visibility without producing generic filler.
The quickest place to start
Open the profile today and check five fields: verification, primary category, hours, phone number and website. Fix any mismatch before adding more content. If those five are already correct, move to services, photos and the review process. If you want a second set of eyes, send Anthony the profile for a practical review of what is complete, what is risky and what should be fixed first.