Google Business Profile: how to rank higher on Google Maps

To rank higher on Google Maps, give Google a verified Business Profile with every field filled in correctly and the right category, and keep collecting genuine reviews. Google says local results mainly depend on relevance, distance and how well known a business is (prominence), and only relevance and prominence are in your hands.

A Google Business Profile is the listing that shows your business on Google Search and Google Maps: name, address or service area, hours, phone number, photos and reviews. It is what appears in the map results for searches like “dentist near me”, and as a panel when someone searches your business name.

How does Google decide which businesses show in local results

Google’s ranking help page says local results are “mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”, and explains the third factor under the heading prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search, distance is how far you are from the person searching, and prominence is how well known your business is.

Distance you can’t change. A café in Harrogate is unlikely to outrank one in Leeds city centre for someone standing on Briggate, however good its flapjacks.

Relevance comes from what you put on the profile. Google states that “businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.” Prominence is built from what the rest of the web says about you: Google lists how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have, and says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

Google also says plainly: “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.”

Which Google Business Profile fields matter most

Verification and accurate core details come first, because Google says a verified business is more likely to appear in results. After that, fill in every field that applies to you.

The fields worth checking today:

1. Business name. Your real-world name exactly as it appears on your signage. Google’s guidelines say adding unnecessary information to the name isn’t permitted and could get the profile suspended.
2. Primary category. Google says the categories you pick affect your local ranking (see the next section).
3. Address, if customers come to you. If you go to them, hide the address and set a service area instead.
4. Hours, including special hours for bank holidays and Christmas. Google’s edit page has a separate setting for these.
5. Phone number. Use a local number rather than a central call centre where possible. Google requires the number to be under your direct control and never premium-rate.
6. Website. Google asks for a website that “represents your individual business location”, not a link that redirects or refers people elsewhere.
7. Description. Up to 750 characters, with no links or HTML, and about the business itself, with no promotions or prices.
8. Attributes such as parking or Wi-Fi, which Google lists as part of complete information. A retail shop may also be able to add in-store products where Google offers it.

To test it, search your business name on your phone and read the profile as a stranger would. If the hours are last year’s or the number goes to a mobile nobody answers, fix that before anything else.

How do you choose the right Google Business Profile category

Pick the single most specific category that describes what your business is, then add only a few extra ones for separate services. Google says that “the categories you select affect your local ranking on Google.”

Google’s own example: a nail bar should choose “Nail salon”, not “Salon”. Its guidelines add that a category should complete the sentence “This business is a”, rather than list things you sell or amenities you have. You can’t invent a category, so if yours isn’t on the list, choose the closest general one.

Google’s guidelines say: “Choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business.” The category page is just as direct: “Do not select a category for every product or service.” A dental practice with a category for each treatment goes against both.

How do you get more Google reviews without breaking the rules

Ask every customer and make it easy with Google’s own review link or QR code. Don’t offer anything in return for a review, and don’t send only your happy customers to Google.

Google’s help page on creating a review link or QR code walks you through it: open your profile on a computer (the QR code can’t be generated on mobile), select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails and at the end of a chat, or printing the QR code for your counter.

The rules are strict. Google’s Maps content policy bans offering “payment, discounts, free goods and/or services” for reviews, and bans businesses that “discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.” That second line rules out the trick of sending a “how did we do?” email and only passing happy customers on to Google.

UK law points the same way. The government confirmed that fake reviews became illegal from 6 April 2025 under new consumer rules, with businesses required to take steps to prevent them.

On replies, Google’s review tips ask you to be polite and keep replies short. They also say “each response can reach many customers, so you don’t need to thank every reviewer publicly”, and to avoid using a reply to offer deals or promotions. Google notes that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy. For a negative review, it suggests replying in a timely manner, apologising where appropriate, signing the reply with your own name or initials, and keeping private details out of it.

What photos should you add to your Google Business Profile

Add a logo, a cover photo, an exterior shot, and real photos of your work, products or premises. Google’s photo requirements are JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommended size 720 by 720 pixels and at least 250 by 250.

Photos should be in focus, well lit and free of heavy filters. Videos can be up to 30 seconds and 75 MB, at 720p or higher.

Google says an exterior photo helps customers recognise your business when they visit. A customer driving to a solicitor’s office above a shop in Chester wants to know which door to use.

What Google Business Profile mistakes should you avoid

The costly mistakes are the ones that break Google’s guidelines without the owner knowing. These five are all spelled out there:

• Keywords in the business name. “Smith & Co Emergency Plumber Bristol” when the van says “Smith & Co” counts as unnecessary information and risks suspension.
• “Ltd” added to the name. Google treats legal terms as irrelevant unless you can show real-world proof that they are part of the name.
• A virtual office address. Google says a rented mailing address you don’t operate from isn’t eligible for a profile, and P.O. boxes aren’t accepted.
• Duplicate profiles. Google allows one profile per business location and warns duplicates cause problems with how your information shows on Maps and Search.
• Opening hours on an appointment-only business. Google says businesses that work only by appointment shouldn’t list hours, so a solicitor who sees clients by booking should leave them off.

What does a good Google Business Profile look like for different businesses

The rules are the same for every business. What changes is whether customers come to you or you go to them, and which details they check first.

A plumber in Bristol who works from home picks the most specific plumbing category on the list and hides the home address, because customers never visit. The service area covers Bristol, Bath and the towns between, well inside Google’s guidance that it shouldn’t extend farther than about two hours’ drive from base. The profile name is the name on the van with nothing added. Photos show finished jobs and the van with its signage. The invoice carries the review QR code, and the “job done” text message carries the review link.

A dental practice in Leeds uses the most specific dental category as its primary one, and adds another only if it really runs a separate service. Its hours are the real opening hours, with special hours set for every bank holiday. The phone number is the practice’s own local line. The 750-character description says who the practice treats, whether it takes NHS patients, and how to get there, with no prices. Photos cover reception and the front of the building, so nervous patients know what to expect.

A café in York chooses the category that best completes “This business is a”, fills in attributes such as Wi-Fi honestly, and refreshes photos of the counter, the food and the shopfront each season. A QR code by the till asks for reviews, and the owner replies in their own words where there’s something useful to add.

An online shop with no premises is different. Google’s guidelines describe an eligible business as one with “a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are”, so a shop that only posts parcels should put its effort into the website and Google Search instead.

How do you know if your Google Business Profile is working

Check the Performance section of your profile once a month. Google’s performance report shows the search terms people used to find you, profile views, calls, website clicks, direction requests, messages and bookings.

Look at the search terms first. If a Leeds dentist finds that nobody reaches them through “emergency dentist”, check whether the category and description make it clear you offer it. Note that the searches metric updates at the start of each month and can take up to five days to appear, and calls are only tracked if a phone number is on the profile.

Write calls, website clicks and direction requests into a spreadsheet each month, and compare each month with the same month last year so seasonal businesses aren’t misled by a quiet January.

What to do next

Set aside an hour this week. Search your business on your phone, check the name, category, hours and phone number against Google’s guidelines, add the special hours for the next bank holiday, upload a few current photos, and put your review QR code where customers pay.

Your profile and your website work together in local results; our SEO page covers the website side.

If you’d like to see how your profile compares with the businesses ranking above you nearby, Padon runs a free check and emails a short report within two working days.