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Google Business Profile audit checklist

The short answer

A Google Business Profile audit checks your profile against Google’s guidelines and good practice: verified, your real business name, the most specific main category, your true service area and hours, services listed, real photos, recent updates, a phone that gets answered, and steady reviews with replies. Tick the 15 checks below for a score and what to fix first.

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a customer sees. Go through 15 quick checks, get a score, and see what to fix first. No sign-up, nothing stored.

Tick what’s true of your profile

Open your Business Profile on Google next to this page and go down the list.

Basics
Calls and messages
Photos and updates
Reviews

Your profile score

0 out of 100

0 of 15 done. Your profile needs work. Start with the first few items below; each one is quick.

Fix these first

  1. My profile is verified and I can edit itClaim and verify your profile at business.google.com. Until it’s verified, you can’t control what it says.
  2. The business name is my real business name, with no extra keywords or townsGoogle’s guidelines say your name should reflect your real-world business name, without taglines or other extra information. Drop extras like “Best Plumber Albany”.
  3. The main category is the most specific one for my work (for example “Septic system service”, not “Contractor”)Pick the most specific category that describes your main service, then add others for the rest of your work.
  4. The phone number on my profile is answered, or callers get a text back, when I can’t pick upCalls from your profile are some of your best leads. If they go to voicemail, many call the next business in the list.
  5. I never offer discounts or gifts for reviews, and I ask every customer, not only happy onesGoogle’s policies don’t allow paying for reviews or only asking customers you expect to leave good ones. Ask everyone the same way.
  6. My service area lists the towns or counties I actually serveSet your service area to where you really go. If customers don’t come to your address, hide it and use a service area instead.

And 9 more in the list.

How it works

Open your profile on Google (search your business name, or go to business.google.com) next to this page and tick each item that’s true. The score weighs the items that matter most, like verification, an honest business name and the right main category, more than the nice-to-haves.

Some checks come straight from Google’s guidelines for Business Profiles (opens in a new tab) (your real business name, your real service area, no paid reviews). The rest are plain good practice. No checklist can promise a ranking; a complete, honest, active profile gives customers what they need to call you.

For reviews, make a direct link with the Google review link generator.

Common questions

What is a Google Business Profile audit?
A check of your profile against Google’s guidelines and good practice: name, categories, service area, hours, services, photos, updates and reviews. This checklist walks you through it.
Can I put keywords in my business name?
No. Google’s guidelines say the name should reflect your real-world business name, as on your truck, website and invoices, without taglines or other extra information. Keywords and towns that aren’t part of your real name don’t belong there.
How often should I update my profile?
Check hours before every holiday, add photos and an update every month or so, and reply to reviews as they come in.
Will this improve my ranking?
We can’t promise rankings, and no one honestly can. A complete, accurate, active profile is what Google asks for and what customers look for.

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