Google Business Profile Optimisation: The Complete Guide

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is often the first thing potential customers see when searching for businesses like yours. It appears in Google Maps, the local pack in search results, and the knowledge panel when someone searches your business name.

Optimising this profile is one of the highest-impact activities for local SEO. This guide covers everything you need to do to maximise your GBP’s effectiveness.

Why GBP Matters

When someone searches “plumber near me” or “dentist Logan,” Google shows local results. Your GBP determines:

Whether you appear in these results
What position you hold
What information searchers see
Whether they contact you or your competitor

Businesses with complete, optimised profiles outperform those with minimal profiles. It is as simple as that. Learn more about local ranking factors in our Brisbane local SEO guide.

Getting Started

Claiming Your Profile

If you have not claimed your profile:

Go to google.com/business
Sign in with your Google account
Search for your business
Claim the listing and verify ownership

Verification usually happens via:

Postcard sent to your address
Phone call to your business number
Email verification (some businesses)
Instant verification (if you already use Search Console)

Do not skip verification. Unverified profiles have limited functionality and less visibility.

If Your Business Has No Profile

Create one by:

Going to google.com/business
Clicking “Manage now”
Entering your business name
Following the setup process
Verifying your listing

Essential Profile Elements

Business Name

Use your actual business name exactly as it appears legally. Do not add:

Keywords (“Best Plumber Logan”)
Locations that are not part of your name (“Bob’s Plumbing - Servicing Brisbane”)
Slogans or taglines

Keyword stuffing violates Google’s guidelines and risks suspension.

Address

Physical location businesses: Include your full, accurate address. This is what Google uses for location-based searches.

Service-area businesses: If you travel to customers (like tradies), you can hide your address and set service areas instead. List the suburbs, cities, or regions you serve.

Hybrid businesses: Some businesses have a physical location customers visit AND provide services at customer locations. You can show your address and define a service area.

Service Area

Define this carefully. List the areas you genuinely serve. Being overly broad (claiming you serve all of Queensland) hurts credibility and does not help rankings.

For South East Queensland businesses, consider listing:

Specific suburbs you serve
City names (Logan, Brisbane, Gold Coast)
Accurate radius from your location

Phone Number

Use a local phone number if possible. While 1300 numbers work, local numbers reinforce local presence.

Ensure this number:

Is answered during business hours
Has professional voicemail after hours
Matches the number on your website (NAP consistency)

Website

Link to your homepage or a relevant landing page. This link passes authority and helps connect your GBP to your website in Google’s understanding.

Hours

Keep hours accurate and updated. Wrong hours frustrate customers who show up when you are closed or call when you are not available.

Update for:

Public holidays
Special events
Seasonal changes

Google prompts you to update for major holidays—do not ignore these.

Building Out Your Profile

Business Description

You have 750 characters to describe your business. Use them wisely:

What you do
Who you serve
What makes you different
Your service area

Write for customers, not search engines. Include relevant keywords naturally but do not stuff.

Example: “Platform21 is a digital marketing agency based in Logan, Queensland. We specialise in web development, SEO, and Google Ads for small and medium businesses across South East Queensland. Our focus is on generating measurable results—leads and revenue—not vanity metrics. We work directly with business owners, with no account managers or middlemen.”

Services

Add all your services with descriptions. This helps Google understand what you offer and can improve visibility for specific service searches.

For each service:

Clear service name
Brief description (what it includes, who it is for)
Price or price range (optional but helpful)

Products

If you sell products, add them with:

Product name
Category
Price
Description
Photo

Google Shopping results can pull from GBP products.

Attributes

Attributes vary by business type but can include:

Payment methods accepted
Accessibility features
Languages spoken
Amenities (parking, WiFi, etc.)
Identifiers (veteran-owned, women-owned, etc.)

Complete all relevant attributes. They help customers find businesses that meet their specific needs.

Photos and Media

Businesses with photos receive significantly more engagement than those without.

Required Photos

Logo: Clear, professional, properly sized (250x250 pixels minimum)

Cover photo: Represents your business, shows in search results (1080x608 pixels)

Recommended Photos

Interior photos: Show your workspace, office, or store

Exterior photos: Help customers find you physically

Team photos: Put faces to the business

Work photos: Show your products, services, or completed projects

Photo Guidelines

Use real photos, not stock images
High quality (clear, well-lit)
Relevant to your business
Updated regularly (add new photos monthly if possible)

Google also allows 360-degree virtual tours, which can significantly boost engagement.

Videos

You can add short videos (up to 30 seconds). These appear in your profile and can show:

Your team at work
Facility tours
Customer interactions (with permission)
Product demonstrations

Posts

Google Posts are like mini social media updates that appear on your profile.

Post Types

Update posts: General updates about your business Event posts: Promote events with dates Offer posts: Special offers or promotions Product posts: Highlight specific products

Posting Strategy

Post at least weekly. Posts expire after 7 days (except event posts, which expire after the event).

Good post content:

Special offers or promotions
New services or products
Tips relevant to your industry
Company news
Seasonal content

Include:

An image
Brief, engaging text
A call to action (learn more, call now, etc.)
A link to relevant page on your website

Why Posts Matter

Posts show Google your profile is actively maintained. While posts alone may not significantly impact rankings, they can:

Increase engagement
Highlight offers to searchers
Drive traffic to your website
Demonstrate relevance

Reviews: The Critical Element

Reviews significantly impact both rankings and conversion. A business with many positive reviews will generally outrank one with few reviews.

Getting More Reviews

Ask systematically: After positive interactions, ask for reviews Make it easy: Send a direct link to your review form Train staff: Ensure everyone knows how and when to ask Use moments: Request reviews when customers are happiest

Find your direct review link:

Search for your business in Google
Click “Write a review” on your profile
Copy that URL

Share this link via email, text, receipts, or follow-up messages.

Responding to Reviews

Respond to every review:

Positive reviews:

Thank them specifically
Mention something personal if possible
Keep it brief and genuine

Negative reviews:

Respond promptly
Acknowledge their experience
Apologise for shortcomings
Offer to resolve offline
Stay professional (no arguing)

How you respond to negative reviews matters more than the review itself. Prospective customers watch how businesses handle criticism.

Review Velocity

Getting reviews consistently (a few per week/month) is better than bursts. Consistent review acquisition looks natural and shows ongoing customer satisfaction.

Q&A Section

GBP has a Q&A section where anyone can ask questions and anyone can answer. This is often underutilised.

Managing Q&A

Monitor for new questions (check weekly)
Answer questions quickly and thoroughly
Seed common questions yourself (ask and answer your own FAQs)

Example self-seeded Q&A: Q: “Do you offer emergency services after hours?” A: “Yes, we provide 24/7 emergency services for existing clients. Call [number] anytime.”

This provides helpful information and addresses common queries before they are asked.

Insights and Analytics

GBP provides performance data:

Views: How many people see your profile Search queries: What searches trigger your listing Actions: Calls, website visits, direction requests Photo views: How your photos perform Benchmarks: How you compare to similar businesses

Review insights monthly to understand:

Which searches bring customers
What actions people take
Whether your optimisations are working

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Keyword stuffing business name: Violates guidelines, risks suspension

Wrong categories: Using broad or irrelevant categories hurts visibility

Inconsistent NAP: Name, address, phone must match everywhere

Ignoring reviews: Both not collecting them and not responding

Stale profiles: No posts, outdated photos, old information

Fake reviews: Google detects patterns; risks are not worth it

Ongoing Maintenance

GBP requires regular attention:

Weekly:

Post an update
Check for new reviews and respond
Check Q&A for new questions

Monthly:

Add new photos
Review insights
Update services or products if changed
Check for Google suggestions to update

Quarterly:

Full profile audit
Update description if business has evolved
Review category accuracy
Check competitor profiles for ideas

The Impact

A fully optimised GBP can:

Significantly improve local pack rankings
Increase phone calls and website visits
Build trust before customers even reach your site
Differentiate you from competitors with basic profiles

For local businesses, GBP optimisation is among the highest-return activities you can do. The effort is modest; the impact is significant.

Need help optimising your Google Business Profile? Platform21 provides local SEO services including GBP optimisation for South East Queensland businesses. Get in touch or explore our SEO services for a free profile review.

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