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The Google Business Profile checklist we use on every client

47 specific things to fix on your GBP listing — the same ones I check before every Valley Digital client goes live. Most local businesses are missing 30+ of them.

No spam, no autoresponder sequences. Jesse picks up the phone if you have questions.

SECTION 1 — BUSINESS BASICS

Get the foundation right

1
Business name matches reality.
Match your storefront sign + website + business cards exactly. Don't keyword-stuff (Google flags this), but if your real name is "Smith Plumbing," consider filing a DBA like "Smith Hemet Plumbing & Drain" — that's legitimate and a huge ranking lift.
2
Primary category is your #1 revenue driver.
Don't pick "general contractor" if 70% of your jobs are kitchen remodels — pick "kitchen remodeler." This is the single biggest local-ranking lever.
3
Secondary categories — add up to 9 relevant ones.
Use the GMB Everywhere Chrome extension to see what your top-3 competitors picked. Match relevant ones, ignore irrelevant ones.
4
Address is exact and current.
If you moved buildings 6 months ago and the listing still says the old suite — that's costing you reviews and rankings.
5
Phone number is local (951 / 909 area code), not a 1-800.
Local numbers signal "real local business" to Google.
6
Website link points to a page that mentions your city.
Don't just link to homepage if it doesn't say "Hemet" / "Menifee" anywhere. Link to a city-specific landing page if you have one.
7
Business hours match your actual hours.
Listings closed during competitor hours rank lower during those windows.
8
Special hours set for holidays.
Google penalizes "open" listings that customers find closed.
SECTION 2 — SERVICES & PRODUCTS

Tell Google exactly what you sell

9
All Google-suggested services are added.
In the dashboard, Edit Services → "Add more services." Click everything that fits.
10
Custom services added for anything Google missed.
If you do something niche — "espresso machine repair," "outdoor kitchen design" — add it as a custom service.
11
Each service has a description with keywords.
Don't leave description blank. Use 1-2 sentences with the city + the service.
12
Pricing shown for at least your most-asked-about services.
"From $X" beats blank. Customers click listings with prices over those without.
13
Products section filled out (if you sell products).
Even service businesses can list "products" like service packages or maintenance plans.
14
Service pages exist on your website for each main service.
Google rewards content alignment between GBP and website.
SECTION 3 — REVIEWS

98% of buyers check reviews first

15
You have a review request system.
Email or text every customer with a direct review link within 24 hours. No system = no consistent reviews.
16
Direct review link saved (g.page/r/...).
Get this from Google → Home → "Get more reviews" → copy short link.
17
Review velocity matches or beats competitors.
If your top competitor gets 5 reviews/month, you need 5+/month minimum. Use Plepper extension to see their pace.
18
Average rating is 4.5+ stars.
4.0 listings get 33% fewer clicks than 4.5+.
19
You respond to every review — positive and negative.
Google factors response rate into ranking. Reply within 48 hours.
20
Negative reviews handled professionally, not deleted.
Customers trust businesses that respond well to bad reviews more than perfect-rated ones.
21
Recent reviews — last one is within 30 days.
"Stale" listings drop in rank. If your last review was 6 months ago, fix this first.
SECTION 4 — PHOTOS & MEDIA

Visuals = clicks

22
Logo + cover photo uploaded and high quality.
Logo: 250x250 minimum. Cover: 1080x608. Blurry = unprofessional.
23
10+ interior photos.
Even service businesses can show workspace, vehicles, equipment.
24
10+ photos of completed work.
Before/after shots crush plain product photos.
25
Team photos with names.
Faces build trust. Add at least 3-5.
26
New photos uploaded monthly.
Active listings rank higher. Set a calendar reminder.
27
A short intro video (30-90s).
Listings with video get 2x more engagement.
SECTION 5 — POSTS & UPDATES

Treat your GBP like a social feed

28
At least 1 Google Post per week.
Posts expire after 7 days unless they're Offers/Events. Keep cadence weekly.
29
Each post has a photo.
Text-only posts get ignored.
30
Each post has a CTA button.
"Call," "Book," "Learn More" — pick one per post.
31
Current promotions/offers running.
Offer-type posts stick around longer than regular updates.
SECTION 6 — Q&A AND ATTRIBUTES

The stuff most people skip

32
You've seeded 5-10 Q&As yourself.
Yes — you can ask AND answer your own questions. Pre-empt the FAQs you get on every call.
33
All competitor Q&As reviewed for inspiration.
See what people ask their listings, answer it on yours first.
34
Every relevant attribute is enabled.
Wi-Fi, wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral restrooms, women-owned, family-friendly, etc. Edit Profile → More tab.
35
Payment methods listed accurately.
Cash, credit, debit, contactless, mobile pay — be specific.
36
"From the business" description filled out (750 chars).
Use city + main service + 2-3 differentiators. Don't waste this slot.
SECTION 7 — LANDING PAGE ALIGNMENT

Your website has to back the GBP up

37
Website NAP matches GBP exactly.
Name, address, phone — character-perfect match. "St." vs "Street" matters.
38
Website passes mobile speed test (PageSpeed <3s).
Slow site = lower GBP rank. Test at pagespeed.web.dev.
39
LocalBusiness schema on homepage.
JSON-LD structured data telling Google your business details. Most cookie-cutter sites are missing this.
40
City name appears in homepage H1 or H2.
"Web Design in Hemet" beats "Web Design Services."
41
Embedded Google Map on contact page.
Pulled from your verified GBP listing.
SECTION 8 — OFF-PROFILE SIGNALS

The work that compounds

42
Listed on Bing Places.
ChatGPT search uses Bing's index. Bing Places is free, takes 5 minutes, basically nobody local does it.
43
Listed on Apple Maps.
Free, separate from Google. Apple users find you here.
44
Listed on Yelp with consistent NAP.
Yelp data feeds many other directories.
45
Listed in 5+ industry-specific directories.
HVAC: Angi, HomeAdvisor. Restaurants: TripAdvisor, OpenTable. Find yours.
46
Local backlinks from at least 3 partner businesses.
Easiest path: trade partner-page links with non-competing local businesses.
47
Mentioned in at least 1 local "best of" article.
Pitch yourself to local bloggers, chamber newsletters, or write a "top 10" yourself featuring partners.

Don't want to do all 47 yourself?

I'll do the entire audit + fixes for your business for $199. Most clients see ranking movement within 2 weeks.

Book a paid audit →

Or just call/text Jesse: (951) 333-5579