Google Business Profile Checklist: 15 Fields Most Businesses Get Wrong

If you manage your own Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), this checklist covers the 15 fields that decide whether Google can match you to the right searches. Google says complete, accurate profiles are more likely to appear in local results (Google). Below are the 15 fields I check first, with the mistake I see most often in each.

The 15 fields

1. Primary category

Common mistake: a broad category such as "Contractor" or "Restaurant." Pick the most specific match for your main money service. Whitespark's 2026 experts rank it first of all Map Pack factors (survey).

Restaurants should read our restaurant-specific guide for menu and hours details.

2. Secondary categories

Common mistake: adding categories for services you barely offer. Each one should match a real, regular service.

3. Business name

Common mistake: stuffing keywords like "Best Plumber Hackensack NJ." Use your real-world name. Keyword stuffing is a top cause of suspensions. See the appeal guide.

4. Address or service area

Common mistake: showing a home address for a business customers never visit. Service-area businesses must hide it and list up to 20 service areas (Google SAB help).

5. Regular hours

Common mistake: website hours that don't match the profile. In one audit, a studio's site said weekdays only while the business ran seven days a week. "Open at time of search" ranks in Whitespark's top five Map Pack factors.

6. Holiday and special hours

Common mistake: never setting them, so Google shows you as open on holidays when you're closed.

7. Phone number

Common mistake: a tracking number on the profile that doesn't appear anywhere else. Use your main local number as primary, and add a tracking number as secondary if needed.

8. Website link

Common mistake: pointing to the homepage. Link to your strongest service page and add UTM tags so profile traffic is measurable. See the local SEO report.

9. Services and products

Common mistake: leaving these blank. List each service with a short, plain description.

10. Description

Common mistake: keyword lists. Write 750 characters about who you serve, where, and what makes you different.

11. Attributes

Common mistake: skipping them. Attributes like accessibility, payment types, and language spoken become search filters.

12. Photos and videos

Common mistake: a few stock images from launch day. Add real photos monthly, including exterior, team, work, and interior.

13. Posts

Common mistake: posting twice and stopping. Weekly is the sustainable pace. Use our four-week posting routine.

14. Q&A and FAQs

Common mistake: waiting for profile Q&A to come back. Google retired the Q&A section in late 2025 and now builds AI answers from your profile, reviews, and website. See what happened to GBP Q&A. Put your top questions as FAQs on your website so Google and AI tools can read them there.

15. Reviews and replies

Common mistake: replying to some reviews, months late, with templated text. BrightLocal found 89% of consumers expect owners to respond, and 50% are put off by generic replies (2026). See review velocity.

After optimization: protect the profile

• Check weekly for "suggested edits" from the public or from Google.
• Keep ownership with the business and add your agency as a manager.
• Re-verify quickly when Google asks. See verification by video.
• Mirror the same facts on Bing Places and Apple Business. See Bing Places and AI search.

How long until optimization shows results?

Category, hours, and name corrections can affect visibility within days to weeks. Review and photo gains build over months. Track progress with the 60-minute audit each quarter.

Sources: Google Business Profile Help (7091, 10514137); Whitespark LSRF 2026; BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.

Also read

• Google Business Profile management →
• appealing a suspended profile →
• what replaced Business Profile Q&A →