This is the exact list we run on every Google Business Profile — ours included. Each item is marked OK, Weak or Missing, and the listing gets a score out of 100. Most listings we open score between 20 and 40. Almost everything here can be fixed by the owner in an evening; we are writing it down so you can.
If you have never logged in to manage the profile, someone else can edit it — and Google trusts it less. Claim it, verify it, and add a second manager so you are never locked out.
The single most important field. "Skin care clinic" and "Dermatologist" show up for different searches. Pick the one your best customers would search, not the broadest one.
Most listings have none. A dental clinic that also does implants and orthodontics should say so here — each category unlocks a different set of searches.
"Home Services" tells Google nothing. "Root canal treatment" tells it exactly what you do. Write each service in the words a customer would type, and give each one a sentence.
750 characters. Use them. Say what you do, for whom, where, and what makes you different — in plain words, with your main services and area named.
Free space almost nobody fills. Products can be services with a price; attributes (women-owned, wheelchair access, online appointments) show as badges.
A profile with no owner photos, or none since 2023, reads as closed. One new photo a month is enough.
Count matters against your nearest rivals, not in the abstract. Replies matter more than most owners think — an unanswered complaint sits at the top of your listing for years. And a newest review from two years ago says the same thing an empty shop window does.
One every week or two. If yours keep getting rejected, this is usually why.
Live, dead or missing. A dead link is worse than none — it sends people to an error page and confuses Google about what you do.
We have seen listings with no phone number at all. Check that both buttons exist and that the number actually rings.
"Open 24 hours" on a design studio, or no holiday hours over Diwali, both cost trust. Set the real ones.
The fifteenth check is what your ad account is actually buying. Read this first.
Want the score for your own listing? Send the business name — the report is free and comes back within a day.
Send a business name. The free 15-point report covers this and fourteen other things, for your listing specifically.
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