Your Google Business Profile is often the first and only thing a customer sees before they ring you. This is the checklist we run for every new client in Cork, in the order that makes the biggest difference first.
1. Get the basics exactly right
- Business name: your real-world name, exactly as it appears on your signage. Adding keywords or locations to the name breaks Google’s guidelines and can get the listing suspended.
- Address or service area: if customers visit you, show your address. If you travel to them, hide the address and list the towns and areas you serve instead.
- Phone number: a local number that is answered. Make sure it matches your website and other listings character for character.
- Website link: link to the most relevant page. For multi-location businesses that is usually the location page, not the homepage.
2. Choose categories from evidence, not instinct
Your primary category carries more weight than anything else you can edit. Search for your main service in your area, open the top three map results and note their primary categories. Pick the most specific category that genuinely describes you. A family law attorney category will beat a generic lawyer one for family law searches.
Then add secondary categories for other services you actually provide. Do not add categories for things you do not do; it confuses customers and Google alike.
3. Fill in services and products
Most profiles leave the services section half empty. List every service, with a short plain description. If you sell products, add them with photos and prices. These fields give Google more ways to match you to searches, and customers more reasons to choose you.
4. Write a description for humans
You have 750 characters. Use the first two sentences to say what you do, who for and where. Mention your main areas naturally, for example serving Douglas, Rochestown and the southside. Skip the clichés about passion and excellence; specifics like opening hours, parking or same-week appointments convert better.
5. Photos: real, recent and regular
- A clear logo and cover photo.
- The outside of your premises from the street, so people recognise it when they arrive.
- The inside, your team and your work. Real photos beat stock images every time.
- New photos every month. A stream of fresh photos signals an active business.
6. Hours, including the awkward ones
Set regular hours and then add special hours for bank holidays, Christmas and any closures. Google regularly asks searchers whether a business is open, and wrong hours are one of the most common reasons for bad reviews.
7. Post every week
Posts appear on your profile and show Google the business is active. Share offers, events, new work, seasonal tips or answers to common questions. Keep them short, add a photo and a button. Weekly is plenty.
8. Seed your Questions and Answers
Anyone can ask or answer questions on your profile, including strangers who guess wrong. Post the five questions customers ask you most and answer them yourself. Check back regularly for new ones.
9. Build a review rhythm
- Ask every happy customer, ideally by text with a direct link, within a day of the job.
- Reply to every review, positive or negative, within a few days. Thank people by name and mention the service.
- Handle negative reviews calmly and offer to take it offline. Future customers judge you on the reply as much as the complaint.
- Never buy reviews or offer rewards for them.
10. Watch for unwanted edits
Google and the public can suggest changes to your profile, and sometimes they go live without you noticing. Log in at least monthly, check your details are still correct and review the performance stats: calls, direction requests and website clicks.
Work through this list once and you will be ahead of most businesses in your category. If you want us to do it for you, our Google Business Profile service covers all of it, and the first audit is free.