When someone searches for “café”, “hardware store” or “hairdresser” on their phone, the first thing they see is not a website: it is the map with three or four Google profiles. They check the hours, photos and reviews there, and decide in seconds who to call or visit.
Google says it ranks those results on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance and prominence (how well known and well rated your business is). You can’t change distance, but you can work on the other two. This is what matters most.
1. Verified, with your real name
An unverified profile barely shows up and anyone can suggest changes to your details. Verification is usually a short video from your phone. And use the name on your sign: adding words like “best bar in La Laguna” breaks Google’s rules and can get your profile suspended.
2. The exact main category
It is one of the biggest factors in which searches you appear for. Pick the most specific one (“Barber shop” rather than “Hair salon”, “Café” rather than “Restaurant”) and add secondary categories for everything else you do.
3. Complete hours, including holidays
Google lets you set special hours for public holidays and closures. If you don’t, someone will turn up on a holiday, find the shutters down and probably not come back. Some will say so in a review.
4. Phone, WhatsApp and a useful link
The profile must let people take the next step: call, message or see the menu. If you have a website, link it; if not, link your menu or booking system. A profile with no way to contact you is a shop window without a door.
5. Real, recent photos
Photos are one of the first things people look at. Upload at least the front of the building (so people recognise it when they arrive), the inside, your products or work and, if you like, the team. Real phone photos in good light beat stock images, and add a new one every few months.
6. Your services, products or menu, with prices
It answers the question everyone has before contacting you: “how much is it?”. Each service you add also helps Google understand which searches you are relevant for.
7. A description you wrote
You have 750 characters to say what you do, who for and where. Write it the way you would explain it to a customer, without repeating keywords or adding links or promotions, which Google does not allow in this field.
8. Recent reviews, with replies
Reviews count towards prominence and, above all, towards the customer’s decision. Having them is not enough: they should be recent, and you should reply to all of them, including the bad ones. I explain how in the reviews guide.
And then: keep it alive
A profile is not something you set up once and forget. You change your summer hours, add a photo of the new dish, post that you are taking Christmas orders. Those small touches tell Google, and your customers, that the business is active.