Brandie Neagles
If the last time you touched your Google Business Profile was when you first set it up, some of what you think you know about it is probably out of date. Google discontinued the chat and call-history features in 2024. Naming rules have gotten stricter. What counts as a “complete” profile has changed.
Here’s a current checklist, sourced from Google’s own guidelines, not a secondhand summary of them.
What’s actually changed
A quick myth-check before the checklist, since a lot of advice still floating around hasn’t caught up:
Chat and call history are gone. As of July 2024, Google removed the chat and call-history features from Business Profiles entirely. If you’re still seeing advice telling you to “turn on chat” or “check your call log,” it’s outdated. Customers can still call and find you through Search and Maps. You just won’t manage that through the old chat interface anymore.
Naming has gotten stricter. Google’s guidelines are explicit: your business name should reflect only your real-world name, as used on your storefront, website, and stationery. No added keywords, no city names, no “Best [Service] in [City]” stuffed into the name field. This has always technically been the rule, but enforcement has tightened, and profiles that don’t comply risk suspension. Keyword-stuffed names are a classic spam tactic, and if a competitor is doing it, here’s how to spot and report local SEO spammers.
The checklist
Claim and verify your profile. If you haven’t done this, nothing else on this list matters yet. Go to google.com/business, claim or add your listing, and complete verification. Not sure which account owns yours? Our checklist for owning your business logins can help you sort it out.
Get your business name exactly right. Real-world name only, with no extra keywords or location terms appended. Google’s own guidelines are direct about this, and it’s one of the more common reasons profiles get flagged.
Set your address or service area accurately. A P.O. box or virtual office isn’t acceptable for a physical address. If you’re a service-area business without a public storefront, set your service area rather than forcing a physical address.
Choose the right primary category, then add relevant secondary ones. Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you’re eligible to appear in. Be as specific as your actual work allows. “Plumber” is fine, but if emergency plumbing is most of your business, make sure that’s reflected in your services too, not just buried in your description.
Keep hours accurate, including holidays. Wrong hours don’t just frustrate a customer standing outside a locked door. They also undermine the trust signals both Google and AI tools use to decide whether your information is reliable.
Write a description that describes, not sells. Google’s guidelines explicitly disallow business descriptions that focus on sales, pricing, or promotions, so no “everything 50% off” language. Use the space to plainly explain what you do, who you serve, and what makes you different.
List your actual services, in detail. Vague or missing service listings make it harder for both searchers and AI tools to match you to the right question. If you offer ten services, list ten, not three generic categories.
Add real photos, regularly. Real work photos, not stock images. A profile that hasn’t added a new photo in two years reads as inactive, to customers and to Google alike.
Respond to every review. Yes, even the good ones. A thoughtful response (especially to a critical review) signals an active, accountable business. And if you need more reviews to respond to, we share easy, non-awkward ways to ask in how to get more Google reviews without being pushy.
Most businesses treat their Google Business Profile like a form they filled out once. It’s not a form. It’s one of the most-viewed pages you own, and it’s worth revisiting a few times a year.
Brandie Neagles, Coyote Creative
Why this matters beyond Google Maps
As we covered in How AI Search Is Changing How Customers Find Local Service Businesses, your Google Business Profile isn’t just feeding the map pack anymore. It’s also one of the primary sources AI tools pull from when someone asks for a recommendation in your category. An accurate, complete, current profile does double duty: it’s foundational local SEO, and it’s foundational AI visibility. Getting it right once, and revisiting it a few times a year, covers both.
For the fuller picture of how this fits into your overall local SEO, see The Complete Local SEO Guide for Service Businesses.
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Read next: The Complete Local SEO Guide for Service Businesses
