Insights/February 4, 2026 · 7 min
How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Ian, founder
The listing is the real homepage for a local business. Treat it like one.
If a stranger's first encounter with you is a map pack card, then the Google Business Profile is not a side channel. It is the storefront. Most profiles are half-finished: a logo, two photos from 2019, and a description copied from the website's first paragraph.
Get the facts exact
Primary category first — it does more than the extras. Hours including holidays. Phone that is answered. Service area vs. storefront chosen correctly (this single setting quietly wrecks visibility when it's wrong). Address as it appears on the door.
Services, products, and questions
Fill the services list with the things people search. Add products if you have them (whitening, memberships, treatment packages). Answer the Q&A — if you don't, strangers will, and they will be wrong.
Photos that look like Tuesday
Google wants recency and reality. Upload the treatment room, the van, the front desk, the office — not a stock handshake. Cover interior, exterior, team, and work. A monthly photo habit is an SEO tactic even if it doesn't feel like one.
Posts, reviews, and a weekly 20 minutes
Short posts for offers, hours, and events. A process for asking reviews after good jobs. Replies to every review, including the bad ones, in a calm voice. Twenty minutes a week keeps a profile alive. Neglect is visible.