Twelve checks any owner can run today. Most profiles fail at least four.
Category: GBP Checklist
1. Profile Completeness
Open your GBP dashboard. Every field should be filled — business description, website, phone, hours, service area, attributes. A partial profile is a partial signal to Google. Good: 100% field completion with a description that includes your core services and primary city.
2. Primary + Secondary Categories
Your primary category should be the most specific match to your core service — "HVAC Contractor," not "Contractor." Secondary categories should cover adjacent services you actually provide. Wrong categories send the wrong leads. Good: one precise primary category, two to four relevant secondary categories.
3. Services with Descriptions
Each service listed should have a written description of at least two sentences. This is one of the most skipped optimizations on GBP. Google uses these descriptions to match your profile to search queries. Good: every service has a unique description that includes the service name and a geographic reference.
4. FAQs Filled
The FAQ section inside GBP is a direct AI-readability signal. Answer the five questions your customers ask most: pricing, availability, service area, licensing, and what happens at the appointment. Good: five or more questions answered, written in natural language, not keyword-stuffed.
5. Post Cadence
When was your last GBP post? If it's been more than two weeks, your profile looks dormant to both Google and visitors. Posts should be weekly minimum — seasonal offers, completed jobs, tips, or review highlights. Good: at least one post in the last seven days.
6. Photo Recency + Count + Type Mix
A GBP with 200 photos added three years ago is worse than a profile with 60 photos added over the last 12 months. Recency matters. Type mix matters: before/after, team, equipment, and job-site photos all outperform logo and stock images. Good: 50+ total photos, at least four new photos added in the last 30 days, mix of job-site and team shots.
7. Review Volume
Absolute number of reviews. No floor that works everywhere, but in most local markets, under 50 reviews makes you invisible in competitive local packs. Good: 100+ total reviews in a competitive market; 50+ in a smaller one.
8. Review Recency
A five-star average with reviews from 18 months ago will lose to a 4.7 average with reviews from this week. Google and customers both weigh recency heavily. Good: at least two new reviews in the last 30 days; no gap longer than three weeks.
9. Review Response Rate
Every review should get a response — five-star or one-star. Response rate is a ranking signal and a trust signal. Good: 100% response rate, responses written in natural language, not templated copy-paste.
10. Service-Area Accuracy
Does your service area match the cities and zip codes you actually work in? Over-broad service areas dilute your relevance signal. Under-broad areas cut out jobs you could book. Good: service area matches your dispatch radius exactly, listed by city name.
11. AI-Readability
AI search tools pull GBP data to answer "best HVAC company near me" queries. Your profile needs to answer: what do you do, where do you do it, why should I trust you, how do I reach you. Good: business description, services, and FAQs collectively answer all four questions without requiring the reader to visit your website.
12. Q&A — Owner-Answered
The Q&A section can be populated by anyone, including competitors and bots. Check yours. Add your own questions and answer them if the section is empty. Good: five or more Q&As present, all answered by the owner or a verified team member.