Google Business Profile Checklist
Go through your Google Business Profile section by section: name, categories, hours, photos, services or menu, posts, reviews and links. Each item says why it matters in Google's own words and links to the Google help page it comes from. Your ticks stay in this browser.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
0 of 43 done
Example: a profile that is about half done. Nothing was saved. If you tick or untick an item now, this becomes your checklist and replaces the ticks you had saved.
Your ticks are saved in this browser only: a list of item codes, nothing else. No account, and nothing is sent to VISU or to Google. Summary to send
Access and verification
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Google says that once you add or claim your profile, at no charge, you control how your business information shows up on Google.
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Google says you need to verify your business to edit its info, such as the name or the hours, and to interact with customers.
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Google says each user needs their own Google Account, so no password is shared. Managers can edit info, reply to reviews and post, but cannot add or remove users.
Name, address and contact
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Google's guidelines do not permit unnecessary information in the name, such as taglines, opening hours or phone numbers, and say it can get a profile suspended.
Google Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
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Google asks for a complete street address with building, suite and floor numbers, and lets you pin the location on the map when the address cannot be found.
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Google lets you set up to 20 service areas by city or postal code, and says to remove the address if you do not serve customers at it.
Google Help: Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses
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Google's guidelines ask for a number that connects to your individual location and is under the direct control of the business, local rather than a call center whenever possible.
Google Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
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Google asks for the full URL, including http:// or https://, and says some categories can also add links for online orders, reservations or appointments.
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Google shows it under "From the business", limits it to 750 characters and says to focus on the business, not on promotions, prices or sales.
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Google says businesses that are already open can add the date they opened, and that only the year and month are required.
Categories and attributes
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Google says to pick a specific category (for example "Nail salon" instead of "Salon") and that the categories you select affect your local ranking.
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Google says to use a few additional categories for special departments or services, and not to select one for every product or service.
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Google says attributes show on Search and Maps, and that with certain attributes your business might show up in searches for places that have them.
Hours
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Google says this is how customers find your accurate hours for a normal week. A break is entered as two sets of hours on the same day.
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Google says it is a good idea to confirm your hours for official holidays even when they are the same as your regular hours.
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Google's "More hours" hold the hours of specific services such as delivery, takeout, drive through and pickup, and only show once regular hours are set.
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Google says to mark the business "Temporarily closed" when it closes for more than 7 days, for the off season or indefinitely, and to use special hours for shorter closures.
Photos
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Google says the logo helps customers recognize your business on Google.
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Google places the cover photo at the top of the profile, and notes it is not guaranteed to be the first image shown.
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Google says exterior photos help customers recognize your business as they approach from different directions.
Google Help: Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
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Google says interior photos help customers get a feel for the ambiance and decor of your business.
Google Help: Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
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Google suggests at least three photos of the products you sell, the food and drinks you serve or the services you provide.
Google Help: Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
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Google says team photos present a more personal side of your business.
Google Help: Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
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Google asks for 10 KB to 5 MB per photo, at least 250 x 250 px (720 x 720 recommended), and images that represent reality.
Services, menu and products
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Google says that when local customers search for an offering you provide, that service may be highlighted on your profile. Only certain categories have the services editor.
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Google says the product editor suits local stores that sell physical goods, and that items added there appear on the profile in Google Search.
Posts
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Google says posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set, and that your latest updates help customers decide to visit.
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Google says an offer post requires a title, dates and times, and an event post takes a title with start and end dates.
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Google says the button should take customers to a website where they can complete the action, like booking, ordering online or learning more.
Reviews
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Google lets you create a link or QR code to request reviews and suggests using it on receipts, in thank you emails and on display in the store.
Google Help: Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
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Google's policy does not allow discouraging negative reviews or selectively asking customers for positive ones.
Google Help: Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user contributed content policy)
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Google says offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, for posting, changing or removing reviews is strictly prohibited.
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Google says replying shows customers you value their feedback. Replies are public, and the person who wrote the review is notified.
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Google says only reviews that violate its policies are eligible for removal, and not to report a review just because you disagree with it.
Google Help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
Chat and questions
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Google says a claimed and verified profile can add a WhatsApp or text messaging option, in select regions. If you add both, only text is shown.
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Google says owners and managers can answer questions in the Q&A section, which exists only for select categories and regions and may change.
Links
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Google lets you add links to book an appointment, make a reservation or place an order, and to mark one as "Business preferred".
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Google says links from third-party providers can appear automatically on a profile, and that you can ask for their removal.
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Google allows one link each for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X and YouTube. Available in select regions.
Keeping it right
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Google says it may update a profile from user reports and other sources, shows its changes in blue in the editor, and gives you 4 days to accept or reject certain suggested edits.
Google Help: Understand Google updates on your Business Profile
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Google's Profile Strength indicator points out missing info such as the description, the hours and contact info. It only shows for verified profiles.
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Google shows owners and managers how people find the profile and what they do there. Search terms are updated at the start of each month.
Google Help: Understand your Business Profile performance & insights
Google help pages read on October 11, 2026.
Progress
- Access and verification0/3
- Name, address and contact0/7
- Categories and attributes0/3
- Hours0/4
- Photos0/7
- Services, menu and products0/3
- Posts0/3
- Reviews0/5
- Chat and questions0/2
- Links0/3
- Keeping it right0/3
Summary to send
For whoever looks after the profile: the count of each section and what is still to do.
What Google says about showing up in local results
Complete and accurate first
Google says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results, and that a profile with inaccurate info might not show up for relevant searches in its area.
Relevance, distance, prominence
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance (how well the profile matches the search), distance (how far the business is from the person searching) and prominence (how well known it is). It adds that more reviews and positive ratings can help.
Nothing to buy
Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. That is why this list has no tricks: only what the owner can keep correct and complete.
What changed, so it is not here
According to Google, the chat inside Business Profile and the call history stopped being available on July 31, 2024. What the list covers is the WhatsApp or text message option that exists today. Q&A is a single conditional item, because Google says it exists only for select categories and regions.
Google Help: Changes to Google Business Profile chat and call history
Where every item comes from
Each item on the list comes from one of these pages of Google's own help, read on October 11, 2026. Google changes features and policies: the linked page is always the reference, and an item with no page behind it is not on the list. VISU is not affiliated with Google.
- Add or claim your Business Profile
- Verify your business on Google
- Manage your Business Profile owners & managers
- Edit your Business Profile
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Manage your business address
- Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses
- Add a business opening date
- Manage your business category
- Manage your business attributes
- Edit your business hours
- How to set Special hours
- How to set More hours
- Mark your business as closed
- Manage your Business Profile photos & videos
- Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
- Manage your services on your Business Profile
- About the menu editor
- About product editor
- Create & manage posts on your Business Profile
- Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
- Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user contributed content policy)
- Tips to get more reviews
- Manage customer reviews
- Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
- Chat with customers from your Business Profile
- Manage your local business links
- Manage your social media links
- Understand Google updates on your Business Profile
- Manage your Profile Strength
- Understand your Business Profile performance & insights
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Changes to Google Business Profile chat and call history
Reviews are the part you cannot do alone
Everything else on this list depends on you. Reviews depend on customers finding the way to your review form. VISU Local gives your business a page in a local directory, with a QR code that opens your Google review form for every customer, the same way, with nothing offered in return.
See VISU Local Just need the QR code? Use the free Google review QR generatorHow to use it
- Open your Business Profile in another tab: search for your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages it.
- Go section by section and tick what is right today. In doubt about an item? The link under it opens the Google help page it comes from, in your language.
- Watch the progress on the side. What is left unticked is your to-do list, section by section.
- Copy the summary or send it on WhatsApp to whoever looks after the profile, or print the checklist with the boxes ticked and empty.
- Come back when something changes (hours, phone, menu, a holiday). Your ticks are still here, in this browser.
Examples
A restaurant two weeks before the holidays
The owner ticks 31 of 43 in ten minutes. What is left is clear: special hours for the holidays, the current menu, a post that is over 6 months old. She sends the summary on WhatsApp to the nephew who manages the profile.
A salon that has just been verified
9 of 43 done. The list gives the order: name as on the sign, "Nail salon" as the primary category instead of "Salon", regular hours, then three photos of the front and three of the inside.
A freelancer who looks after several profiles
Prints the checklist for each client and ticks it on paper during the call. The browser keeps one list, so on screen it is one profile at a time: clear the ticks before starting the next one.
Questions
Is this an official Google checklist?
No. VISU is not affiliated with Google and this page is not made or endorsed by Google. What it does is point every item at the page of Google's own Business Profile Help it comes from, read on October 11, 2026, so you can check each one at the source.
What is saved, and where?
Only which items you ticked, as a short list of item codes, in the storage of this browser (localStorage). There is nothing to type here, so no business name, no address and no account. Nothing is sent to VISU or to Google. "Clear all ticks" erases it, and so does clearing the site data in your browser. On another phone or browser the list starts empty.
What do I do with an item that does not apply to my business?
Tick it. The items that depend on the kind of business start with "If" (if you serve food, if you deliver, if your profile offers chat). An item that does not apply needs no more attention from you, and that is what a tick means here.
How often should I go through the list again?
Google does not give a schedule, so here is what its help does say: posts older than 6 months are archived, special hours are set holiday by holiday, and Google may change your info from other sources, with 4 days for you to accept or reject certain suggested edits. Our suggestion: check the affected section whenever something changes in the business and before each holiday, and do the full list a couple of times a year.
Will finishing the list put me first on Google Maps?
Nobody can promise that. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and that local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. What it also says is that businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results. That part is in your hands.
Is Google My Business the same thing?
Yes. Google My Business is the former name of what Google now calls Google Business Profile. Today you edit the profile directly on Google Search or in the Google Maps app, signed in to the account that manages it.
Why is there nothing here about keywords in the business name?
Because Google's guidelines do not permit it. The name must be the real one, as on your sign, and unnecessary information in it can get the profile suspended. The same goes for rewards in exchange for reviews, which Google prohibits. This list only has what Google's help tells owners to do.
Can I send the list to the person who manages my profile?
Yes. The summary shows the count of each section and what is still to do, and you can add what is already done. Copy it, or use the WhatsApp button: it opens WhatsApp with the text ready and you choose who gets it. The text is built on your device and only leaves it when you send it.