When someone nearby searches "saree shop near me" or "plumber in Navrangpura", the first thing they usually see is a map with three businesses under it. Those listings come from Google Business Profile, a free listing that every shop, clinic, office and service business should claim.
For many local businesses the profile brings more calls and visits than the website does. And the two things that most decide whether you appear there, and whether people choose you, are how complete your profile is and your reviews. This guide covers both.
Part 1: Set up the profile
Step 1: Claim or create it
- Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you'll manage the business from. If several people will help, use a business account rather than a personal one, and add the others as managers later.
- Search for your business name. Customers sometimes add businesses to Maps themselves. If yours exists, claim it. If not, create it.
- Choose whether customers visit you, you visit them, or both. A business that works at the customer's address, like a carpenter or a waterproofing contractor, can hide its street address and show a service area instead.
Step 2: Verify it
Google needs to confirm you run the business before the profile goes fully live. It offers the methods it thinks fit your business. These can include a video of your premises and signage, a phone or SMS code, email or a postcard. Follow the instructions exactly. A video usually has to show the signboard, the location and proof that you manage it, such as unlocking the shop or showing equipment.
Don't change your name, address or category while verification is pending. It can restart the process.
Step 3: Get the core details right
- Business name: your real name as it appears on your signboard. Adding keywords, such as "Shree Textiles Best Saree Shop Surat", breaks Google's rules and can get the profile suspended.
- Primary category: the most important setting you control. Pick the most specific one for your main business, such as "Saree shop" rather than "Clothing store". Add a few secondary categories for other services.
- Address and map pin: zoom in and check the pin sits exactly on your entrance.
- Phone and website: use a number that's answered during business hours.
- Hours: add special hours for Diwali and other holidays. Wrong hours lead to angry reviews.
Use exactly the same name, address and phone number on your website and every other listing. The local SEO checklist explains why that consistency matters.
Step 4: Fill in everything else
Profiles with more detail tend to get more calls:
- Description: up to 750 characters on what you do, who for and where. Write for customers.
- Products and services: add each main service with a short description and, where it makes sense, a price.
- Attributes: for example wheelchair access, women-owned, online appointments or delivery.
- Photos: the shopfront from the street (so people recognise it when they arrive), the inside, your team, products and finished work. Real photos beat stock images. Add new ones every month.
Step 5: Keep it active
- Posts: share offers, new stock, events and updates. They show you're open and active.
- Questions and answers: anyone can ask a question on your profile, and anyone can answer it. Answer quickly and accurately before a stranger does.
- Calls and messages: reply fast. Slow replies lose customers to the next listing.
Step 6: Connect it to your website
The profile and website support each other. Link the profile to the most relevant page, usually your home page or a location page. On the website, show the same name, address and phone, embed a map on the contact page, and add LocalBusiness schema so search engines can match the two.
A tip for measuring results: add tracking to the website link in your profile, like https://yourdomain.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp. Google Analytics then shows visits from the profile separately from other Google traffic. Make sure your home page has a canonical tag pointing to the clean address, so the tracking version is never treated as a separate page.
Part 2: Get more reviews
Reviews do two jobs. They're one of the signals Google uses for local rankings, and they're what people read before choosing you over the shop down the road. Most happy customers never think to leave one. The difference between a business with 10 reviews and one with 200 is usually just asking, every time.
Get your review link
- Open your Business Profile while signed in.
- Find Ask for reviews or Get more reviews.
- Copy the short link. It opens the review box directly.
Save it as a WhatsApp Business quick reply, add it to your email signature, and print it as a QR code at the counter, on bills and on packaging.
When and how to ask
Ask when the customer is happiest: right after a delivery or installation, when they thank you, or after a problem was solved well. A message sent the same day gets far more reviews than one sent a week later.
Keep it personal and short:
Thank you for choosing us for your bathroom waterproofing, Mr. Patel! If you're happy with the work, would you share a quick Google review? It helps other families find us: [link]
- Train your team to ask in person, then send the link on WhatsApp.
- Suggest what to mention, such as the product, the service or the staff member, so the review is useful to others. Never suggest a rating.
What's not allowed
Google's rules are strict, and breaking them can get reviews removed or your profile restricted:
- No paying or rewarding for reviews, including discounts, gifts or contest entries.
- No review gating. You can't ask only happy customers, or send people through a "were you satisfied?" step that passes only the happy ones to Google. Ask everyone.
- No fake reviews, including reviews by staff, family or friends posing as customers, or reviews bought from sellers.
- No reviewing competitors, or asking anyone else to.
- No reviews in bulk from your premises, such as handing customers a shop tablet. Many reviews from one device or network get filtered.
Google's automated systems look for these patterns, and suspicious reviews often disappear.
Reply to every review
Future customers read your replies as much as the reviews.
Positive reviews: thank the person by name, mention something specific, keep it short.
Thank you, Riya! We're glad the Banarasi saree was perfect for your sister's wedding. See you next season!
Negative reviews: stay calm and professional, because others will judge you by how you respond.
- Thank them for the feedback.
- Apologise for the experience without arguing details in public.
- Say briefly what you've done or will do.
- Offer to continue privately, with a phone number or email.
We're sorry the delivery was late, Mr. Shah. That isn't the standard we aim for, and we've changed our dispatch process so it doesn't happen again. Please call us on 98765 43210 so we can make this right.
Fake or abusive reviews
If a review breaks Google's policies, such as spam, hate speech, a conflict of interest or a review meant for a different business, report it from your Business Profile. Google decides whether to remove it. A review being negative isn't a reason for removal.
Reviews on your website
You can show Google reviews on your site with an embed or by quoting them. If you add review schema, the reviews must be visible on that page. Google doesn't show star ratings in results for a business's reviews of itself on its own website, so don't expect stars from that.
Common mistakes
- A keyword-stuffed business name
- The wrong primary category
- A virtual office or PO box as the address, which isn't allowed
- Two profiles for one location
- Photos that are only logos or stock images
- Hours never updated for holidays
- Reviews left without a reply, especially negative ones
Check your profile every month
- Open the Performance section to see calls, direction requests, website clicks and the searches that found you.
- Add three or four new photos.
- Publish at least one post.
- Reply to any new reviews and questions.
- Check your hours, especially before festivals.
Fix the mistakes above and keep the profile active, and you'll be ahead of the many competitors who set theirs up once and forgot about it. For the rest of local SEO, from your website to directory listings, work through the local SEO checklist.
