Google Business Listings: Optimization Checklist

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You can manage this information via the Edit Profile button:

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Business Name: Enter your business name as it appears on your business card, or how you normally refer to it.

Conditions

Don't add extra keywords to your business name with the intent of ranking for them.
Don't add the location name or city.
If there are multiple practitioners at your location, don't allow them to have their own listings. Doing so is technically allowed but will water down the visibility of the main listing.

Adding keywords to the business name puts your listing at risk of suspension. But it does help with performance. If you have a higher risk tolerance, you can add keywords. Just be aware of the risks.

In 90% of these suspensions, the listing will be reinstated. But there's a 10% chance that you will lose your listing permanently.

Example

If you're a dentist:

Yes: Pearly White Dental

No: Pearly White Dental, Top Dentist Seattle

If you're a divorce lawyer:

Yes: ACME LLP

No: ACME LLP Divorce Lawyers

Short Name: Use your business name as your short name.

Conditions

Update: Editing short names is no longer allowed.

If you already have a short name, you should keep it as-is. Deleting your short name won't allow you to add a new one.

Primary Category: Select the primary category which best represents your business. Don't overthink this.

Conditions

You can only select from a pre-defined list.

Example

If you are a divorce lawyer:

Yes: Choose Divorce Lawyer as your primary category.

No: Choose Law Firm as your primary category.

Additional Category: Select as many secondary categories that apply to your business.

Conditions

Don't add categories if they do not directly apply to your company’s offerings.

Example

If you are a divorce lawyer, choose:

Family Law Firm
Attorney
Law Firm

If you are a mortgage broker, but not a direct lender, do not choose:

Mortgage Lender

Social Profiles: Add links to active social media accounts for your business.

Conditions

Don't add links to personal social media accounts - unless your personal brand is directly tied to the business.

Example

Here are common formats for social media links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/[username]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/[username]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/[username]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/[username]

Twitter (X): https://www.twitter.com/[username]

Address: Put the street address on the first line and suite numbers on the second line.

Conditions

If an employee of your business is not actively at your location during business hours, then you should hide your address.
Put the street address on Address Line 1 and any suite/unit numbers on Address Line 2.

Example

Line 1: 520 6 Avenue

Line 2: Suite 311

Service Area: Add the cities, postal codes, or regions that you service.

Conditions

Only use this if you meet customers at their locations.
There are some businesses which have customers that visit them - and also go to customers’ locations. It's fine to have an address and list a service area on the same listing.
Your visibility will be reduced outside of a 25 mile radius (about 40 km), regardless of the service areas you list.

Example

If you service the entire USA – listing the country as a service area does not mean you will have visibility everywhere.

Business Hours: Enter regular, customer-facing hours of operation.

Conditions

Always use the Open with main hours option.
If you are open 24 hours a day - then select that option from the "Opens at" dropdown.
Add special hours for holidays and other events. You'll need to confirm holiday hours on an annual basis.
If you're able to extend your hours by being available a little longer via phone – then include these hours on your listing. This improves visibility - when competitors' hours have marked them as closed.

Example

Christmas Day: Closed

December 1-23: Extended hours.

If you are a seasonal business: Remove operating hours when closed, and re-enter when the season comes.

More Hours: If you have a second set of hours, enter them here.

Conditions

You must enter your regular business hours before adding this.

Example

Seniors Only: 7am to 8am

Drive-Through: 10pm to 8am

Primary + Additional Phone Numbers: Use your local business number as the primary number. If you have a toll-free number, you can add it as an additional phone number.

Conditions

If using call tracking - use this number in the primary phone field. Add your local business number and/or toll-free number in the additional phone field.

"Do call tracking numbers hurt citations?"

Adding a call tracking number in the phone field will not negatively impact citations - as long as the main business' number is included in an additional field.

(Citations are covered in the next module.)

Example

Primary Phone: 310-123-4567

Additional Phone: 1-800-123-4567

Website: Add your website including the http or https component. Include UTM codes (provided).

Conditions

Important: Try to link to a local landing page here if possible. See the Local Landing Page section.
Add the following code to the end of your website URL:

?utm_source=google-business&utm_medium=organic

done!

click to copy

If you have an analytics account (e.g. Google Analytics 4), this will help you see who is coming to the website from your Google listing. Important for comparing its performance against other traffic channels.

Example

Website: https://www.YourCompany.com/

Website with UTM code: https://www.YourCompany.com/?utm_source=google-business&utm_medium=organic

Appointment URL: Add the URL of your contact page or booking system.

Conditions

Like your website URL, add the following at the end:

?utm_source=google-business&utm_medium=organic

done!

click to copy

Example

Contact Page: https://www.YourCompany.com/contact/

With UTM code: https://www.YourCompany.com/contact/?utm_source=google-business&utm_medium=organic

Menu (for Restaurants): If your business is a restaurant, you can add a link to your menu.

Conditions

You cannot link directly to PDF documents here. It must be a page on your website.
You can add your menu directly to your Google Business listing (recommended).

Example

Menu Page: https://www.YourCompany.com/menu/

With UTM code: https://www.YourCompany.com/menu/?utm_source=google-business&utm_medium=organic

Service/Menu/Product Information: These sections allow you to provide information about company offerings directly on the listing. Many companies gloss over this, and it hurts their engagement.

Conditions

Services are only available for specific types of business categories.
Menus are only available for restaurants.
Products are only available for certain retail businesses.
Create separate sections for each category of your services/menu/products.
If you offer many services/products, I would recommend only adding the most popular offers. Be sure to update these if they are seasonal.
Enter the offer names as they are described normally by your business.
If your offer names are highly branded (e.g. car inspection service named “Full Scan Pro”), then be sure to specifically call out what the service is in terms that customers would understand in the description.
Add a description for each product/service. You can use the same description used on your website or in store (there is a 300 character limit).

Example

Service Name: Car Inspection

Service Description: We provide full car inspections to customers in Irvine. This service is available for all sizes and types of vehicles. If you do not require a full inspection, and would only like specific areas looked at, we can do this at a discounted price as well.

Business Attributes: Define the attributes that correctly describe your business.

Conditions

You can only select from the list provided (similar to business categories).
Only include attributes that accurately describe your business. Your customers can verify this on their end, and Google will weigh their input heavily.

‍Check this section regularly - and add new attributes which are relevant to your business.

Example

If you have a wheelchair accessible restaurant, that offers a happy hour, patio, and bathrooms, some attributes to list would be:

Restrooms
Outdoor Seating
Happy Hour
Wheelchair Accessible

Business Description: This is the elevator pitch for your business.

Conditions

It should be written with prospective customers in mind (people who know nothing about your business).
Focus on the business as a whole, rather than specific products/services or promotions.
Use the most important keywords that people would generally search for to find your business.
Remember: You are writing for humans. Not search engines.
Do not use website URLs, special characters, or emojis.
There is a 750 character limit.

Example

ABC Media is a digital marketing agency located in Vancouver. Known for having the most five star reviews in the market, ABC offers results focused digital marketing services for service-focused businesses.

Store Codes: These help multi-location businesses manage listings. Do not worry about adding these if you are not bulk uploading locations.

Conditions

There can be no spaces or special characters.

Example

For a business with 10 locations, numbering them 1-10 as store codes is feasible.

Labels: You can add labels to your listing to help organize your account (for businesses with multiple locations).

Conditions

You can assign up to 10 labels per location.

Example

For a business with many locations in one city, adding labels based on sector of the city may be helpful:

North
South
East
West

A business with different types of locations can add labels based on location type:

Full Service
Limited Service

Optimization Checklist

Business Name: Enter your business name as it appears on your business card, or how you normally refer to it.

Short Name: Use your business name as your short name.

Primary Category: Select the primary category which best represents your business. Don't overthink this.

Additional Category: Select as many secondary categories that apply to your business.

Social Profiles: Add links to *active* social media accounts for your business.

Address: Put the street address on the first line and suite numbers on the second line.

Service Area: Add the cities, postal codes, or regions that you service.

Business Hours: Enter regular, customer-facing hours of operation.

More Hours: If you have a second set of hours, enter them here.

Primary + Additional Phone Numbers: Use your local business number as the primary number. If you have a toll-free number, you can add it as an additional phone number.

Website: Add your website including the http or https component. Include UTM codes (provided).

Appointment URL: Add the URL of your contact page or booking system.

Menu (for Restaurants): If your business is a restaurant, you can add a link to your menu.

Service/Menu/Product Information: These sections allow you to provide information about company offerings directly on the listing. Many companies gloss over this, and it hurts their engagement.

Business Attributes: Define the attributes that correctly describe your business.

Business Description: This is the elevator pitch for your business.

Store Codes: These help multi-location businesses manage listings. Do not worry about adding these if you are not bulk uploading locations.

Labels: You can add labels to your listing to help organize your account (for businesses with multiple locations).

Social Profiles: Add links to active social media accounts for your business.