Your Google Business Profile is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in the map pack (the three businesses Google shows on a map above the regular results). For a local business in Montreal, it often brings more calls than the website does.
Most checklists online are written for US businesses. They skip what matters here: bilingual customers, French and English reviews, and Quebec’s language rules. This one is written for Montreal and Quebec businesses, field by field, with the mistakes we see most often in our audits.
If you haven’t read it yet, start with how to rank in the Google Maps Top 3 in Montreal. It explains the three factors Google uses. This checklist is the hands-on part.
Before you start: claim and verify your profile
- Search for your business name on Google Maps. If a profile already exists (Google sometimes creates one automatically), claim it. Don’t create a second one.
- Sign in with a Google account the business owns, not a personal account of an employee who might leave.
- Verify the profile. Google chooses the method: video recording, phone, email or a postcard. Video verification is common now: you film your storefront, signage and something that proves you run the business (tools, equipment, an unlocked door).
- Add a second owner or manager (a partner, or your agency as manager) so you never get locked out.
How long does verification take? Often a few days. If Google asks for a video, follow the instructions exactly: one continuous clip that shows the street, your sign and the inside of your workspace.
The field-by-field checklist
| Field | What to enter | Common mistake we see |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real trading name, exactly as on your sign and registration | Adding “Montreal” or keywords to the name |
| Primary category | The single most specific category for your main service | Picking a broad category (“Marketing”) over a precise one |
| Secondary categories | Other services you actually offer | Adding categories you don’t serve |
| Address or service area | Your real address, or hide it and set service areas | A P.O. box or virtual office |
| Hours | Regular hours plus holiday hours | Never updating holiday hours |
| Services | Each service with a short description | Leaving it empty |
| Description | Who you serve, what you do and where, in plain language | Keyword stuffing; English only for a Quebec audience |
| Photos | Exterior, interior, team, examples of your work, updated monthly | Stock photos only |
| Website link | Your homepage or matching service page, on the https://www version |
Linking a page that redirects or no longer exists |
Now the details for the fields that matter most.
Business name
Use your real name. Nothing else. “Clinique Dentaire Laurier” is fine if that’s the name on your sign. “Clinique Dentaire Laurier, Best Dentist Montreal Plateau” is keyword stuffing, and it’s one of the most common reasons profiles get suspended.
If your business has a French and an English name, use the one on your registration and signage. One business, one profile. Don’t create a second profile for the other language.
Primary category
This is the strongest relevance signal on your profile. Choose the most specific category that describes your main service. A Mile End bakery should be “Bakery”, not “Food”; a family lawyer should be “Family law attorney”, not “Lawyer”.
How to choose: search for your main service in Montreal and look at the businesses in the Top 3. Their primary category tells you what Google associates with that search.
Secondary categories
Add the other services you actually offer, up to the limit. Each one can help you show up for more searches. Don’t add categories for services you don’t provide: they dilute your relevance and confuse customers.
Address or service area
- If customers come to you (a shop, clinic, restaurant), show your address.
- If you go to customers (contractors, cleaners, mobile services), hide your address and set service areas: Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, the South Shore, and so on.
- If you work from home, hide the address. Google doesn’t allow listing a home address customers can’t visit.
- Never use a virtual office, coworking mailbox or P.O. box. It’s against Google’s guidelines and a common cause of suspension.
Description (and which language)
You get 750 characters. Use them to say who you serve, what you do, where and what makes you different, in the words your customers use.
For a Montreal business, write it in French first, then add a shorter English version below. Your customers search in both languages, and Quebec’s language rules expect French to be at least as prominent as English in your commercial communications.
Example structure:
- One sentence in French: what you do, for whom, where.
- One sentence in French: what makes you different (hours, specialty, languages spoken).
- The same two sentences in English.
Don’t put links, prices or promotions in the description. Use posts for offers.
Services and products
Add every service with a one or two sentence description. This is where you can naturally include the terms people search for (“emergency plumbing”, “débouchage de drain”, “teeth whitening”). Many profiles we audit leave this section empty.
Photos
Profiles with real, recent photos get more clicks and direction requests. Upload:
- Your storefront from the street, so people recognize it when they arrive
- The inside of your space
- Your team at work
- Examples of your work or products
- Your logo and a cover photo
Add three to five new photos every month. Skip stock photos: customers can tell, and they add nothing.
Hours and attributes
Fill in regular hours and update holiday hours before every long weekend (Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Canada Day, Labour Day, the holidays). Nothing loses a customer faster than showing up to a closed door your profile said was open.
Attributes are the extra details Google offers for your category: wheelchair access, online appointments, languages spoken, LGBTQ+ friendly, and more. Add every one that’s true.
Reviews: how to get more (without breaking the rules)
Reviews are the biggest prominence signal you control. Google looks at how many you have compared with competitors, your rating, and how recent they are.
How to ask:
- Ask every customer, right after a good experience, while they still remember it.
- Make it easy: send the direct review link by text or email, or put a QR code at the counter or on your invoice.
- Make it a routine, not a one-time campaign. Five reviews every month beat fifty in one week followed by silence.
What not to do:
- Don’t offer a discount, gift or contest entry in exchange for a review. It’s against Google’s policy.
- Don’t screen customers so only the happy ones get the link (review gating).
- Don’t buy reviews or ask friends and family to post fake ones. Google removes them, and it can hurt the whole profile.
How to reply to reviews in French and English
Reply to every review, positive or negative, in the language the customer wrote in. A French review gets a French reply; an English review gets an English reply. It shows Google your profile is active, and it shows future customers that you’re bilingual and that you care.
- Positive review: thank them by name, mention what they bought or the service you did, and invite them back. Two or three sentences are enough.
- Negative review: reply calmly and quickly, acknowledge the problem, don’t argue in public, and offer to fix it offline with a phone number or email. Future customers read how you handle criticism.
- Fake or abusive review: report it through your profile, then reply once, politely, stating that you have no record of this customer.
What to post each week
Google Business Profile posts show up on your listing. They don’t push your ranking up much on their own, but they keep your profile active and help people choose you over the business next to you.
Post once a week and rotate:
- An offer or seasonal promotion
- A recent project or before-and-after
- A tip that answers a common customer question
- An event, new service or change in hours
Alternate between French and English, or post in French with a short English line.
Your weekly and monthly routine
| Frequency | Task | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Publish one post (offer, project, tip or event) | 15 minutes |
| Weekly | Reply to every new review, in the reviewer’s language | 10 minutes |
| Monthly | Add 3 to 5 new real photos | 15 minutes |
| Monthly | Check hours, services and questions for accuracy | 10 minutes |
| Quarterly | Check your name, address and phone on your main directories | 30 minutes |
That’s about two hours a month. It’s the cheapest marketing a local business can do.
What gets a profile suspended (and how to avoid it)
- Keywords or city names added to your business name
- A virtual office, mailbox or an address customers can’t visit
- Two profiles for the same business, including one per language
- Changing the name, address and category all at once (make changes one at a time)
- Fake, bought or incentivized reviews
If your profile is suspended, fix the cause first, then submit a reinstatement request with proof: a business registration, a utility bill and photos of your signage.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile. It’s the same listing.
Can I have two profiles, one for my French name and one for my English name?
No. One business gets one profile. Pick the name on your registration and signage.
Should I hide my address if I work from home?
Yes. Hide it and set your service areas instead. Google doesn’t allow showing a home address customers can’t visit.
How many photos should I upload?
Start with at least 10 real photos (storefront, interior, team, work) and add a few every month.
What are Google Business Profile attributes?
Extra details Google offers for your category, such as accessibility, languages spoken or online booking. Add every one that applies.
Does answering questions on my profile help?
Yes, for customers. Answer common questions yourself before a stranger does, because anyone can answer a question on your profile.
Want a second opinion on your profile?
We’ll review your Google Business Profile and your site, check your ranking across your service area, and send you a prioritized list of fixes. Get a free audit.
Our Montreal local SEO team handles profiles, reviews, directories and bilingual pages for businesses across Montreal, Laval and the South Shore. And if you want leads while your rankings grow, see Google Ads management in Montreal.
Want this done for you?
Local SEOGet into the Google Maps top 3 in Montreal.→ Local businessesPlans for businesses in Montreal, Laval and Longueuil.→ Free checklistGoogle Business Profile checklist, 31 checks, online or as a PDF.→Want to know why you’re not in the top 3?
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