Google Business Profile checklist

For owners and marketers of local businesses in Quebec and the rest of Canada who manage their own Google Business Profile. Go through it once to set up your profile, then come back to the last section every month.

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31 checks45 to 60 minutes for setup, then about 30 minutes a monthFree PDF

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Claim and verify your profile

Search your business name on Google Maps before creating anythingGoogle sometimes creates a profile on its own. Claim that one instead of making a second.
Sign in with a Google account the business ownsA personal account of an employee who leaves can lock you out of your own profile.
Complete verification using the method Google offers youFor a video, film one continuous clip showing the street, your sign and proof you work there.
Keep your name and address unchanged while verification is in progressEdits during review can restart or block the process.
Add a second owner or manager under People and accessA partner, or your agency as manager, so one departure never costs you the profile.
Look for duplicate profiles of your business and report the extra onesOld profiles made by a former employee, or one per language, compete with your real one.

Get the core information right

Use your real business name, exactly as on your sign and registrationAdding keywords or “Montreal” to the name is a common reason profiles get suspended.
Pick the most specific primary category for your main serviceCheck the primary category of the top three businesses on Maps for your main search.
Add secondary categories only if they describe what your business isGoogle asks for the fewest, most specific categories. Individual services belong in the Services section.
Show your address only if customers visit you; otherwise set service areasHome-based and mobile businesses hide the address. Never use a virtual office or P.O. box.
Enter regular hours and add holiday hours before each long weekendThink Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Canada Day, Labour Day and the holidays. A closed door means a bad review.
Use the exact same name, address and phone as on your websiteCheck the footer and contact page. Other directories are covered in our local SEO checklist.
Link to your homepage or main service page, on https, with no redirectAdd UTM tags, like utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic, so these visits show up in Google Analytics.

Fill in description, services and photos

Write your description in French first, then a shorter English versionQuebec’s Charter of the French Language requires French to be available on terms at least equal to English.
Say who you serve, what you do and where, in your customers’ wordsYou have 750 characters. No links, prices or promotions: those go in posts.
List every service or product with a one or two sentence descriptionThis is where the terms people search for fit naturally. Many profiles leave it empty.
Upload a photo of your storefront from the street and your entrancePeople asking for directions should recognize your place when they arrive.
Add real photos of your interior, team and work, plus logo and coverSkip stock photos. Customers can tell, and they add nothing.
Turn on every attribute that’s true for your businessWheelchair access, online appointments, languages spoken and similar details help people choose you.

Reviews

Copy your review link from Read reviews, then Get more reviewsSend it by text or email, or put it on a QR code at the counter or on invoices.
Ask every customer for a review right after a good experienceA steady pace every month looks better than a burst followed by silence.
Never offer a discount, gift or contest entry in exchange for a reviewIncentivized reviews break Google’s policy and can hurt the whole profile.
Send the review link to all customers, not only the happy onesFiltering who gets asked, known as review gating, is against Google’s rules.
Reply to every review in the language the customer wrote inFrench gets French, English gets English. It shows future customers you’re bilingual and paying attention.
Answer negative reviews calmly and offer to fix the problem offlineGive a phone number or email. Don’t argue in public: future customers read how you react.
Report fake or abusive reviews through your profile, then reply once, politelyState that you have no record of this customer. Keep it short.

Monthly upkeep

Publish a post at least once a month, ideally weeklyRotate offers, recent projects, tips and events. Alternate French and English, or French with a short English line.
Add three to five new real photos every monthRecent photos keep the profile current for people deciding between you and a competitor.
Check that nobody changed your hours, phone, address or websiteAnyone can suggest an edit. If you don’t respond within four days, Google may publish it.
Review the Performance tab: calls, direction requests and website clicksThese are the numbers that show whether the profile brings you customers.
Change one core field at a time, never name, address and category togetherSeveral big changes at once are a common trigger for re-verification or suspension.

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Google Business Profile checklist

01Claim and verify your profile

02Get the core information right

03Fill in description, services and photos

04Reviews

05Monthly upkeep

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