How Google decides who shows up
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches what someone searches for, so complete and detailed information helps. Distance is how far you are from the searcher, and you cannot change it. Prominence is how well known you are, and Google says reviews and ratings are one of the signals.
Google is also clear that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone who sells you a promised top spot is guessing. The checklist below is about being accurate and complete, which is what Google asks for.
The checklist
- Name: use the name on your signboard and bill book, nothing more. Google does not allow marketing taglines, phone numbers, hours, web addresses or a list of services in the name, and says unnecessary extras in the name can get a profile suspended.
- Address: one precise, real address that customers can find. A post box or a virtual office is not eligible.
- Categories: as few as you can, each as specific as you can. A restaurant picks the type of restaurant it is, not everything it sells.
- Phone and website: a number and a page that belong to this shop, not a head-office helpline.
- Hours: your regular hours, plus special hours for holidays and temporary changes.
- Description: plain words about what you do. Google does not allow links, offers, prices or sales messages in the description.
- Photos: a clear logo, a cover photo and a few photos of the place and your work. Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommends 720 by 720 pixels, and wants photos in focus, well lit and not heavily filtered.
- Verify the profile. Without it you cannot manage the profile or reply to customers.
Keep it alive
Posts let you share an update, an offer or an event on Search and Maps. Google archives posts older than six months unless you set dates, so a few fresh posts beat one old one. Keep posts professional and link only to trusted sites.
Reply to your reviews. Google lists reviews and ratings among the signals of prominence, and a polite reply shows customers you are there. Our guide on how to reply to a negative review has ready replies in Hindi and English.
What not to do
Do not stuff the business name with keywords, do not list a friend's address as your own, and do not offer anything in exchange for reviews. Google can change or remove information that breaks its guidelines, and can suspend a profile.
Check your own profile against the list today, then read how to reply to a negative review.
How this post was made: an AI drafted it from the official pages listed under Sources, every figure was checked against those pages, and the Reveaxa team approved it before it was published. Our own advice is marked as such. If a source changes, we update the post and its date.
Reveaxa guide reference: RVX-B-google-business-profile-checklist-local-business