Google My Business: Complete Guide to Attracting Local Customers
Learn how to create and optimise your Google Business Profile to appear in local searches, attract more customers and increase your business revenue.
Pedro Fonseca
In this article
- What is Google My Business?
- How to create your listing (step by step)
- 1. Access Google Business Profile
- 2. Enter your business details
- 3. Verify your business
- 4. Complete your profile to 100%
- 5 Optimisations that make a difference
- 1. Choose the right categories
- 2. Write an optimised description
- 3. Add quality photographs
- 4. Publish posts regularly
- 5. Respond to ALL reviews
- Mistakes that destroy your local ranking
- Google My Business vs. Google Ads: which should you choose?
- How to measure results
- Next steps
When someone searches for “restaurant near me” or “plumber in Lisbon”, Google shows a map with three results. If your business isn’t there, you’re losing customers every single day — literally.
Google My Business (now officially called Google Business Profile) is Google’s free tool that allows any business to appear on Google Maps and in local searches. And the best part? You don’t need to spend a single cent on ads to start receiving visits.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free profile that Google provides for any business with a physical location or that serves a specific geographic area. When someone searches for your business name — or the services you offer — this profile appears on the right side of the results or on the map.
It includes:
- Business name, address and opening hours
- Phone number and website link
- Photos of the space and products
- Customer reviews and responses
- Posts and updates (similar to a mini-blog)
According to Google’s own data, 76% of people who search for something “near me” visit a local business within 24 hours. If your listing doesn’t exist or is incomplete, those customers are going to your competitors.
How to create your listing (step by step)
1. Access Google Business Profile
Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to associate with your business. We recommend using a professional email (for example, info@yourbusiness.com) rather than a personal one.
2. Enter your business details
Fill in carefully:
| Field | Tip |
|---|---|
| Name | Use your real business name (no artificial keywords) |
| Category | Choose the most specific one possible (e.g., “Hair Salon” instead of “Beauty Salon”) |
| Address | If you provide home services, you can hide the address and define a service area |
| Phone | Use your main number, preferably with local country code |
| Website | If you don’t have a website, this is a good reason to create one |
3. Verify your business
Google needs to confirm your business is real. In most cases, it sends a postcard with a verification code to the address provided. In some cases, you can verify by phone or email.
Practical tip: The postcard takes 5-14 business days. Don’t change the name or address while waiting, as it may restart the process.
4. Complete your profile to 100%
Complete listings receive, on average, 7x more clicks than incomplete ones. Don’t leave any fields blank.
5 Optimisations that make a difference
Having the listing created is the first step. But to consistently appear in the top three map results (the so-called “Local Pack”), you need to optimise.
1. Choose the right categories
You can set one primary category and up to 9 secondary ones. The primary category has the most weight in ranking.
Examples:
- Italian restaurant → Primary: “Italian restaurant”, Secondary: “Pizza restaurant”, “Restaurant”
- Accountant → Primary: “Accountant”, Secondary: “Tax consultant”, “Accounting services”
2. Write an optimised description
You have 750 characters to describe your business. Use them like this:
- First sentence: What you do + where (include the city)
- Middle: Differentiators and main services
- End: Call-to-action
Example for a dental clinic in Porto:
“Dental clinic in Porto with over 15 years of experience in implantology, orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry. Specialist team, cutting-edge technology and payment facilities. Book your free assessment consultation.”
3. Add quality photographs
Businesses with photographs receive 42% more direction requests on Google Maps and 35% more clicks to their website.
What to publish:
- Storefront (helps Google associate with the location)
- Interior and atmosphere
- Products or completed work
- Team (builds trust)
- Before/after (if applicable)
Recommended format: JPG or PNG, minimum 720x720px, well-lit and without excessive filters.
4. Publish posts regularly
Google Business Profile allows you to publish updates, offers and events directly on your listing. This signals to Google that the business is active.
Ideal frequency: 1-2 posts per week. This could be:
- A seasonal promotion
- A new product or service
- A tip related to your industry
- An event or workshop
5. Respond to ALL reviews
Yes, all of them — the good ones and the bad. Google values businesses that interact with customers.
| Review type | How to respond |
|---|---|
| 5 stars | Thank with detail, mention the customer’s name |
| 4 stars | Thank and ask how to improve |
| 1-3 stars | Apologise, offer a solution, invite to speak privately |
| Fake/spam | Report to Google through the dashboard |
Template response for a positive review:
“Thank you so much for the feedback, Maria! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the service. Our team works every day to provide the best experience. We look forward to seeing you again soon!”
Mistakes that destroy your local ranking
Avoid these common errors we see in hundreds of business listings:
- Business name stuffed with keywords — “John Smith | Best Plumber London Cheap Prices” → Google penalises this. Use your legal name.
- Outdated hours — Worse than having no listing is a customer arriving to find you closed.
- Not responding to negative reviews — Signals indifference. Future customers read the responses.
- Generic categories — “Company” or “Services” don’t help Google understand what you do.
- Zero photographs — Listings without photos receive significantly less engagement.
Google My Business vs. Google Ads: which should you choose?
This is a common question. The short answer: start with the free profile, move to ads later.
| Criteria | Google Business Profile | Google Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Paid (from ~£2-5/click) |
| Time to results | 2-8 weeks | Immediate |
| Sustainability | Long-lasting results | Stops when you stop paying |
| Trust | Real reviews | Marked as “Ad” |
| Ideal for | Local businesses | Campaigns and promotions |
The ideal scenario? Use both. The free listing builds authority and trust over the long term, while ads generate immediate results for specific campaigns.
How to measure results
Google Business Profile offers free analytics in the dashboard. Monitor monthly:
- Searches: How many times your listing appeared (direct vs. discovery)
- Actions: Website clicks, calls, direction requests
- Photos: Views compared to similar businesses
- Reviews: Total number and average rating
Benchmark: A well-optimised local business typically receives 200-1,000 views/month and 50-200 actions/month, depending on the sector and location.
Next steps
If you don’t have a Google My Business listing yet, create one today. It takes less than 15 minutes and is completely free. If you already have one but it’s incomplete, set aside 30 minutes to optimise it with the tips above.
For businesses that want to take local SEO to the next level — with review strategy, content management and website integration — our team can help.
Google is the first place your customers look. Make sure they find you.