Local SEO guide
Your Google Business Profile often gets more views than your website. This guide walks through every setting in order, explains why it matters, and shows the mistakes that get Irish businesses suspended.
Short answer
A Google Business Profile is your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps. To rank well, verify it, choose the most specific primary category, list every service, set an accurate service area or address, add real photos every month, post updates, and collect and reply to reviews steadily. Keep your name, address and phone identical to your website.
Key takeaways
- The primary category is the single most important setting
- Use your real business name, with no keywords added
- Add real photos every month, not stock images
- Reply to every review within a few days
- Your profile’s details must match your website exactly
On this page
- Step 1: Create or claim your profile
- Step 2: Verification
- Step 3: Business name
- Step 4: Categories (the most important setting)
- Step 5: Address or service area
- Step 6: Services, products and description
- Step 7: Photos and videos
- Step 8: Posts, Q&A and messaging
- Step 9: Reviews
- Step 10: Keep it consistent everywhere
- Mistakes that get profiles suspended
- Frequently asked questions
Step 1: Create or claim your profile
Go to business.google.com and search for your business name. If it already exists (Google sometimes creates listings automatically), claim it. If not, create a new one.
Check for duplicates first
Search Google Maps for your business name and phone number. Old or duplicate listings confuse Google and split your reviews. Claim them and ask Google support to merge or remove them.
Step 2: Verification
Google verifies that you’re a real business, usually by video recording (showing your premises, signage, tools or van), phone, text or email. Have proof ready: signage, a branded vehicle, tools of the trade, or business documents.
Step 3: Business name
Use your real-world business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and invoices.
✓ Correct
Murphy Plumbing & Heating
✗ Breaks Google’s rules
Murphy Plumbing Dublin | Best Emergency Plumber 24/7
Step 4: Categories (the most important setting)
Your primary category has more influence on what you rank for than anything else in your profile.
| Business | Weak category | Better category |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen fitter | Contractor | Kitchen remodeler |
| Emergency plumber | Plumbing supply store | Plumber |
| Family solicitor | Lawyer | Family law attorney |
| Dentist doing implants | Dental clinic | Dentist |
Add 2–5 relevant secondary categories too. Check which categories the top 3 businesses in your map pack use.
Step 5: Address or service area
Customers visit you
Show your address. It must be a real, staffed location, not a virtual office or PO box.
You go to customers
Hide your address and set a service area: the towns and counties you actually cover. Don’t list the whole country.
Step 6: Services, products and description
- Services: add every service you offer, each with a short description that mentions what’s included.
- Products: useful for showcasing packages, such as “Attic insulation from €X”.
- Description: 750 characters. Say what you do, where, and what makes you different. No links or sales slogans.
Step 7: Photos and videos
- Logo and a cover photo
- Your team (real people build trust)
- Your premises, inside and out, or your van
- Before-and-after work photos
- A short video of you on the job
- New photos every month
Step 8: Posts, Q&A and messaging
- Posts: share offers, recent jobs and news every week or two. Mention the area (“Just finished a bathroom in Lucan”).
- Q&A: add the common questions customers ask, and answer them yourself.
- Booking and messaging: turn on booking links and chat only if you’ll answer quickly.
Step 9: Reviews
Reviews are your most powerful ongoing ranking signal. Our Google reviews guide covers scripts, timing and the rules.
Step 10: Keep it consistent everywhere
Your name, address and phone number must match your website and every directory listing. See our guide to local citations in Ireland.
Mistakes that get profiles suspended
Avoid this
- Keywords in the business name
- Virtual offices, PO boxes or co-working addresses
- Several profiles for one business
- Fake or incentivised reviews
- A service-area business showing a home address it doesn’t staff
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and managing a Google Business Profile is free.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
Video verification is often reviewed within a few days, but it can take longer, especially if Google asks for more evidence.
Can I have a Google Business Profile without an office?
Yes. Service-area businesses can hide their address and show a service area instead.
How often should I update my Google Business Profile?
Add photos monthly, post every week or two, and reply to every review within a few days. Update hours for bank holidays.
Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?
Common reasons are an unverified or suspended profile, a weak primary category, being far from the searcher, or competitors with more reviews. Our local SEO service diagnoses and fixes this.
Want us to set it up properly?
We’ll audit your Google Business Profile against the top 3 in your area and fix everything that’s holding you back.