How do you check Google Business Profile during a local SEO audit?

A Google Business Profile audit is a structured review of the information, settings, content and activity that determine how a business is represented in local search and on Google Maps. Check the profile for accuracy, completeness, eligibility and consistency, then investigate visibility, engagement and any restrictions that may prevent customers from finding or contacting the business.

Start by confirming that the profile belongs to the correct business and is managed from the appropriate Business Profile account. Check whether it is verified, whether the business name and location meet Google’s eligibility requirements, and whether there are warnings, ownership disputes, duplicate profiles or suspension notices. A profile that is unverified, suspended or incorrectly claimed may not perform reliably regardless of the quality of its content.

Check the core business information

• Business name: Confirm that the displayed name matches the real-world business name used on signage, official documents and customer-facing materials. Do not add locations, services, slogans or keywords simply to influence rankings.
• Address: Check the street address, postcode and map pin. The pin should identify the correct entrance or service location where possible. Investigate discrepancies between the profile, website, directories and other important business references.
• Phone number: Confirm that the number connects to the business and is answered appropriately. Check whether the primary number is consistent with the website and other trusted listings, and make sure any additional numbers are clearly labelled.
• Website: Test the profile’s website URL on mobile and desktop. It should lead to the relevant location or service page rather than to a broken, redirected or unrelated page. Check that tracking parameters do not interfere with the destination or create unnecessary duplicate URLs.
• Opening hours: Review regular hours, seasonal hours and special hours for bank holidays or temporary closures. Out-of-date hours can create avoidable customer complaints and may reduce confidence in the listing.

For a service-area business, check that the profile represents the business correctly. If customers do not visit the address, the address should not be presented as a public storefront. Review the declared service area and remove places that are no longer served. The service area should reflect actual operations rather than a list of locations added solely to increase reach.

Review the category and service structure

The primary category is one of the most important classification fields in a profile audit because it describes the business’s main activity. Confirm that it reflects the core service rather than a secondary offering. Review additional categories for relevance and remove any that are inaccurate, duplicated or no longer applicable. Categories should describe what the business is, not every service it provides.

Next, compare the profile’s services with the current website and actual offer. Check service names, descriptions, pricing information where used, spelling and availability. Remove discontinued services and add important services that are missing. Use clear customer-facing language, while avoiding repetitive keyword variations or claims that the business cannot support.

Review the business description for accuracy and clarity. It should explain what the business does, where it operates and which customers it serves without promotional excess, unverifiable claims or keyword stuffing. Check that the description has not been altered by an unauthorised user or replaced with text that does not reflect the business.

Assess profile completeness and customer-facing features

• Check the logo, cover image and supporting photos for quality, relevance and correct branding.
• Confirm that photographs show the real premises, team, products, vehicles or completed work where those images help customers assess the business.
• Remove outdated, misleading or poor-quality images where the account has control over them, and flag inappropriate user-submitted content through the appropriate process.
• Review available attributes, accessibility information, payment options, appointment options and other features that accurately describe the business.
• Check whether menus, products, booking details or other profile sections are current and lead to the correct customer journey.
• Test messaging, call options and appointment actions if they are enabled. Confirm that enquiries reach the right team and that automated responses do not provide inaccurate information.

Features vary according to business type, location and category, so only use fields that accurately apply. An apparently complete profile is not necessarily a good profile if it contains generic images, irrelevant attributes or information that conflicts with the website.

Audit reviews and responses

Review the profile’s recent customer feedback as well as older reviews. Look for unanswered reviews, recurring complaints, unresolved service issues and comments that indicate inaccurate opening hours, poor directions or confusion about the services offered. Responses should be professional, specific and proportionate. They should acknowledge legitimate concerns without disclosing private customer information or arguing with reviewers.

Check whether positive and negative reviews are receiving consistent attention. A pattern of unanswered negative reviews can make the profile appear unmanaged, while identical or excessively templated responses may appear impersonal. Record reviews that appear to breach platform policies and use the correct reporting route rather than attempting to manipulate the review profile.

Check updates and ongoing activity

Review the profile’s updates, offers, events and other published content for accuracy. Remove expired promotions, old announcements and links to unavailable services. Current content can help customers understand what is available, but updates should support the business information rather than repeat keywords or publish content that belongs on the website.

Look for changes that were suggested by users or made by the platform. Compare the live profile with the information held in the account and with the business’s approved source of truth. Record unexpected edits, correct them where appropriate and monitor the profile afterwards to establish whether the changes recur.

Check local visibility and consistency

Assess the profile from the searcher’s perspective by checking relevant business-name searches, category searches and location-based searches. Review both Google Search and Google Maps, and test from locations that represent the business’s service area. Local results can vary by searcher location, device, search wording and competition, so one manual search is not enough to establish performance.

Compare the live profile with the business website, location pages, social profiles and important directory listings. Pay particular attention to the business name, address, phone number, website, opening hours and service descriptions. Minor formatting differences are not always a problem, but conflicting facts can weaken trust and create a poor customer experience. Where a business has multiple locations, confirm that each profile points to the correct location page and uses location-specific information.

Use available performance data to review searches, views, calls, website visits, direction requests and other interactions over a meaningful comparison period. Treat these figures as diagnostic evidence rather than as a direct measure of ranking. A change in calls, for example, may reflect seasonality, changed opening hours, tracking issues or a change in customer behaviour. Compare the data with website analytics and internal lead records where possible.

Investigate duplicates, spam and restrictions

Search for duplicate profiles, incorrectly created locations and profiles representing businesses that are not eligible to appear. Duplicates can split information and reviews or send customers to the wrong location. Do not create additional profiles to target nearby towns or service areas unless there is a genuine, eligible business location that meets the relevant requirements.

Check for suspension messages, verification problems, ownership requests, missing features and unexplained changes to the listing. Keep evidence such as photographs of the premises, business registration details, utility information or other legitimate documentation where it may be needed to resolve a verification or suspension issue. Avoid making repeated edits while a problem is being investigated, as this can make it harder to identify the cause.

Record findings and prioritise actions

Document the audit in a table or checklist with the field reviewed, the current value, the required correction, supporting evidence, the responsible person and the date of the next check. Prioritise issues that prevent customers from contacting or locating the business, create eligibility or suspension risk, or materially misrepresent the business. Address incorrect contact details, location errors, duplicate profiles and unresolved restrictions before lower-impact improvements such as adding more photographs.

After changes are made, recheck the live profile rather than assuming that an update has been accepted. Confirm that the correct information is visible in Search and Maps, test the customer actions again and monitor suggested edits, reviews and performance data. Repeat the audit after significant business changes, such as a move, rebrand, change in service area or change in opening hours, and include Google Business Profile checks in the wider local SEO audit process.