When someone searches "hardware shop near me" or "dentist in Kandy", Google shows a map with three businesses before it shows any website. Those three results are driven by your Google Business Profile. It is free, and for local businesses it is often the most valuable marketing you can do.
What a Google Business Profile is
It is your business listing on Google Search and Google Maps. It shows your name, address, phone number, opening hours, photos, reviews and a link to your website. Customers can call you, get directions or message you directly from it.
Step 1: Claim or create your profile
Search for your business name on Google Maps. If a listing exists, claim it. If not, create one. Google will ask you to verify that you own the business, usually by a code sent by post, phone or video. Do this first, since everything else depends on it.
Step 2: Fill in every field
Complete profiles perform better. Make sure you include:
- Name: exactly as customers know you. Do not stuff keywords into it, as it is against the rules and can get the listing suspended
- Category: your main category matters more than any other setting. Pick the most specific one, then add secondary ones
- Address and service area: accurate and consistent with your website
- Phone number and website link
- Opening hours, including holidays
- Services and products with short descriptions
- Description: what you do, who for, and where, written naturally
Step 3: Add real photos
Profiles with good photos get more clicks. Add:
- Your shopfront and entrance, so people can find you
- The inside of your premises
- Your team at work
- Examples of your products or finished jobs
Use your own photos, not stock images.
Step 4: Ask for reviews, and answer them
Reviews are one of the strongest signals for local ranking, and they decide whether someone chooses you.
- Ask happy customers right after a good experience
- Share your review link by WhatsApp or on a printed card
- Never buy reviews or offer rewards for them, as it breaks the rules
- Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly
- If you get a bad review, respond professionally and offer to fix it offline
Step 5: Post updates
Use Posts to share offers, news and new work. A short post each week shows the profile is active.
Step 6: Keep your details consistent everywhere
Your name, address and phone number should be written the same way on your website, your profile, Facebook and any directories. Mismatches confuse Google and hurt your ranking. This is called consistent NAP: name, address, phone.
Step 7: Connect your website
Your site is the other half of local SEO. Make sure it:
- Shows your address and phone number clearly, and loads fast on a phone
- Has pages for each service you offer, and each area you serve if you genuinely serve it. See how we cover this in our web design Sri Lanka pages
- Includes local business structured data, so Google understands who and where you are. We add this to every site
What not to do
- Do not use a fake address or a virtual office to appear in a city where you have no presence
- Do not create duplicate listings for the same location
- Do not copy another business's description
- Do not ignore messages and questions
How long it takes
A complete profile can start showing within weeks. Reviews and activity build rankings over months. It is steady work, but each review makes the next customer more likely to call.
Want help with the website side, or the whole local SEO setup? See our SEO service or get in touch.
