E39: How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile for Local Leads
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most important tools for getting found online, especially if you’re a local service business.
In this episode, we walk through a real, live account to show you everything you need to check and update. You’ll see how to choose the right business categories, write a clear business description, add photos and services, and turn those services into “products” that link directly to landing pages.
I also share ways to use GMB Everywhere and Local Scan to track competitors and improve rankings. If you want more visibility, more calls, and more customers, this walkthrough gives you the exact playbook to make it happen.
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P.S. When you are ready, here are a few ways I can help…
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Sean Garner is a marketing consultant and Certified StoryBrand guide dedicated to helping small business owners grow and dominate their industries. He created the Marketing Domination podcast to teach people how to combine storytelling with strategic marketing to help businesses connect with customers and stand out online.
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MARKETING DOMINATION PODCAST
Introduction
Sean Garner: [00:00]
Okay, here we go, syncing the microphone. This is going to be another screen-share one, so let’s make sure screen share screen here. We're going to be doing lots of screen shares on this one.
Why Your Google Business Profile Matters
Sean Garner: [01:38]
If you're a local service business owner, your GBP, your Google Business Profile, is key. Make sure it is locked in so you can be found by more potential customers. But most small business owners make key mistakes, so they aren't being found by their customers; instead, those potential leads go to competitors. In this video, I'm going to show you, step by step, the exact process we use to optimize a brand-new Google Business Profile so your profile stands out, you’re found by the right people, and you dominate online. Welcome to Marketing Domination.
Sean Garner: [02:22]
So we're going to go step by step through a live account.
Sean Garner: [02:34]
I'm going to take you inside—I'm going to take you inside an account that I'm going to be re-optimizing. This is something we typically do on a monthly basis or as a deep-dive quarterly check to make sure everything is functioning properly.
We're going to go step by step through a live Google Business Profile. This will be helpful if you save this episode and come back to it later, because you'll want to have two screens open. Hopefully you can go step by step through your own account and know exactly what changes you need to make. Listen to it now, then go back and watch it again, pausing at each moment so you can implement these changes on your listing right away. If you do this, you will immediately start seeing improvements in your rankings on the map pack and in the number of leads you get. So here we go—let's dive into one of these accounts. Let's do this.
I don't like recording this late in the day, so this is going to be one of those episodes you save and come back to watch often because we're going live into an account. Listen once, then go back and implement step by step. If you do, you'll see improvements in your map-pack rankings and incoming leads. So here we go.
How to Access and Edit Your GBP
Sean Garner [03:57]
All right. Whenever you log in — if you don’t know how to log into your Google Business Profile — you’d be surprised how many clients we have to help do this. You need to be logged into Google, and then you can click the three little dots right up here and select Business Profile Manager, or you can just Google search “Google Business Profile.” It will bring up your business listings. You probably won’t have a ton of listings in your account — just the one.
The other thing you can do is simply Google your business name, as long as you’re logged in with the proper Google account that’s connected to your listing. Make sure that if you’re logged into multiple accounts, you’re using the one that has access to the listing.
The first thing — and this might seem basic, but I can’t tell you how many people don’t do it — is to click Edit Profile and make sure all of your information is filled out. Oftentimes, when we start working with a client, there are major issues like a wrong phone number or a missing description. You want to make sure everything is completed 100%.
Now, I’m going to show you a special tool we use that makes this process super simple — and everyone should download it. It’s called GMB Everywhere. You can go to gmbeverywhere.com. They have a Chrome extension you can install. It’s a paid service, but there are plenty of great features available in the free version. If you’re not a marketing agency — just a small business owner — you’ll probably be fine with the free version. It’s a really great audit tool.
As you look at my screen, if you see little orange icons that say things like “Find Categories” or “Generate Business Description,” those are prompts coming from GMB Everywhere. So make sure you get it — gmbeverywhere.com.
That’s step one: get the plugin, install it, refresh your browser, and then get back into your listing.
The next thing you want to do is make sure your business name is filled out correctly. Don’t spam this. People think they can add service keywords into their business name to boost rankings — but Google’s smart. If your business name actually includes your service (like “Half Moon Plumbing”), that’s fine. But don’t just add the word “Plumbing” because you’re a plumber. That goes against Google’s Terms of Service, and they could flag your listing.
The most important and critical step is making sure your primary business category is correct and most accurate — and that all additional categories are filled out too.
Using GMB Everywhere to Audit Your Listing
Sean Garner [06:17]
And this is why I love GMB Everywhere. What you can do is hit Find Categories, and GMB Everywhere will run their Category Finder 2.0. Based on your current categories, it’s going to show you related ones. That’s where you can look at search volume and relevancy to determine what your primary category should be.
For example, this business here is an IV therapy lounge. Our primary category is IV Therapy Service, even though when you look inside the tool, “Medical Spa” gets way more search traffic than “IV Therapy.” IV Therapy might only have around 1.3K searches, while Medical Spa has over half a million. Don’t pick the one with the greatest search volume as your primary category—pick the one most relevant to your business.
That’s key to making sure you’re found by the right customers looking for your specific service. Then, we also want to add up to nine other secondary categories in the listing. This tool does a great job showing potential categories you could use. You can add random ones manually, but it’s best to use the ones Google already recognizes as primary or secondary categories. Start typing and it’ll auto-populate the right options. Make sure those are properly set.
Also, in GMB Everywhere, you can type in your website URL. If you have no idea what your primary category should be — and your site is at least somewhat optimized — you can input your site and, based on its content, it’ll suggest categories for you as well. Make sure that part is set up.
The next part is your business description. Most people think they should stuff it with keywords — that’s not the case. Write it in normal, human language. Use your categories naturally, describe the services you offer, and explain the benefits you provide. It should be written in an engaging, conversational tone.
Writing a Clear, Benefits-Focused Business Description
Sean Garner [08:35]
This is typically a sample little prompt that we add into existing business prompts just to fine-tune them inside of ChatGPT. We say: “Make the description more concise and clear in its presentation. Improve clarity and structure while retaining keyword optimization and engaging language.” Then we’ll add the current business description they have. If it’s a brand-new one, we’ll include more context and details, but that prompt really helps refine it.
We’ll also add the character count, which is currently 750 characters. Google does have a suggested description, but honestly, I don’t think it’s very good. I’ve seen better results from prompting ChatGPT and refining from there. GMB Everywhere also does a great job of generating a solid starting point that you can then refine further with ChatGPT.
Next, we want to make sure the opening date is accurate. It’s a smaller ranking factor, but it still matters. If Google knows a business is brand new when it’s actually been around for a while, that affects credibility. But don’t lie about this — don’t try to game the system. Google will eventually figure it out.
SEO — or what I’m now starting to call “Search Everywhere Optimization” with all the LLMs and AI tools — is all about being clear, direct, and honest with Google. It will always figure out what you’re doing eventually, so just be honest with it.
Make sure the phone number is typed out exactly as it appears on your website, and that your website URL is correct. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people miss this — they paste their website using “http” instead of “https.” Then, when someone clicks the website button from their GBP profile, it doesn’t work because of SSL security errors.
To fix this, just go to your website, copy the full URL with https, and paste that into your Google Business Profile.
Then we want to make sure to add all your social media links, make sure your map pin is accurate to your actual location, and then add your service areas. Again — don’t spam this. It needs to be accurate and consistent.
If you’re a local business, pick nearby cities, suburbs, and areas that truly reflect where you operate.
Next is your hours. Again, be honest and clear with this.
Dates, URLs, and Contact Info
Sean Garner [10:56]
I will say, however, especially if you’re a home service business — like an electrician, plumber, or HVAC company — your hours do influence rankings. For example, if someone searches for a business at 9 PM or 7 AM and your office isn’t open while another is, that other business will rank higher at that time. Google is trying to serve the best and most available result.
So, if you have the ability to set up a 24-hour answering service — even if you don’t actually serve customers around the clock — it might help your ranking factors. That’s probably why many of your competitors list “24 hours” even if they aren’t literally open all night; they’ve got an answering service handling calls.
With the rise of AI answering services, more businesses are starting to use that setup, so I think this particular ranking factor might become less important over time.
Next, if you have any special hours — like holidays or days you’re closed — make sure to update those. Also, complete your attributes section, including things like paid parking, accepted payment methods, and other relevant details.
So that’s the first major step — making sure your profile is completely set up.
The next thing we want to go to is the photo section. Make sure that you have photos uploaded to your account. You should have your cover photo and logo submitted, but even then, Google will still choose which images it prefers to display.
We want to keep adding photos regularly, not just once and done. It’s a great idea to schedule a photo shoot at your facility or job sites and build a stockpile of high-quality images. Then, add new photos consistently — weekly or monthly. Don’t just upload a bunch at once when you first set up your listing and never update it again.
For our clients, we typically add new photos at least once a month, depending on their content availability.
Then we move on to posting. Posting and FAQs are both key elements. We typically use Domination AI as our SEO tool to analyze competitors and national benchmarks so we can optimize how often to post and which FAQs to include.
Google wants to see you actively using all parts of the platform. Posts are a great way to do that. You can think of them like short social media updates — use an image from your GBP, add a quick quote, promotion, or update about your business, and keep your listing active and engaging.
Photos, Posts, and Active Profile Signals
Sean Garner [13:23]
Then we’re adding a call-to-action button back to the website. Google likes to see that kind of engagement — activity that connects users directly to your site.
Now, this next part is something most people overlook, but it’s another major key for optimization — and that’s Services.
After selecting your primary and secondary categories, you can go in and add services under each one. This is actually one of the main reasons I made this video. When we first started optimizing this profile a few months ago, “IV Therapy Services” wasn’t even an available category — but now it is. So we’ve added it here under our market as IV Therapy Services.
The reason I’m mentioning that is because Google constantly changes and refines what’s available, so you can’t just set this up once and forget it. You need to check back regularly to make sure everything stays updated.
Once you’ve picked your primary categories, GMB Everywhere becomes incredibly helpful. When you scroll down after selecting them, you’ll see an option for related services. Click “View More” and it will expand to show 20–30 potential services per category.
Now, you don’t just want to copy and paste all of them. What we do is copy the full list, paste it into a document, and then send it to the client for review. They go through and approve which services they actually provide so we can clean up that list.
Once that’s done, you can go back to your Google Business Profile (GBP) and start adding those services manually. To do that, click “Add a service”, then enter the service name. You’ll also get the option to add a 300-character service description.
Our process is to take that approved list, feed it into ChatGPT, and use a clear prompt — something like: “Here’s the business profile and website for context. Please write 300-character Google Business Profile service descriptions in the same tone as the business.”
That generates short, keyword-rich, and engaging service descriptions you can then paste directly into your GBP.
You can also choose to list prices for each service, but from experience running a service-based business, I’ll say this — whenever you update your prices, you’ll have to change them across multiple platforms. So, personally, I don’t stress too much about keeping the prices listed there.
Adding and Optimizing Services
Sean Garner [15:46]
So, for an e-commerce business or a service where your prices are already set, you can go ahead and include them—it wouldn’t be a bad idea. When we list our primary and secondary categories, we also want to make sure we’re listing at least 20 to 30 different services underneath each one, and that we’re adding a description to those services. We want to fill out the entire section completely.
The next thing I don’t see many people do is add products. You might think, “I’m a service-based business—what products do I have?” Well, you can make your service a product. You can create a category of products called “Services.” Then, you can add an image, a price if you want, and a description of up to 1,000 characters so you can include a lot more detail, as well as a specific landing page for that product.
This is something we’ve seen help increase rankings for our clients. Here’s why: your Google Business Profile ties directly into your overall search optimization strategy. You’ll take your primary and secondary categories, then all of your services, and create landing pages and headings on your website using those same terms. When creating the product listings, you’ll want to link them to specific landing pages that talk about that service.
For example, this one here is a membership service, so we send visitors to a membership landing page. Google wants to see all of this. The landing page that users click through to has a major ranking factor. When someone scrolls through your GBP, they’ll see the different services you have listed as products—these are essentially your services shown in another format—and this helps a lot. Not many people do this, but it’s a great way to leverage the tool to attract better clients.
The next thing you can do is add your booking link if you have a booking platform. Depending on which CRM or booking tool you use, there are different integration options so people can just click “Book Online” right from your profile.
Turning Services Into Products
Sean Garner [18:00]
Then we talked about Q&As—same idea as posts. What you want to do is ask yourself questions as the business owner. That’s what we typically do. If you’re not getting a lot of client questions, just ask and answer your own. GMB Everywhere has a “Generate Q&A” feature that can help you come up with ideas. You can go through and answer them manually or schedule them out so they appear consistently.
This setup would be the bare minimum to get your Google Business Profile optimized. The biggest mistakes I see are not having the right primary category, missing relevant secondary categories, leaving information incomplete or inaccurate like using HTTP instead of HTTPS URLs, missing location pins or photos, and failing to add services and service descriptions under each category. Another common mistake is not adding services as products or linking them to landing pages.
Once you have all that set up, you’re officially in the game. From there, you can start driving more reviews by sending your review request link and automating the process through GMB Everywhere—it’s an awesome tool.
I also want to show one more way to leverage it. Once your GBP is optimized, there’s a feature called Local Scan. When you go to Google Maps, you can view the primary and secondary categories your competitors are using. You can even run a review audit to see their keywords, how often they get reviews, and their review velocity.
Review velocity is key—if you’re a newer business trying to catch up, this helps you understand how quickly competitors are collecting reviews so you can match or exceed that pace.
Sean Garner [20:21.941]
So this business right here, I can tell is not doing too great because they haven’t gotten a review since early 2024, and even before that, their reviews were pretty sparse and far apart. This is a great way to spy on your competition to see how quickly they’re getting reviews and how their profile is performing. What I really like, though, is the Local Scan feature. I already ran the Local Scan right here, and this is how you can see the top 20 Google Business Profiles for a specific service and service area.
I ran it for one of our businesses—IV therapy—and had it scan the results. And hey, shameless plug, we’re number one. It helps when you own the marketing agency for the company. Anyway, we’re ranked first, and this lets us see everything, including the unique categories other businesses are using and the average categories across all of them.
Here’s an example: most of the businesses offering IV therapy list their service as “medical clinic,” since IV therapy is often done at doctors’ offices. IV therapy services are still relatively new, which is probably why only a few of us have switched to that more accurate category so far. You can also see the common services they offer and how many compared to your competition. You can see we offer a lot—this med spa offers a lot too—and you can even compare how many of those services are unique to each facility.
Another valuable insight is reviews. You can see exactly how you stack up against competitors. One of the reasons we’re number one is that we have more reviews than anyone else in the area because we automate that process through Marketing Domination using our proven framework. You can also see each business’s location and hours of operation. Remember that 24-hour listing hack I mentioned earlier? You can use this to check whether your industry typically lists standard hours or extended ones.
You can also review other attributes and miscellaneous factors—all of which make this an awesome tool to measure where you stand compared to competitors. Because here’s the truth about SEO: it’s not about tricking or hacking Google. It’s about being clear and direct about who you are while also understanding what your competition is doing. Tools like GMB Everywhere are incredibly valuable. Every local business should have it. It helps you dominate in the map pack for your service area, and that’s exactly what you want for your local service business to truly thrive online.
Take Action Now
Sean Garner [22:46]
Make sure you take action on these steps and continue improving and optimizing your Google Business Profile. Or, if you’d rather have someone do it for you and know it’s being done right, we’d love the opportunity to work with you. Schedule a call below, and we’ll make sure your business is fully set up to dominate online.
