Keep your Google Maps listing working. 10 minutes a week.

1Get it right once

Open your listing (search your business name on Google while signed in, or use the Google Business Profile app) and check each of these:

• Verified. If Google still asks you to verify, do it first. An unverified listing can be edited by anyone.
• Your real business name, exactly as on your sign. Don’t add extra words like “best” or your town; it’s against Google’s rules and can get the listing suspended.
• The right main category (for example “Dental clinic” or “Hardware store”), plus a few extra ones that fit.
• Address or service area. If customers come to you, your address. If you go to them, the parishes you serve.
• Hours, phone number, and your website or WhatsApp link.
• A short description in plain words: what you sell, who it’s for, and what makes you different.
• Photos: the outside (so people recognise it when they arrive), the inside, your products or work, and your team if you’re happy to.

2Every week (about 10 minutes)

• Reply to every new review. Thank good ones by name. Answer bad ones calmly, say sorry where it’s fair, and offer to sort it out on the phone or WhatsApp. People read the replies more than the stars.
• Add one or two new photos. New stock, a finished job, a busy Saturday. Listings with fresh photos look open and alive.
• Post an update. An offer, new stock, an event or a holiday notice. Keep it short, with a photo.

3Every month

• Check your hours, and set special hours before public holidays, so nobody drives to a closed door.
• Look at Performance: how many people searched for you, called, asked for directions or visited your website. Write the numbers down each month and you’ll see what’s working.
• Check for changes suggested by others. Anyone can suggest an edit to your listing, and Google sometimes accepts them. Look for “Google updates” and accept or reject them.
• Make sure your phone number and WhatsApp still work, and that the website link opens.

4Getting more reviews, honestly

• Ask right after a good experience, in person or in your WhatsApp reply: “Would you mind leaving us a quick review? It really helps a small business.”
• Send your review link. In your Business Profile, look for “Ask for reviews” to copy your link. Save it as a WhatsApp quick reply so it takes one tap.
• Never buy reviews, offer discounts for them, or review yourself. It’s against Google’s rules, and Google removes fake reviews and can suspend the listing.

5Avoid these mistakes

• Two listings for one place. If you find a duplicate, ask Google to merge or remove it rather than keeping both.
• Starting over after a suspension. Don’t make a new listing; ask Google to reinstate the old one, and fix whatever broke the rules first.
• A personal Gmail you might lose. Use an email address you’ll always have, and add a second manager (a partner or staff member you trust) so you’re never locked out.