What optimising a profile really means
Optimising a profile does not mean tricks. Google's help pages say local results depend mainly on how relevant, how near and how prominent a business is, and that placement cannot be purchased. What you can do is give Google complete, accurate information and keep it current.
This guide follows the order in which most Canberra businesses meet the profile: verifying it, setting the core details, adding photos and posts, handling reviews, and dealing with problems. Each point is drawn from Google's own documentation, and we say where the documentation is silent.
For the wider job around the profile, our local SEO service sits alongside it, and see our local SEO checklist for ACT businesses. If you want a hand with the profile itself, our Google Business Profile service covers it.
Verification: proving the business is yours
Photos and other content only appear publicly once the business is verified, so this step comes first. Google decides which verification methods you see, and you cannot change them.
- Open the verification promptFrom your profile, choose Get verified. Options can include a call or text, email, live video or a postcard.
- Prepare for a video callYou must be at the business, show your location, show the business itself, and show proof you manage it, such as a cash register or keys. Calls run only in business hours.
- Use a postcard patientlyMost codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30. Do not request a new one, because that invalidates the first.
- Freeze your details while you waitEditing the business name, address or category before the code arrives can stop it working.
- Keep the code privateGoogle will never ask for the code, and you should not share it with anyone, including people who help manage your profile.
A twenty-minute check before you change anything
Run this list against your live profile first. It finds the problems most likely to cause a rejected edit or a suspension.
- Name: Does it match your signage, website and invoices, with no tagline, suburb or service words added?
- Address or service area: Is the address real and signed, or hidden with a service area you can honestly reach?
- Primary category: Is it the most specific option that completes the sentence 'this business is a'?
- Phone and website: Do both connect to this specific location, and do they match your site?
- Hours and special hours: Are the regular hours right, and are public holiday hours set ahead of time?
- Photos and reviews: Are the photos current and realistic, and does every review have a reply?
Name, address and service area
Google wants the name you use in real life. It does not allow added taglines, store codes, hours, phone numbers, service descriptions or location details in the name. Adding 'Canberra' or a service keyword to the name breaks that rule.
For the address, use your actual physical location. P.O. boxes, remote mailboxes and virtual offices do not qualify. Do not put keywords or web addresses into the address lines. If you show an address, Google expects permanent signage with your business name there.
Mobile and home-based businesses, such as a plumber or a cleaner, should keep the address off the profile and define a service area. Google suggests keeping that area within about two hours of driving from the base, though some businesses may reasonably go wider.
Categories, services and hours
These fields tell Google what you are. Mistakes here can undermine the rest of the profile.
- Primary category: Google says to choose the category that completes 'this business IS a', not 'this business HAS a', and to make it as specific as possible.
- Additional categories: Use as few as possible, and never add categories for a co-located business you do not own.
- Services and products: List what you actually offer, in plain words that match how customers describe the job. Keep regulated products off the profile.
- Hours: Enter your regular customer-facing hours, and use special hours for public holidays such as the ACT's public holidays.
- Description: Google says to avoid links, promotions, prices, sales language and distracting text in the description, and to focus on services, products and mission.
- Phone number: Google prefers a local number tied to the place you operate from rather than a central call-centre line, and premium-rate numbers are not allowed.
Photos that help customers and satisfy Google
Google publishes technical limits and suggested photo types. Google asks for sharp, well lit, realistic photos, and warns against significant alterations or excessive use of filters or AI.
| Photo type | Google's suggestion | What to show |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior | At least three, from each approach direction and at different times of day. | The entrance, signage and parking, so customers can spot you. |
| Interior | At least three that convey the atmosphere. | The waiting area, counter or workspace as a customer sees it. |
| Work in progress | At least three showing services and your team in action. | Finished jobs, specialist equipment and staff at work. |
| Products | At least three of your best sellers, evenly lit. | The items customers ask about most. |
| Team | At least three of management and staff, relaxed in style. | The people a customer will meet. |
Photo file requirements
Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB. The recommended size is 720 pixels tall and 720 pixels wide, with a minimum of 250 by 250. Photos should be sharp, well lit and represent reality.
A practical routine is to add a few new photos each month rather than a large batch once a year. Photograph finished work with the customer's permission, and avoid showing private information such as house numbers on paperwork or client screens.
Posts: what is allowed and how long they last
Posts are short updates that appear on your profile in Search and Maps. They are worth using sparingly and honestly.
Updates
News, with a description, photo or video and an action button to a booking or information page.
Offers
A title, dates and times, with a View Offer button and an optional coupon code and terms.
Events
A title and start and end dates. Without times, an event shows as lasting 24 hours.
Lifespan
Posts older than six months are archived unless you set a date range.
Content rules
Keep posts professional and free of filler, and link only to trusted websites. Regulated industries must not describe their products.
Status
A post can be Live, Pending or Not approved, and the last one shows which policy it broke.
Reviews: ask well, reply well, and know the limits
Reviews are the part of the profile you do not fully control, so process matters. Google treats incentives as fake and misleading content, and in Australia the ACCC warned in 2013 that omitting negative reviews can be as misleading as posting fake ones.
Good practice
- Send every customer a review link or QR code in the same way.
- Reply promptly, specifically and politely, even to criticism.
- Apologise where it is warranted and offer to continue offline.
- Flag reviews that clearly break Google's content policies.
Avoid these
- Handing out freebies or discounts in return for a review.
- Writing or commissioning reviews of your own business.
- Using replies for deals or promotions, or sharing a reviewer's private details.
- Offering a discount to have a negative review changed or removed.
Suspensions: causes and the appeal process
Profiles that break Google's guidelines can be suspended or disabled. If your Google account itself is restricted, lift that restriction through the My accounts page first, then appeal the profile suspension.
The route back is an appeal. Before you submit, confirm the profile follows every guideline. Gather supporting evidence such as a business registration, licence, tax certificate or utility bill, and make sure the name and address on the documents match the profile.
Google does not publish how long a decision takes; it emails the outcome. You get a single appeal, so prepare carefully. Do not create a new profile for the same business, as that is a common way to make things worse.
A denied appeal may sometimes be reviewed again with new evidence, but Google does not promise this. If your profile is central to your enquiries, check the guidelines before every edit, and consider an SEO audit to find other risks across your online presence.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
It varies by method. Google says reviewing a submission can take up to five business days, and sometimes longer. Postcard codes usually arrive within 14 days and expire after 30. A few profiles verify instantly, such as those verified through Search Console. You cannot choose the method Google offers.
Can I add keywords to my business name to rank higher?
No. Google wants the name used in real life and bars extra descriptions or location details. Adding them risks the edit being rejected or the profile being suspended, and it does nothing for your actual ranking.
Do I need a shopfront to have a profile?
Customers must be able to visit you in person, or you must go to them. Businesses that travel to customers can keep the address hidden and define a service area. Virtual offices and rented mailing addresses where you do not operate are not eligible.
What should I do if my profile is suspended?
Read Google's guidelines, fix anything that breaks them, gather matching registration documents, and submit an appeal through Google's tool. You get one appeal, so do not rush. Do not make a new profile for the same business while the appeal is in progress.
Does posting on the profile improve rankings?
Google does not say that posts raise rankings, so we do not claim it. Posts can inform customers about news, offers and events, and they give people a reason to act. Treat them as a customer tool, not a ranking lever.
Sources and further reading
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google (Business Profile Help): Name, address, service-area, category, hours, description and phone rules.
- Verify your business (Business Profile Help): Verification methods, video call requirements, postcard timing, review time.
- Tips for business-specific photos (Business Profile Help): Photo formats, sizes, suggested types and quality guidance.
- Posts on your Business Profile (Business Profile Help): Update, offer and event posts, six-month archive, content rules.
- Business Profile Help: asking for and replying to reviews: Review links and QR codes, incentives prohibited, reply guidance, flagging.
- Fix suspended or disabled profiles (Business Profile Help): Suspension, appeal steps, evidence, one appeal only.
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (Business Profile Help): Relevance, distance and prominence; no paid local ranking.
- ACCC releases guidance about online product reviews (3 December 2013): Omitting negative reviews can be as misleading as fake reviews.