Before working on any ranking factor, confirm that your business name, address, and phone number are correct within the platform. Accurate core information is the foundation everything else below builds on.
There are three local SEO levers that move the visibility needle with Google, Apple, Bing, Yelp, and other prominent listing sites:
What you are — how your profile is categorized and described.
What you offer — the services, products, and attributes listed on your profile.
Why and where Google and Apple should rank you — the ongoing signals that build trust and relevance over time.
1. What you are
Primary category
Choose the category most relevant to the keywords you want to rank for.
TIP: Search for the keywords you want to rank for and see which category appears most frequently in map results.
Secondary categories
Choose categories that are genuinely relevant to your business.
NOTE:
Don't spam secondary categories. The less relevant a category is to your primary one, the greater the chance your profile gets flagged for reverification.
Business description
Google no longer uses the business description as a ranking factor, but it's still important for other primary listing sites.
Use keywords where it makes sense, but write for customers first — not for search bots.
2. What you offer
Be complete, but don't spam. Fill these out thoroughly and accurately:
Services
Service categories
Service descriptions
Products
Attributes
3. Why and where Google and Apple should rank you
Reviews, review content, and replies
After your Google Business Profile content, this is the most important ranking signal Google looks at that you actually have control over.
Recent reviews carry more weight in the algorithm than older ones, so a steady stream matters more than a high total count.
Website content
Highly important for LLM-driven results such as ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
Address and service area
Keep this accurate and consistent with where you actually operate and serve customers.
Hours
Make sure your hours are up to date and accurate.
Enter holiday hours well in advance of the holiday.
Photos
Add new photos every few months.
Flag user-uploaded photos that aren't relevant to your business.
Consistent business information across the web
Keep your name, address, phone number, and hours consistent across all listing sites, not just Google.
Local events, Google posts, and updates
Google favors “what's happening now” social-style posts.
If you have an event coming up in the next week, create a post about it.
Where to focus first
If you're prioritizing, work through these levers in the following order for the fastest visibility gains:
Primary category
Services
Secondary categories
Reviews
Attributes
Website
Location/service area
Hours
Description
Photos
Posts and updates