Google Business Profile Optimization: A Checklist for Philippine Businesses

What is Google Business Profile optimization?

How Google ranks local results

• Relevance: how well your profile matches the search. Complete, detailed information helps Google understand what you do.
• Distance: how far your business is from the person searching, or from the location named in the search.
• Prominence: how well known your business is. Google says this draws on information such as links to your business from other websites and the number of reviews and ratings you have.

The Google Business Profile optimization checklist

1. 1

   Claim and verify the profile

   Search for your business name and city. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, add it. Verification tells Google you are authorised to manage the business. Google chooses the verification methods available to you, which can include phone, SMS, email or a video recording. If video verification is offered, Google recommends it.

2. 2

   Use your real-world business name

   The name should match your signage, receipts and website. Do not add keywords, locations, taglines, phone numbers or opening hours. 'Casa Kape' is fine. 'Casa Kape Best Coffee BGC Open 24 Hours' breaks the guidelines and risks suspension. Legal terms such as 'Inc.' or 'Corp.' are only allowed if they appear consistently on your real-world branding.

3. 3

   Choose the right categories

   Pick the most specific primary category available, for example 'Dental clinic' rather than 'Clinic'. Add a small number of additional categories for real departments or services, not one for every product. Google notes that categories affect local ranking, and that changing them can trigger re-verification.

4. 4

   Enter a precise address or service area

   Put the street address in line 1 and the unit, floor or building in line 2. Google allows cross-streets and landmarks only where the official street address does not pinpoint the location, which applies to many Philippine addresses. If the street address cannot be found, you can place the pin on the map yourself.

5. 5

   Set regular and special hours

   List customer-facing hours. Use special hours for holidays and one-off closures. Google suggests confirming hours for official holidays even when they are unchanged, so customers know the listing is current. Plan this before Holy Week, Undas and the Christmas season.

6. 6

   Use a phone number you control

   Google asks for a number that connects directly to the business location, under the business's control. A local landline or the branch mobile is better than a central hotline. Premium-rate numbers and numbers that redirect elsewhere are not allowed.

7. 7

   Write the business description

   You have up to 750 characters. Describe what you do, who you serve and where. Google does not allow links in the description, and it should not focus on promos or prices.

8. 8

   Add services or products

   Service businesses can use the services editor to list offerings, with optional descriptions and prices. Custom service names should not contain prices, phone numbers or filler text. Eligible retail stores can show in-store products.

9. 9

   Upload real photos and short videos

   Add a logo, a cover photo, an exterior shot customers will recognise and photos of your products, team and interior. Google recommends 720 by 720 pixel images, with a minimum of 250 by 250, in focus and without heavy filters. Videos can run up to 30 seconds.

10. 10

    Post updates, offers and events

    Posts appear on your profile in Search and Maps. Use Updates for news, Offers for promos with dates and Events for things happening at your location. Google archives posts older than six months unless a date range is set, so a regular posting rhythm keeps the profile current.

11. 11

    Ask for reviews and reply to them

    Share a review link or QR code at the counter, on receipts and in follow-up messages. Reply to reviews, including negative ones, politely and without sharing personal details. Do not offer discounts, freebies or raffle entries for reviews. Google classes that as fake and misleading engagement.

Quick reference: what Google allows

Common mistakes we see on Philippine profiles

• Duplicate profiles for the same branch, often created by former staff or an old agency. Google allows one profile per location and warns that duplicates cause problems with how your information shows on Maps and Search.
• Profiles owned by a personal Gmail account of someone who has left the company. Add at least two owners or managers from your own team.
• Names padded with keywords such as 'Dentist Makati Affordable'. It may seem to work for a while, then leads to suspension.
• A service-area business showing a home address. Google's guidance is to hide the address and set a service area instead.
• Hours that are never updated for holidays, which leads to customers arriving at a closed door and leaving a review about it.
• Review drives that offer a discount. Google can remove the reviews, and the profile may face restrictions.

What results can look like

Local SEO in the Philippines goes beyond the profile

• A website with a clear page for each service and each branch, with the same name, address and phone number as the profile.
• Consistent listings on directories and industry sites, so Google sees the same details everywhere.
• A steady flow of genuine reviews, with replies, across the months rather than in one burst.

A simple monthly routine

1. Weekly: reply to every new review and check for edits suggested by the public.
2. Weekly or every two weeks: publish one post with a real photo.
3. Monthly: add new photos, check hours for upcoming holidays and review the services list.
4. Monthly: check the Performance view for calls, direction requests and website clicks, and compare with last month.
5. Quarterly: search for duplicate listings and check that your details match on your website and main directories.