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If your Google Business Profile is not bringing in the calls or enquiries you expect, it can be hard to tell what is wrong. Perhaps the profile is not giving Google enough accurate information to match you with relevant searches. Or perhaps customers can find you but do not see enough to feel confident contacting you.

A strong profile needs to do both jobs: help the right people discover your business and help them understand why they should choose you. Here are the key areas to review, plus a way to get a clearer picture of what may be holding your profile back.

1. Give Google clear, accurate information about your business

Start with the basics: what kind of business are you, what services do you provide, where do you serve customers, and when are you available?

Choose a primary category that describes your main business. If you provide other services that fit additional categories, consider adding those too. Google permits one primary category and up to nine additional categories, but its guidance is to use only a few relevant categories that describe the core business accurately. Categories should describe what your business is, not act as a list of keywords. Google Business Profile Help

Then check your services. Make sure the services on your profile reflect what you actually offer and that your website explains those services clearly. When customers see the same offer on both, they can understand your business more quickly.

Review your opening hours, phone number, website and service area as well. These details should be current and consistent wherever customers see them. If customers do not visit your premises, check that your profile uses the correct service-area settings; Google says service-area businesses should hide their street address from customers. Google Business Profile Help

Profile attributes can answer practical questions before a customer contacts you. Depending on the business, useful details might include parking, accessibility or payment options. Only add information that is accurate and applies to your business.

2. Use photos, videos and posts to show what you do

A profile with old or very few photos may leave customers guessing. Use current, genuine images that show the kind of work you do and what a customer can expect.

For a service business, useful photos might include completed projects, before-and-after results, your team at work, vehicles, equipment and your premises if customers visit. Take before-and-after photos from roughly the same position so people can compare the result. Keep images well lit and in focus, and make sure they represent your business accurately. Google recommends photos and videos to show customers your storefront, products and services. Google Business Profile Help

Short videos can also show a job in context: the original problem, how the work was completed, or the finished result. Explain the service in plain language and make the video useful to a potential customer. Avoid trying to cram in keywords; a clear description is more helpful to people.

Google Business Profile posts let you share timely updates, photos, videos and links. Use them to highlight recent work, answer common questions or explain a service. Posts can keep useful information in front of customers, but do not treat them as a guaranteed shortcut to higher rankings or more calls. Google Business Profile Help

3. Compare your reviews with local competitors

A profile can contain accurate information and still fail to persuade a customer. When people compare local businesses, reviews give them a view of other customers’ experiences.

Look at the businesses appearing for your main services and compare their review totals, how recently reviews were posted, and the detail in the feedback. A short review such as “five-star service, highly recommended” is positive, but a more detailed review may tell a prospective customer what the business did and how the work went.

For example, imagine a customer thought an old hot-water cylinder needed replacing. A plumber checked it, found the heating element had failed, explained why the cylinder could keep working, and replaced the element. A review that naturally describes that experience can help another customer understand the problem the plumber solved and what the service was like.

Do not tell customers what to write or ask them to include keywords. Invite an honest review after a completed job and let the customer describe their own experience. Google requires reviews to reflect genuine experiences and says businesses should not request specific review content. support.google.com

Google says reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, but reviews are only one part of the picture. Compare them to understand how your profile looks to customers, not to assume that the business with the highest count automatically ranks first or wins every enquiry. support.google.com

A profile audit can show you what to fix first

There are many details to check, and it is easy to miss a mismatch or an opportunity when you look only at your own profile. Comparing your categories, services, profile details and reviews with local competitors can help reveal where your next improvements should be.

A free Google Business Profile audit includes a manual review of your profile, website and competitors. It can identify what is working, what may be inaccurate or missing, and where you may be able to improve your visibility. The audit takes around an hour to an hour and a half, followed by a 45-to-60-minute call to talk through the findings. You receive a copy of the audit and a practical set of next steps.

There is no hard sell. You can make the changes yourself or discuss getting help to implement them. I carry out a few audits each week and can take on up to five new businesses each month.