The Local Marketing Handbook
Your Google Business Profile
If you only do one thing in this handbook, do this one.
First, the name change. What used to be called Google My Business is now your Google Business Profile. Same thing, new label, and you manage it directly from Google Search or Maps while signed in as the owner, not through a separate app.
Second, the reason it comes this early. Your profile is no longer just a listing that gets you into the map pack. It is the primary source Google's AI answers and every other assistant read when deciding whether to recommend you. Most searches now end without a click. Your profile is your storefront.
Most owners claim it once and abandon it. Here is what separates a managed profile from an abandoned one.
Category is the highest-impact field you control
Be as specific as your business honestly allows. "Emergency Plumber" beats "Plumber." "Pediatric Dentist" beats "Dentist."
Then add every legitimate secondary category you qualify for. Most owners are missing two or three, and each one is a whole set of searches you are invisible to.
Fill in every field, including the boring ones
Services and products with real descriptions. Hours, holiday hours included, updated yearly. Accessibility attributes. Payment methods. Category-specific attributes like outdoor seating, appointment required, or free estimates.
If somebody searches "coffee shop with outdoor seating near me" and you have it but never checked the box, you do not exist for that search.
Photos, weekly
Take them on your phone. The exterior from across the street so people recognize the building. The front door. What it looks like walking in. Your team. Products on the shelf. Completed projects, before and after. Tag them as you upload.
Imperfect photos that exist beat perfect ones that do not.
Post, weekly
A post takes four minutes and signals that somebody is home. An event, a new product, a seasonal service, a piece of content from your site.
AI Assist: a quarter of posts in one sitting
Use the below prompt to generate Google Business Profile posts.
I run [business] in [town, state]. My audience: [paste your statement]. Write 13 short Google Business Profile posts, one per week for a quarter, tied to the local calendar and seasons here. Each under 750 characters, each with a clear call to action, each mentioning something specific and verifiable about my business or my town.
Edit them so they sound like you, then schedule them. A quarter of posting, done in under an hour.
Your 30-minute task
Sign into your profile. Fix your primary category, add every secondary category you qualify for, and check every attribute box that honestly applies.
Upload five photos before you close the tab.
