How to Fix Every Google Business Profile Finding
The Google Business Profile audit evaluates the single most important local-SEO asset most businesses underuse — the GBP listing that appears in Maps, the local pack and Knowledge Panels. Optimised GBP listings get 7× more clicks than unoptimised ones. This index covers fixes for every category of finding: NAP consistency, category selection, photo strategy, post cadence, review responses, services and Q&A.
By finding type
Pick the finding matching your audit:
📍 Fix NAP inconsistency PLANNED
Name, Address, Phone must match exactly across your GBP, website, every directory and every citation. "Ltd" vs "Limited", "St" vs "Street", formatted vs unformatted phone numbers — Google reads these as separate businesses. Audit, normalise, push corrections to aggregators.
🏷️ Fix wrong or missing categories PLANNED
Primary category drives 80% of your visibility. Pick the most specific category that fits, not the broadest. Add 5-9 secondary categories covering every service. The competitor-category audit pattern: see which categories your top-ranked local competitors use.
📷 Fix weak photo strategy PLANNED
Listings with 100+ photos get 520% more calls. Photo categories that work: exterior, interior, products, team, work-in-progress. Upload weekly. The geo-tagged photo myth (it doesn't help) vs what actually helps (frequency and variety).
📝 Fix missing or stale GBP posts PLANNED
Posts expire after 7 days. Inactive profiles look abandoned. Post cadence: minimum weekly, ideally 2-3 per week. Post types that perform: offers, events, products, what's new. The CTA buttons that actually convert.
⭐ Fix unanswered reviews PLANNED
Respond to every review — positive AND negative — within 24-48 hours. Response templates that convert without sounding templated. Handling 1-star reviews professionally. The legitimate ways to ask for reviews and the practices that violate Google's policy.
🛠️ Fix missing services / products PLANNED
Services and products sections let you list specifics with descriptions, prices, photos. Underused — most competitors leave these blank. Adding 10+ services with full descriptions adds significant keyword coverage to your profile.
❓ Fix unanswered Q&A PLANNED
Anyone can ask a question on your profile. Anyone can answer. If you don't seed your own Q&A, customers (and competitors) will. Pre-populate with FAQ-style content. Monitor for spam and report. Answer every real question within hours.
✅ Fix missing attributes PLANNED
Attributes are filters in Maps search — wheelchair access, free WiFi, outdoor seating, women-owned, LGBTQ+ friendly. Fill every relevant attribute. These appear in highlight cards and filter your business into specific searches.
By business type
GBP optimisation patterns vary by category:
🍽️ Fix GBP for restaurants PLANNED
Menu integration, food photos that drive bookings, the reservation-link patterns, dietary-attribute filters, and the photo-upload cadence specific to food businesses.
🔧 Fix GBP for service-area businesses PLANNED
Plumbers, electricians, mobile services — when to hide the address, how to set service areas, the multi-location patterns when you cover 30+ postcodes, and the bulk-management approach.
🏢 Fix GBP for multi-location chains PLANNED
Brand consistency across 5+ locations, store-locator integration, the bulk-upload spreadsheet patterns, and managing reviews at scale without sounding corporate.
What our GBP audit evaluates
The audit pulls your live Google Business Profile, evaluates NAP consistency against your website and major citation sources, scores category selection, audits photo count and recency, post cadence, review response rate, services completeness, attribute coverage and Q&A activity. For the complete reference, see the GBP Guide or sample audit.
📍 Audit your GBP first
Run the audit. Most listings have 5-7 quick wins that take an hour each and lift visibility within a week.
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