The problem
Your listing is doing more work than your website.
For most local businesses, far more people see the Google listing than ever reach the website. It's what decides whether someone taps "directions" or scrolls to the next result.
And most listings are missing the basics; no photos in two years, no secondary categories set, no hours over Christmas, no replies to reviews, nothing in the description. None of it is difficult. It's just that nobody ever told the owner it mattered.
What you get
A number, three gaps, and a fix for each.
A score out of 100; measured on the things that actually shift local rankings.
The three biggest gaps; ranked by what'll make the most difference first.
A plain-English fix for each; what to change, and where to click.
We check what your customers can see on your public listing, not everything Google shows you behind the scenes, and never anything we can't verify.
Where to use it
What to do with your score.
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Fix the top three first
They're ranked by impact for a reason.
- Work down the list in order.
- Give it twenty minutes in one sitting rather than picking at it.
- Re-run the score afterwards to see the change.
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Put it in the diary, monthly
Profiles drift.
- Add fifteen minutes to the calendar on the first of the month.
- Add a photo, check your hours, reply to any new reviews.
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Photos are the quickest win
Listings with recent photos get noticeably more clicks.
- Take five on your phone; the front, inside, your team, your work, the sign.
- Upload straight from the Google app.
- Add a couple more each month rather than twenty in one go.
Common mistakes
Four things worth avoiding.
Filling it in once and never returning. Google favours listings that show signs of life. A profile untouched for two years slips quietly down.
Leaving categories too narrow. Your primary category is one of the clearest signals to Google about what you actually do, and most businesses never add a second one.
Ignoring the questions section. Anyone can answer a question on your listing, including a competitor. Answer them yourself.
Wrong or missing bank-holiday hours. One of the fastest ways to earn a one-star review from someone who drove over.
What to expect
Nothing dramatic on its own. Together, it adds up.
Nothing here is dramatic on its own. Together, a properly finished listing is one of the few things a local business can fix in an afternoon that genuinely moves where it appears.
Most listings we check score somewhere in the forties. Getting into the eighties is usually a morning's work, not a project.