The 5-Minute GBP Audit You Can Do Right Now

You Do Not Need to Be an Expert to Spot Problems

Your Google Business Profile might be costing you work right now, and you would not even know it. Missing information, wrong categories, outdated hours, no recent photos. any of these can push you down in local search results while your competitors climb above you.

The good news is that checking for the most common problems takes about five minutes. You do not need any technical knowledge. You do not need to pay anyone. You just need to know where to look and what matters.

This quick self-audit will walk you through the ten things that have the biggest impact on whether customers find you and choose you. Grab your phone, open Google, and let us go through it.

Step 1: Search for Your Business Name

Open Google on your phone or computer and type your exact business name. Your profile should appear on the right side of the screen (on desktop) or at the top of results (on mobile).

If your profile does not appear at all when you search your exact business name, you have a serious problem. Either your profile is not verified, it has been suspended, or it has been marked as a duplicate. This needs fixing before anything else matters.

If it does appear, look at your business name. Does it match your actual trading name exactly? Google's guidelines state that your business name should reflect your real-world business name. no keyword stuffing. A plumber called "Dave's Plumbing" should not list their name as "Dave's Plumbing - Emergency Plumber Wrexham Boiler Repair 24/7." Google penalises this, and competitors can report you for it.

Step 2: Check Your Categories

Your primary category is one of the single most important ranking signals on your entire profile. Get it wrong and you are fighting an uphill battle for visibility.

On your profile, look at the category shown beneath your business name. Is it the most accurate description of what you do? A heating engineer should have "Heating engineer" or "HVAC contractor" as their primary category, not "Plumber". even if they do some plumbing work. A painter and decorator should be categorised as "Painter" rather than "Contractor."

You can also add secondary categories. These should cover your other services without straying too far from your core trade. Check that these are set by going into your profile editor.

Step 3: Count Your Reviews

Look at your star rating and your total review count. Both matter, but count matters more than most people think.

The number of reviews you need depends on your trade and your area, but as a rough guide: if your top competitors have 40+ reviews and you have 8, that gap is hurting you. Google uses review signals heavily in local ranking, and quantity, alongside quality and recency, is a major factor.

While you are here, scroll through your most recent reviews. When was the last one? If your most recent review is three months old, that is a freshness problem. Google notices when reviews stop coming in, and it can indicate to the algorithm that your business is slowing down.

Are you replying to your reviews? Every single one? Check now. Responding to reviews is a basic but essential habit that signals engagement. If you have unanswered reviews, set aside fifteen minutes today to reply to every one.

Step 4: Look at Your Photos

Count your photos. How many have you uploaded? How recently?

If you have fewer than ten photos, your profile looks thin compared to competitors who have thirty or fifty. If your most recent photo is from last year, your profile looks dormant.

Photos should show your work. completed jobs, before and after shots, your team, your van. Not stock images, not blurry phone shots taken in the dark. Quality matters, but so does quantity and recency. A roofer with fresh photos from last week's job looks more active and trustworthy than one whose last upload was eight months ago.

Step 5: Check Your Hours

Are your opening hours correct? This sounds trivial, but incorrect hours cause real problems.

If you say you are open until 6pm and someone calls at 5:30pm to find you unavailable, that damages trust. If Google thinks you are closed when someone searches for your trade, you may not appear at all during those hours.

For tradespeople, hours can be tricky because you are often flexible. Set hours that reflect when you are genuinely available to take calls. If you answer the phone from 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, set that. If you are available Saturday mornings, include that. Be honest and accurate.

Step 6: Read Your Business Description

Your description should clearly explain what you do and what makes you different. It should be written for customers, not for Google. no keyword stuffing, no jargon.

Check yours now. Does it mention your main trade? Does it reference the areas you cover, like Chester, Conwy, or Anglesey? Does it say anything that makes you stand out from the other dozen tradespeople offering the same services?

If your description is blank, that is a missed opportunity. If it reads like it was written by a robot, rewrite it in your own voice. If it has not been updated since you first set up your profile, it probably needs refreshing.

Step 7: Check Your Services

Google lets you list specific services within your profile. Many tradespeople skip this section entirely, which means Google has less information about what you actually offer.

Go into your profile editor and look at the Services section. A builder should list things like extensions, loft conversions, renovations, groundwork. each as a separate service. An electrician should list rewiring, consumer unit upgrades, fault finding and so on.

Each service you list gives Google another keyword to associate with your business. It is free relevance. Fill it in properly.

Step 8: Look at Your Last Post

When was the last time you published a Google Post? If the answer is "never" or "I cannot remember," your profile is missing out on an easy activity signal.

Google Posts do not directly affect ranking in a dramatic way, but they signal to Google that your profile is actively managed. They also give potential customers extra content to engage with. offers, project updates, tips, seasonal reminders.

A post every week or two is enough. It does not need to be long or polished. A quick photo of a completed job with a sentence about what you did is plenty.

Step 9: Verify Your Service Area

If you are a service area business, meaning you travel to customers rather than having them come to you, check that your service area is set correctly.

You can list specific cities, counties, or postcodes. If you are based in Rhyl but work across all of North Wales, your service area should reflect that. If it is set too narrowly, you are invisible to customers in areas you actually serve. If it is set too broadly, you are competing against businesses that are physically closer to searchers in areas you rarely visit.

Step 10: The Overall Impression

Step back and look at your profile as if you were a homeowner searching for someone to do a job. Would you call this business? Does the profile look active and trustworthy? Or does it look like it was set up three years ago and forgotten?

Compare it to the top-ranked competitor in your area. How does your profile stack up against theirs? If there are obvious gaps, fewer reviews, fewer photos, no posts, missing services, those gaps are almost certainly why they rank above you.

What to Fix First

If this audit has revealed problems, do not try to fix everything at once. Prioritise like this:

1. Business name accuracy and primary category. these have the biggest ranking impact
2. Reviews. start asking for them after every job, today
3. Photos and posts. upload something this week
4. Services and description. fill in the gaps
5. Hours and service area. make sure they are accurate

And if you want a more thorough analysis, we offer a completely free audit that goes deeper than this five-minute check. We look at your citations, your competitor landscape and more. It takes us about an hour and you get a detailed report with exactly what to do next. No obligation, no sales pitch.

Five minutes of your time today could reveal the reason your phone is not ringing as often as it should be.