What to check on your Google listing every month

Once your Google Business Profile is set up properly, it's tempting to forget about it. But a listing changes even when you don't touch it. Customers upload photos, leave reviews and ask questions. Anyone can suggest an edit to your details. Google itself sometimes updates information based on what it finds elsewhere.

A short monthly check keeps everything accurate and shows customers your business is active. This post is a simple checklist you can follow in about fifteen minutes, once a month.

Before you start

Have your official details ready: your business name, address, phone, WhatsApp number, website and normal hours, written exactly as you use them everywhere. Then open your Business Profile on your phone or computer, and also search for your business on Google Maps as a customer would. Seeing both views helps.

1. Your basic details

Check each one carefully against your official details:

• Business name: exactly as on your sign, with no extra words added
• Address and map pin: is the pin on your actual entrance?
• Phone number: does it ring the right phone?
• Website link: does it open your current website?
• Category: still the best description of your business? See choosing the right business category on Google.

Matching details everywhere is called NAP consistency, and it matters to customers and to Google.

2. Suggested edits

Anyone can suggest changes to a business on Google, and Google may apply some of them. Look for any notice of updates from Google or from users. If something has been changed incorrectly, such as your hours, phone or category, correct it straight away.

3. Opening hours

• Are your normal hours still correct?
• Are special hours set for upcoming festivals and holidays? See updating your listing for festivals and holidays.
• Did last month's special hours end properly?

4. Reviews

• Read every new review, good and bad
• Reply to each one, politely and personally. Thank happy customers; respond calmly to complaints and offer to help.
• Report any review that's clearly fake, abusive or about another business
• Notice patterns: if several people mention the same problem, it's worth fixing

See how to get more Google reviews, and how to reply to them.

5. Questions and messages

Customers may ask questions or send messages through your listing, depending on the features Google offers for your type of business at the time. Answer anything waiting. If people keep asking the same thing, like parking or delivery, add that information to your description, website or photos.

6. Photos

• Add a few new photos: new products, seasonal items, recent work
• Check customer photos and report any that are inappropriate or not of your business
• Replace outdated photos, especially the outside and inside if anything has changed

See the photos customers look for on Google.

7. Posts and offers

If you use Google posts, add one for anything new: a seasonal product, an offer, an event or festival hours. Remove or let expire anything that's no longer true.

8. Products, services or menu

If your listing shows products, services or a menu, check that items and prices are current. Remove anything you no longer offer.

9. Insights

Your Business Profile shows simple statistics about how people found you and what they did: calls, direction requests, website clicks. You don't need to analyse them closely, but a sudden drop is worth looking into. It can mean wrong details, a duplicate listing or a problem with the website link.

10. Duplicates and look-alikes

Search for your business name on Google Maps. Is there a second listing for the same shop, perhaps at an old address? Duplicates confuse customers and split your reviews. They can usually be reported and removed or merged.

Who should do it

Choose one person and a fixed day, such as the first Monday of each month, and put a reminder in their phone. It works best when it's the same person each time, someone who knows the business well enough to spot when something is wrong. Make sure they have manager access to the listing, not the owner's own login.

A quick printable list

1. Name, address, pin, phone, website, category
2. Suggested edits
3. Normal and special hours
4. New reviews: read, reply, report
5. Questions and messages
6. New photos, customer photos, outdated photos
7. Posts and offers
8. Products, services or menu
9. Insights: any sudden changes
10. Duplicate listings

Getting help

All our maintenance plans keep your Google listing details accurate. From Local Plus Care up they also include Google Business Profile posts and help replying to reviews, and from Business Care up a monthly update on WhatsApp. If you'd like to know how your listing looks today, start with a free Google check.