The short version
- Search for your business the way a stranger would, from a phone, and look at the listing as a customer, not as the owner.
- The three things that move ranking most are the primary category, the address type and reviews. Check those first.
- Everything else on the list affects whether people call once they find you: hours, photos, services, the link to your site.
- Write down what you find and fix one thing a day. Small, steady changes beat a big rebuild you never finish.
Before you start
Open a private browsing window on your phone and search your main service plus your city, like "ac repair Carrollton." Find your listing. If it is not in the map pack, scroll to "More businesses" and keep going until you find it. Note where it sits. Then open the listing and go down this list.
Keep a notes app open. For each item, write "ok" or what needs to change. You will fix things in the Google Business Profile manager afterward, not while you check.
The ranking three
1. Primary category
Tap the listing and look under your name. The word there is your primary category. It should be the most specific category that describes your main business. "Plumber," not "Contractor." "Pediatric dentist," not "Dentist," if that is really what you are. You can add more categories after, but the primary one does most of the work. If you are not sure what to use, look at the three listings in the map pack and see what they picked.
2. Address type
Does the listing show a street address? If yes, it needs to be a real, staffed location during your hours. If you work from home or a mailbox, the address should be hidden and a service area shown instead. Our service area business guide explains the rules and how to switch.
3. Reviews
Count them, note the star rating, and note the date of the newest one. Compare that to the three map pack listings. If your newest review is more than a month old, your review system has stopped. See how many reviews you need for the fix.
The trust items
4. Business name
It should match your sign, your website and your invoices exactly. No added cities, services or slogans. "Smith Plumbing," not "Smith Plumbing Plano Emergency Plumber." The padded version can rank for a while and then get the listing suspended, often after a competitor reports it.
5. Phone number
Tap it. Does it ring the right place? Is it the same number on your website? A tracking number that differs from your site is a common mismatch and it confuses Google and the AI tools that read listings.
6. Website link
Tap it. It should land on your homepage, or on the page for that location if you have more than one. It should load fast on a phone and show your phone number near the top. If it lands on a page that is broken, slow or unrelated, you are losing most of the people who got this far.
7. Hours
Are they right? Do they match your website? Did you set holiday hours for the next holiday? "Open 24 hours" when you are not is a quick way to earn a bad review. If you are open 7 to 7, say so.
The conversion items
8. Services
Open the services section. Every service you want calls for should be listed, with a short plain description. Google uses these to match searches, and customers use them to decide you do the thing they need. Most listings we check have two or three services listed out of twenty they actually do.
9. Photos
How many photos are there, who added them, and how old is the newest? You want real photos: your people, your trucks, your finished work, your storefront if you have one. Add a few every month. Stock photos and logos count against you with customers even if Google does not care.
10. Description
Read it as a stranger. Does it say what you do, where, and why you over the next listing, in the first two lines? It is not a keyword box. One or two city names where they fit naturally is plenty.
11. Questions and answers
Scroll to the questions section. Anyone can ask a question on your listing, and anyone can answer. If there are unanswered questions, or wrong answers from strangers, fix them. If there are none, add three or four of the questions customers really ask and answer them yourself.
12. Posts and the booking link
Is there a recent post? One a month is enough to look alive. If you book appointments, is the booking button set up and does it work? We use a booking link on our own listing and it gets used by people who would never fill out a contact form.
A note on claiming. If the listing shows "Own this business?" nobody has claimed it. Claim it today. An unclaimed listing can be edited by strangers, and some of the worst listings we have seen in DFW were ones the owner never knew existed.
What to do with your notes
Fix the ranking three first, even if that means an awkward week of hidden address or a category change. Then work down the list, one item a day. Recheck in a month from the same phone search. Most owners who do this see the listing move within six to eight weeks, and the calls follow.
If you want us to do the check for you, that is part of every free proposal. We send you the list with what we found, whether or not you hire us.
Common questions
How often should I run this check?
Once a month is plenty for most businesses. Put it on the calendar. Hours, photos and the question section drift when nobody is looking.
Can I check a competitor's listing the same way?
Yes, and you should. Go through the same twelve items on the top map pack listing for your main search. Whatever they have that you do not is your to do list.
Will changing my primary category hurt me?
If the current one is wrong, no. You may see a dip for a week or two while Google reprocesses the listing, and then it should settle higher. Change it once, to the right one, and leave it.
Does Google penalize listings for missing photos or posts?
Not as a penalty. But a listing with no recent photos or posts looks abandoned to customers, and customers who skip you are what Google measures. Keep it alive.
