When someone in your city searches for a dentist, a plumber, a lawyer or a restaurant, the three businesses in the map at the top of Google get most of the calls. That map is the local pack, and your Google Business Profile decides whether you are in it. This checklist is the exact 45 step process we run for Canadian clients, from claiming the listing to the weekly routine that keeps it ranking. Work through it once, then use the routine at the end.
Google says local ranking comes down to three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how close you are to the searcher) and prominence (how well known you are, measured through reviews, links, citations and activity). You cannot move your building, but every step below improves relevance or prominence.
The 45 step Google Business Profile checklist
Stage 1: Claim, verify and secure the profile
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Search your business name on Google Maps and claim the listing that already exists instead of creating a new one. | Duplicate profiles split your reviews and confuse Google about which one to rank. |
| 2 | Verify the profile. Video verification is now the default for most Canadian businesses, so have your signage, equipment and a business document ready. | Unverified profiles do not show up in the Map Pack at all. |
| 3 | Add a second owner or manager using a company email, not a personal Gmail. | If the only owner leaves or loses access, you lose the profile. |
| 4 | Remove or merge duplicates through Suggest an edit or Google Business Profile support. | Google sometimes ranks the wrong duplicate, usually the one with no photos or reviews. |
| 5 | Turn on email notifications for reviews, questions, messages and suggested edits. | Google applies public edits automatically if nobody rejects them. |
Stage 2: Core information
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Use your real business name exactly as it appears on your signage and registration, with no city or keywords added. | Keyword stuffed names violate Google’s guidelines and get suspended, often after a competitor reports them. |
| 7 | Pick one primary category: the single most specific category for the service that makes you the most money. | Primary category is the strongest ranking signal you control. |
| 8 | Add secondary categories for services you actually offer, up to nine. | Each category opens you up to a new set of searches. |
| 9 | Format the address the way Canada Post writes it, and hide it if customers never visit you. | Service area businesses such as plumbers and cleaners should hide the address or risk suspension. |
| 10 | Set service areas by city or region, up to 20, rather than one enormous radius. | Google trims unrealistic service areas and ignores most of them. |
| 11 | Set regular hours, then add holiday hours for Canadian statutory holidays months in advance. | “Hours might differ” warnings reduce calls, and closed-when-open complaints cost reviews. |
| 12 | Use a local phone number with your area code as the primary number. Add toll free as secondary. | Local numbers convert better and reinforce proximity. |
| 13 | Link to the most relevant page of your website and add UTM tags to the link. | Without tags, Google Analytics lumps profile clicks into generic organic traffic. |
| 14 | Add booking, appointment, menu or order links where they apply. | Buttons on the profile turn searchers into customers without a website visit. |
Stage 3: Description, attributes and links
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Write a 750 character description that says what you do, who you serve and where, in plain language with no promotions or URLs. | Google reads it for relevance; customers read the first 250 characters. |
| 16 | Add your opening date. | Google can display years in business, which builds trust for established companies. |
| 17 | Set every attribute that applies: wheelchair accessible, Interac and tap payments, parking, Wi-Fi, appointment required, identifies as women owned, Indigenous owned or veteran owned. | Attributes feed filters and the Google Assistant, and some appear as badges on the profile. |
| 18 | Add your social profiles inside the profile editor. | Google now shows social links on the profile for some categories. |
| 19 | Add a French description and French posts if you serve Quebec or official language communities. | Quebec searches happen in French, and Google matches language. |
Stage 4: Services and products
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Add every service with a name, a description and a starting price in Canadian dollars. | Services drive relevance for searches that do not match your category name. |
| 21 | Group services under the matching categories. | Google uses the mapping to understand what each category means for you. |
| 22 | Add products with photos and prices if you sell goods, run a clinic with packages or a restaurant with signature dishes. | Product cards show up directly in search results on mobile. |
| 23 | Keep names natural: “Dental implants”, not “Dental implants Edmonton best price”. | Spammy names get the whole section removed. |
| 24 | Review services and products every quarter and delete what you no longer offer. | Outdated services bring calls you cannot serve, which lead to bad reviews. |
Stage 5: Photos and video
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Upload a logo and a cover photo at Google’s recommended sizes. | Profiles without a logo look abandoned in the Map Pack. |
| 26 | Add at least 10 real photos: exterior from the street, interior, team, work in progress and finished results. | Google’s own data shows profiles with more photos get more direction requests and website clicks. |
| 27 | Add 2 to 4 new photos every month. | Fresh photos signal an active business and keep showing up in the photo carousel. |
| 28 | Post short videos under 30 seconds: a walkthrough, a how-to, a team introduction. | Video keeps people on your profile longer and few local competitors bother. |
| 29 | Skip geotagging apps. Good lighting, real people and real work matter more than EXIF data. | Google strips metadata on upload, so geotagging does nothing. |
| 30 | Report inappropriate customer uploaded photos through the three dot menu. | A blurry or wrong photo can sit as your most viewed image for months. |
Stage 6: Posts
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Publish one update post every week: an offer, a tip, a project, a seasonal note. | Posts expire from the main view after a week, so consistency matters more than length. |
| 32 | Use Offer and Event post types with start and end dates when you have a promotion or event. | They get special treatment in search and show countdowns. |
| 33 | Add a call to action button and a UTM tagged link to every post. | Posts without buttons get views and no clicks. |
| 34 | Reuse the same text on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. | One piece of content, four channels, five minutes. |
Stage 7: Reviews
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | Create your short review link and a QR code for invoices, the front desk, vehicles and email signatures. | Removing one step between the ask and the review roughly doubles the response rate. |
| 36 | Ask every happy customer within 24 hours of the job or visit, by text, with the direct link. | The best time to ask is while the result is fresh. |
| 37 | Reply to every review within 48 hours, including the one word ones. | Google says replying shows you value customers, and reply rate correlates with ranking in our client data. |
| 38 | Reply to negative reviews calmly, apologize where it is fair, and take it offline. Never reveal customer details, which violates PIPEDA and health privacy rules. | Future customers read your worst review and your reply before they call. |
| 39 | Never pay for reviews, offer discounts for reviews, or only ask happy customers through a gating form. | Google removes them, and Canada’s Competition Act treats fake or misleading reviews as false representations. |
| 40 | Report fake or policy violating reviews through the Reviews management tool and track the case. | Reports with clear policy reasons get removed; vague ones do not. |
| 41 | Aim for a steady flow, such as two to four reviews a month, instead of twenty in a week followed by silence. | Review velocity is a ranking signal; spikes look manufactured. |
Stage 8: Questions, messages and calls
| # | Step | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Seed the Q&A section with your five most common questions and answer them from the business account. | If you do not, customers and competitors write the answers for you. |
| 43 | Turn on chat where it is available, or route the message button to a form, and answer within an hour. | Google shows response times and turns messaging off for slow responders. |
| 44 | Use call tracking only with a number that forwards to your main line, and keep the main line as the primary number. | Tracking numbers listed as primary break NAP consistency across directories. |
| 45 | Answer the phone, including evenings and weekends. | A missed call from the Map Pack is the most expensive lead you will lose. An AI receptionist covers the hours you cannot. |
Canadian specifics most checklists miss
- Quebec and bilingual markets: add a French description, French services and alternate French and English posts. Google matches the searcher’s language.
- Holiday hours: Canada Day, the August civic holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving in October, Remembrance Day where it applies, Boxing Day and your province’s Family Day. Set them in January for the whole year.
- Service area businesses: trades, cleaners and mobile services should hide the address and list service areas by city, not province.
- Multi-location businesses: one profile per location, each with its own phone number, photos and reviews. Never share a number across locations.
- Privacy in replies: PIPEDA and provincial health privacy acts mean you cannot confirm that a reviewer was a patient or client. Reply in general terms.
- Fake reviews: the Competition Act prohibits false or misleading representations, and the Competition Bureau has targeted fake reviews. Earn them the slow way.
The routine that keeps you ranking
| How often | What to do |
|---|---|
| Daily | Reply to new reviews and messages. Check the phone log for missed calls and call back. |
| Weekly | Publish one post. Add two photos. Answer any new Q&A. Check for suggested edits. |
| Monthly | Review the Performance report: searches, views, calls, direction requests and website clicks. Update services, prices and hours. Ask the month’s happy customers for reviews. |
| Quarterly | Audit categories against the top three competitors. Refresh the description. Remove outdated photos. Check every directory listing for the same name, address and phone. |
Measure it
Open the Performance report inside your profile every month and track four numbers: how many people saw your profile in search, how many called, how many asked for directions and how many clicked to the website. Add the UTM tagged link so Google Analytics shows which pages Map Pack visitors read, and check Search Console for the branded searches that profile views generate. If calls are rising but bookings are not, the problem is the phone being answered, not the profile. Our AI receptionist ROI calculator shows what those missed calls cost.
Mistakes that get profiles suspended or buried
- Adding keywords or a city to the business name.
- Using a P.O. box, a virtual office or a co-working address you do not staff.
- Choosing a broad primary category such as Business service.
- Listing a call tracking number as the primary phone with a different number on the website.
- Posting once in January and never again.
- Buying reviews, review swapping with other businesses, or asking only happy customers through a filter page.
- Ignoring suggested edits until Google changes your hours or category for you.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for Google Business Profile changes to affect rankings?
Most edits show on the profile within a day. Ranking changes usually take two to six weeks as Google recrawls your profile, website and reviews. Review velocity and new photos tend to move the needle fastest.
Is Google Business Profile free in Canada?
Yes. Creating, verifying and managing a profile is free. Anyone who calls claiming you must pay Google to keep your listing is a scam. Paid help, such as our optimization service, is optional.
Can a service area business hide its address?
Yes, and it should. Plumbers, electricians, cleaners, mobile detailers and other businesses that visit customers should hide the address and list service areas by city. Showing a home address can get the profile suspended.
How many reviews do I need to rank in the Map Pack?
Enough to match the top three in your category and city, plus a steady flow of new ones. In most Canadian cities that means 30 to 100 reviews with a 4.6 or higher rating, but a profile with 25 recent, replied-to reviews often beats one with 200 old ones.
What is the best primary category?
The most specific category that describes the service that makes you the most money. A dentist who makes most revenue from implants is still a Dentist, not a Dental implants periodontist, unless that is the main business. Check what the top three competitors use.
Do I need a website for Google Business Profile?
Technically no, but profiles linked to a fast website with matching services, address and phone number rank better and convert more. The website also gives you the UTM data to know which calls came from Google.
Want us to run the checklist for you?
Quantro Digital optimizes Google Business Profiles for Canadian businesses from C$399 one time, and runs ongoing local SEO from C$689 a month, including posts, review follow up and reporting. Book a free strategy call or read our local SEO guide for small businesses and Edmonton SEO service.
Sources: Google, How to improve your local ranking; Google Maps user contributed content policy; Competition Act (Canada). Checked October 2026.
