The GBP Audit Checklist

How to use this checklist

Open your Google Business Profile in another tab. Walk down the list, tick each item that applies, flag the ones that do not. The unticked items are your priority list, in roughly the order shown.

Faster path: start with the GBP Scorecard tool for a numerical score across the same eight factors. The scorecard tells you which sections to focus on; this checklist gives the granular fix list.

Want this applied to your specific business by an outside set of eyes? The full audit benchmarks your GBP against the three strongest competitors in your city, ranks fixes by lift, and adds AI search and backlink components. Book a 10-minute fit call.

Categories

• Primary GBP category exactly matches your highest-priority buyer query (e.g., "Plumber" not "Plumbing supply").
• Secondary categories: 8 to 10 in use, all directly relevant to services offered.
• No deprecated or removed categories left over from prior selections.
• Category list reviewed in the last 90 days against new GBP category options Google has added.
• Category alignment cross-checked against top 3 local competitors.

Service area

• Service area defined as named cities (not just a mileage radius).
• Cities listed match where actual customers live, based on past job records.
• No phantom cities included to expand reach (Google detects this and downranks).
• Service area updated within the last 6 months as the business grew or contracted.

Photos

• Total photo count is 100 or higher.
• Most recent photo uploaded within the last 7 days.
• Cover photo, logo, and exterior photo all set and current.
• Interior photos current within the last 12 months.
• Job/work-product photos uploaded weekly.
• Team photos uploaded with named individuals (helps Person schema entity-link).
• Photos geotagged where applicable.
• Photos include alt-text-equivalent details when uploading via API.

Reviews

• Overall rating is 4.4 or higher.
• Reviews from the last 90 days: 15 or more (review velocity matters more than total count).
• Owner responses on every review (positive, negative, neutral) within 7 days of posting.
• No fake or purchased reviews (Google detects and penalizes these).
• Review request flow fires after every job, not just memorable ones.
• Cross-platform reviews (Yelp, BBB, industry-specific platforms) also active.
• Negative reviews have professional, named-by-the-owner responses with resolution path.

Posts

• A GBP Post (offer, update, event, photo) is published at least weekly.
• Posts include relevant keywords without keyword stuffing.
• Posts include calls to action (Call now, Get directions, Learn more).
• Seasonal Posts active (e.g., "Spring AC tune-up" in February for HVAC).
• Photo Posts include alt context and customer-relevant details.

Q&A

• At least 10 Q&A questions seeded by the business owner with named, specific answers.
• Customer-asked questions answered within 48 hours.
• Answers include keywords naturally and link to relevant pages on the site when appropriate.
• Questions cover insurance accepted, payment methods, scheduling, and service-area edge cases.
• No spammy or irrelevant Q&A entries left visible.

Service listings

• Every service offered is listed on GBP.
• Each service listing has a description (not blank).
• Pricing or "starting at" range included on services where applicable.
• Services match the language customers actually search for (not internal industry jargon).
• Services updated as the business adds or sunsets offerings.

NAP consistency

• Business name on GBP matches the legal name exactly (no keyword stuffing).
• Address formatted identically on GBP, website, Yelp, BBB, and industry directories.
• Phone number is a local number, not a national tracking number.
• Phone formatting consistent across all listings (e.g., (xxx) xxx-xxxx everywhere).
• Hours match across GBP, website, and major directories.
• Holiday hours updated proactively before each major holiday.
• NAP audited in the last 12 months across at least 20 directories.

What this checklist does not cover

GBP is one of the three legs of local search visibility. The other two are AI search visibility (whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are recommending you) and the backlink gap (which authority sites link to your competitors but not to you). A perfect GBP with zero AI visibility and a thin backlink profile is still going to lose to a competitor who covered all three.

See the complete guide to AI search visibility for the AI surface, and the backlink gap post for the third leg.