All businesses · 2026-10-20
Your Google profile in 15 minutes: a guide for small businesses
Short answer: fill in everything. Google says local ranking depends on relevance, distance and prominence, and that businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search.
The 3 factors, according to Google
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what the person searched. That's why category and description matter.
- Distance: how close you are to the searcher. Get your address or service area right.
- Prominence: how well known your business is; links from other sites and the number of reviews play a part.
The 15-minute checklist
- An exact main category (for example, "Food truck" or "Puerto Rican restaurant").
- Real hours, including holidays.
- A WhatsApp phone number and a link to your QR menu.
- 10 photos: storefront or truck, dishes, and you serving.
- A short description of what you sell and where.
- Answer every review.