For many UK SMEs, Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most valuable digital asset they own  yet it is also one of the most under-optimised.

When someone searches for “[service] near me” or “[service] in [Your City]”, Google Business Profile listings dominate the results. Often, users make a decision without even clicking through to a website. If your profile is incomplete, outdated or poorly managed, you are effectively invisible at the exact moment intent is highest.

We explain how Google Business Profile works in the UK today, what has changed recently, and how SME marketing managers and business owners can optimise it properly, not just as a checklist exercise, but as part of a wider local SEO strategy.

What Is Google Business Profile and Why It Matters

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is Google’s platform for managing how your business appears across Google Search Generative (SGE) features such as Google Search and Google Maps. It feeds directly into the local map pack and location-based search results.

For SMEs, GBP is critical because Google uses it to assess:

• Relevance to a local search
• Proximity to the searcher
• Trust and authority signals, such as reviews and activity

Google has continued to invest heavily in GBP functionality, with 2024 updates placing more weight on profile completeness, accurate categorisation and genuine engagement (Google Business Profile Help, 2024).

In short, your Google Business Profile is not just a directory listing it is a local ranking signal, a brand touchpoint and a conversion driver. In an era of zero click and AI, the top three listing in SERPs may be as far as a user goes to find a product or service it needs.

How Google Decides Which Businesses Appear Locally

Local rankings are driven by three core factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Google looks at how well your profile matches the search intent, how close you are to the user, and how trustworthy your business appears online.

SEO can’t trick Google into ranking your Google Business Profile. The real win is making sure your profile is fully optimised, genuinely useful, and clearly the best option for the searches that matter to your business. When your profile is stronger than your competitors’, you can often appear ahead of closer businesses simply because you’re more relevant and more trusted.

Your website, reviews, citations and wider SEO activity all influence this. That is why GBP optimisation works best when aligned with a broader local SEO and SEO strategy, rather than treated as a standalone task.

The Google Business Profile Optimisation Checklist (With Context)

You Cannot Spam the Algorithm or Cheat a GBP

It’s important to understand that Google requires your business to have a physical address that customers can visit in person. Since 2020, Google has become much stricter on this, and it now places far greater emphasis on verifying that this requirement is genuinely met.

Your customers may rarely, or even never, need to visit the address, and it may simply be your team’s office. That’s fine. As long as customers can attend in person if needed, your business is eligible for a Google Business Profile.

At Hatch, we always recommend having a proper conversation about your Google Business Profile. This helps ensure it’s fully optimised and allows us to identify any issues that may be holding back its performance

Business Information: Accuracy Comes First

The foundation of any strong profile is accurate, consistent information. Your business name, address and phone number must exactly match what appears on your website and across key UK directories. Even small inconsistencies can undermine trust.

Categories are particularly important. Your primary category tells Google what you are, not just what you do. Secondary categories should support this, not dilute it. One of the most common mistakes we see is businesses choosing broad or irrelevant categories in an attempt to appear for more searches. This usually has the opposite effect.

Services, Products and Descriptions: Be Specific, Not Salesy

Google now allows far more detail within services and product sections than it did historically. This is an opportunity to clarify your offering and align with real search intent.

Your business description should explain who you help, what you offer and where you operate, written for users rather than algorithms. Keyword stuffing here adds no value and can actively harm performance.

From an SEO perspective, clarity always beats creativity. 

Images and Visual Signals: Show, Don’t Tell

Profiles with regular, high-quality images consistently outperform those without. Google has confirmed that image activity influences engagement, which in turn affects visibility.

For UK SMEs, this means uploading:

1. Real photos of your premises (where applicable)
2. Team imagery
3. Completed work or case examples
4. Branded but authentic visuals
5. People and the human experience
6. Stock imagery is far less effective. Google wants signals of legitimacy and real-world presence.

Posts and Updates: The Most Ignored Opportunity

Google Business Profile posts allow businesses to share updates, offers and insights directly in search results. Despite this, they are widely ignored.

Regular posting signals activity and relevance. In 2024, Google increased the visibility of certain post types for service-based businesses, particularly those tied to seasonal demand (Google Business Profile updates, 2024).

Posts should support, not replace, your wider content and digital marketing strategy.

Reviews: Trust, Rankings and Conversion

Reviews are one of the strongest local ranking signals and one of the biggest conversion drivers.

BrightLocal’s 2024 research shows that UK consumers place significant weight on recent reviews, not just high star ratings (BrightLocal, 2024).

From an optimisation perspective:

• Encourage genuine reviews at natural touchpoints
• Respond to all reviews professionally
• Avoid incentives or gating, which can breach platform guidelines

At Hatch, we view review management as reputation building, not a numbers game. Remember, a user may not go further than your GBP before engaging with your business - first impressions matter.

Common Google Business Profile Mistakes UK SMEs Make

Many businesses unintentionally limit their visibility by:

• Treating GBP as a one-off setup task
• Using incorrect or overly broad categories
• Ignoring reviews or responding defensively
• Publishing thin, keyword-heavy descriptions
• Forgetting to update profiles after business changes

These issues are rarely technical. They are strategic and operational, which is why ongoing management matters.

In our experience, spending just a couple of hours properly optimising a Google Business Profile can deliver quick wins that support every other marketing channel. Once it’s set up correctly, keeping it relevant with regular updates takes around 15 minutes a month and can influence visibility for roughly 40% of searches where your business should be appearing.

How Google Business Profile Fits Into Wider SEO

Google Business Profile does not replace your website or your broader SEO activity. It amplifies it.

Local visibility is strongest when:

• GBP, website content and location pages align
• Reviews reflect real customer experience
• Technical SEO foundations are solid
• Local links and brand mentions reinforce trust

This integrated approach is central to how we deliver SEO services at Hatch, ensuring GBP works as part of the system, not in isolation.

How Hatch Optimises Google Business Profiles Differently

At Hatch, we do not follow generic checklists. We optimise Google Business Profiles based on real user behaviour, local competition and commercial goals.

Our approach includes:

1. Strategic category and service mapping
2. Profile content aligned with search intent
3. Review strategy tied to customer experience
4. Ongoing optimisation, not one-off setup
5. Clear reporting and proactive communication

Clients benefit from a customer-service-led model where optimisation decisions are explained clearly and aligned to business outcomes, not vanity metrics.

A Strong Profile Is a Competitive Advantage

For UK SMEs, Google Business Profile is one of the most powerful tools available for local growth, but only when it is treated as a strategic asset.

If you suspect your profile could be working harder, or you want clarity on how it fits into your wider SEO performance, a structured review is the best place to start.

If you would like an honest, jargon-free conversation about Google Business Profile optimisation and local SEO, the Hatch team is here to help.