GEO — Google Maps and Local SEO

If your business isn't on the map yet, the first step is to create and verify a Google Business Profile. During registration we:

• Choose the business name, primary category and additional categories
• Enter the address or service area (businesses that travel to their customers can hide their address)
• Add the phone number, website and business hours
• Complete the verification step Google requires
• Upload the logo, cover and business photos

Google decides the verification method; we follow the process from start to finish.

The way to get more Google Maps reviews is to send satisfied customers a review link that opens with a single tap, right after the job is done. Asking for reviews is allowed; offering a discount or a gift in exchange for a review is against Google’s policies.

Google Business Profile offers a share link that opens the review screen directly. We place this link at the following points:

• The SMS or WhatsApp message sent after the service
• A small card with a QR code at the till, on the table or in the waiting area
• The bottom line of the invoice email and the appointment reminder message

The timing of the request determines the result. The moment a customer expresses satisfaction is a better moment than the next day. We prepare a short script showing your team how to phrase the request, so it comes across as natural and consistent.

A negative review gets a calm, short reply that offers a solution. Google only removes reviews that violate its policies (insults, fake accounts, irrelevant content); a review is not deleted simply because it is negative.

Replies to reviews directly affect the trust of customers reading the profile. Naturally mentioning the service the customer talked about shows other readers what you do well. Copy-and-paste thank-you messages, on the other hand, leave readers with an impression of indifference; we write every reply specifically for the review.

A sudden jump in the number of reviews followed by silence does not look natural either. A steady weekly flow of reviews creates a more trustworthy picture for both Google and the customers reading the profile.

A separate Google Business Profile is created for each location, and each one is verified with its own address, phone number and opening hours. You cannot add more than one address to a single profile; trying to combine locations in one profile weakens rankings.

As the number of locations grows, managing profiles one by one gets harder. That is why we group the profiles under a business group and assign team permissions per location. This way a branch manager can reply to their own profile’s reviews, while head office can monitor all profiles together.

• Naming: the profile name should be the real name on the signage; a branch distinction is only included in the name if it also appears on the sign.
• Phone: each location uses its own line; if the same central call number is used on every profile, Google struggles to tell the locations apart.
• Website link: each profile points to the page for that location, not to the site’s home page.
• Photos: each location’s own exterior, interior and team photos are uploaded.

If a location opening, closure or move is not updated on the profile in time, the old address stays on the map. We plan these changes in advance and reflect them on the profile the same day.

AI-powered search answers also use Business Profile information, reviews and the location pages on your website for local recommendations. Having each location’s details exactly the same on the profile, the website and other directories is necessary both for map rankings and for the right location to be recommended in these answers.