Audit a prospect's Google profile in 9 checks

For a restaurant, a garage or a dental practice, the Google profile is often seen before the website. It is also public, free and measurable from the outside: ideal ground for an agency that wants to open with a fact rather than a promise.

This checklist follows the rules Google publishes in the Google Business Profile Help Center. It belongs to our series on the buying signals of a local B2B prospect.

How does Google choose which profiles to show?

Google publishes three criteria for local ranking:

• relevance: does the profile match the search?
• distance: how far is the business from the person searching?
• prominence: how well known is the business?

Google adds that complete, accurate, verified profiles with reviews and positive ratings are more likely to show up. Distance is out of your prospect's hands. The rest is not: that is what the checklist measures.

What are the 9 checks?

Open Google Maps in a private window, search the business by name and city, then search "trade + city" to see its competitors.

1. Does the profile exist, once, under the real name? Google asks for the name used in the real world, with no tagline or added keywords, and one profile per business. A missing profile, a duplicate or a keyword-stuffed name is a visible problem.

2. Has the profile been claimed? If the profile shows a "Claim this business" link, the business never took control of it. Without verification it can neither edit its details nor reply to customers from the profile.

3. Is the primary category specific? Google recommends as few categories as possible, as specific as possible, describing what the business is. "Restaurant" instead of "Pizza restaurant" is lost relevance.

4. Is the address or service area compliant? Google requires a precise, real address; PO boxes and virtual offices are not accepted, and businesses that travel to customers generally hide their address.

5. Are opening hours filled in? Google lists hours, including special hours, among the details to keep current. A profile without hours leaves customers guessing.

6. Is the website linked, and do the details match? Check that the profile links to the site and that name, address and phone are identical on both.

7. Are there photos? Google encourages photos and videos to show what the business offers. Count them and compare with the competitors on the same search.

8. How many reviews, and what rating, compared with nearby competitors? According to Google, more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. The number alone says nothing: the gap with the top three results for "trade + city" is what matters.

9. Does the business reply to reviews? Google advises replying promptly and politely, and reminds owners that replies are public. Unanswered negative reviews stand out immediately.

How do you turn it into an opening line?

Pick one check, the one where the gap with competitors is clearest, and write it as an observation:

"On 'pizza Annecy', the top three profiles have photos and opening hours; yours has neither."

The prospect opens Maps, checks, and knows you actually looked. Then offer one simple thing, not a full audit.

What the audit does not tell you

• An average rating can rest on a few old reviews.
• Google does not publish the exact weight of each criterion: the audit shows gaps, it does not guarantee a position.

Can this audit be automated?

Partly. For each business in a campaign, AutoLeads automatically records whether a Google profile exists, its name, its primary category (and secondary categories when Google's API provides them), the number of photos, the rating and the review count. Opening hours, review replies and claimed status are not collected: check them by hand in two minutes with this checklist. For other signals, see the articles on Google and Meta ads and presence in ChatGPT and Perplexity.