Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single biggest free advertising you have. It decides whether a hungry tourist three streets away walks into your café — or your neighbour's. Yet most owners we audit are missing 9–14 things Google quietly wants. This checklist ranks all 23 by impact, from "do today" to "do this quarter."
Profile basics (do today)
These five fixes alone push the average café from a score of 47/100 to 71/100. If you do nothing else this week, do these.
- Add a primary category. Be specific — "Coffee shop" beats "Café".
- Add 2–5 additional categories that match real services.
- Write a 200–750 character business description that uses your top keyword once, naturally.
- Verify your phone number and add a website URL (UTM-tagged so you can see GBP traffic in GA).
- Upload a sharp logo and a clean cover photo. No watermarks, no stock.
Hours and attributes (this week)
Google ranks profiles with complete hours higher than incomplete ones. Special hours (Ramadan, New Year, public holidays) signal a real, attended business.
- Fill regular weekly hours, including lunch breaks if you close.
- Add the next 30 days of special holiday hours.
- Mark "OPEN" status — not "CLOSED_TEMPORARILY" unless really closed.
- Toggle relevant attributes: wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, accepts cards, outdoor seating.
Tip
Cafés that fill 60%+ of available attributes get +12% impressions on average (Google's own 2024 study on completed profiles).
Photos (this week)
Profiles with 10+ photos get 35% more interactions. Mix three kinds: exterior, interior, product/service. Upload at least one new photo every 30 days — Google reads "fresh" profiles as active.
Engagement (ongoing)
Once your basics are set, reviews and posts become the rank lever. The two things Google watches most:
- Reply rate to reviews. 80%+ is the target. Templates kill ranking — write personalised replies.
- Posts per week. 1–3 is the sweet spot. Photos in posts get 2× the impressions.
- Q&A: answer every customer question, ideally within 24 hours.
- Star average. 4.0+ unlocks the "high-rated" boost. Aim for 4.5+ to outrank rivals at 4.2.
Sector-specific extras
If you're a restaurant or café, add a menu link or menu URL. Service businesses (salons, clinics) should add a service list with prices. Bookable businesses — add an Action Link for direct booking. These three add another 4–6 ranking signals each.
See how Yerly fixes all 23 in one panel →
Frequently asked questions
How often does Google re-check my profile?↓
Continuously. Edits are usually live within minutes, but ranking changes from new signals can take 2–4 weeks to settle.
Does adding more categories improve ranking?↓
Up to a point. 1 primary + 2–4 relevant additional categories is the sweet spot. More than 5 dilutes relevance.
Should I post on weekends?↓
Yes if your business is open then. The strongest signal is regular cadence, not the specific day.
What's the single fastest fix for a low score?↓
Reply to every unanswered review in the last 90 days. Reply rate is the most underused lever among local businesses.
Yerly runs all 23 checks automatically every day and queues one-click fixes that push straight to Google. If you'd rather do it once and forget it, that's what the platform is built for.