Sample layout. Not a real client.
Trade, city: the problem in one line
- Starting point
- Rank grid before any change
- What changed
- The one or two changes that moved it
- Result
- Rank grid after, and the change in calls
A Google Business Profile audit checks every field before any edit.
Every field on your listing gets checked before a single one is edited. You get an ordered list of what to change, what to leave alone and what puts the listing at risk.
No long contracts. You talk to Simon.
Map pack: solar installer poway
A
B
C
- 17 years in SEO
- Engineering degrees
- 85% of clients in San Diego County
- No long contracts
What an audit looks for first
- Nobody at the company knows who holds owner access
- Google changed a field and nobody at the office noticed
- An old duplicate listing still exists at a past address
How the audit feeds the testing
Scientific SEO
- 1 Measure I record every field, the access list and a rank grid as the baseline.
- 2 Change one thing I fix the top finding alone, starting with anything that risks a suspension.
- 3 Measure again I read the grid and the profile's call counts again two weeks later.
- 4 Keep what works I keep the fixes that helped, then move to the next finding on the list.
What the profile audit covers
- Owner and manager access
- Name, address and phone accuracy
- Category and service comparison
- Duplicate and outdated listings
- Citation consistency check
- Baseline rank grid
What a profile audit checks, and what you receive
A Google Business Profile audit is a field-by-field review of a listing against Google’s guidelines, the company’s own website and the competing profiles that outrank it. I run one before I edit anything. It produces a list of findings in priority order and leaves the profile as it is.
What the audit checks
I work through the listing in this order.
- Access. Who the primary owner is, and which owners and managers should no longer be there.
- Guideline risks. The name against your real-world name, whether the address qualifies, and whether it should be shown or hidden.
- Relevance. The primary category, the additional categories and the services under them.
- Consistency. Name, address, phone, hours and website link compared with your site and with your listings elsewhere.
- Duplicates. Other profiles for the same business, including ones at a past address.
- What customers see. Photos, posts and replies to reviews.
- Changes you didn’t make. Fields that no longer match what the company entered.
Changes you didn’t make
Google can update a listing using suggestions from the public and its own data, so a profile can drift from what you entered. Hours, the phone number, a category or the website link can end up different from what the company set. I compare the live listing with what the profile manager shows and with your own records, and I note every difference.
How I compare you with competitors
The comparison set is the profiles that appear above you for the searches that bring jobs, in the places you want calls. I separate out distance first. A competitor who outranks you two blocks from their own shop may simply be closer, and that isn’t a finding. A competitor at a similar distance with a different primary category or far more reviews is one.
I also note competitors whose listings appear to break the guidelines, such as a name stuffed with services. Google provides a way to report those, and whether to use it’s your decision. I compare the websites separately, as competitor analysis.
Where the audit stops
Your website and links, along with the full set of directory listings, fall outside the profile and belong in a local SEO audit. The audit also can’t tell you in advance how far a fix will move your position. The rank grid I run after each change answers that. Google’s own performance report (calls, website clicks, direction requests and search terms) gives a starting count, with the limit that it only sees actions taken on the Google Business Profile itself.
What you receive
The findings come as a written list in plain English, sorted by what each one affects.
| Group | Example finding | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | A city name added to the business name | Corrected first, without waiting for a test |
| Position | Primary category doesn’t match the main service | Changed alone, then measured on the grid |
| Calls | No photos of the crew or trucks | Added, then call counts compared |
Risk findings go first because a suspended listing earns nothing, whatever its categories say.
Also in Google Business Profile Optimization
- Categories and Services
- Multi-Location Profiles
- Posts and Photos
- Questions and Answers
- Service Area Setup
- Suspension Recovery
Questions owners ask
What a result looks like
Every engagement starts and ends with the same measurement.
Do you need my login to audit the profile?
No, not to start. Most fields are visible to anyone looking at the listing, so the first pass needs only your business name. To see the access list, the performance figures and any changes Google has applied, I need manager access. You grant that from your own Google account and can remove it whenever you like. I never need your password.
How is a profile audit different from a local SEO audit?
A profile audit looks at one thing, the Google Business Profile. A local SEO audit also covers the website, directory listings, reviews across other platforms and links. If your listing is the suspected problem, for example after a move or a drop in map calls, the profile audit is the faster place to begin.
How often should a profile be audited?
Whenever something about the business changes, and periodically in between. A move, a new phone number, a rebrand, a new service line or a sudden drop in calls are all reasons to check. Because Google and members of the public can alter fields on a listing, a profile that was correct when it was set up doesn't always stay that way. Hours, the phone number, a category or the website link can end up different from what the company set.
Will the audit show why a competitor outranks me?
It will when the difference is a category, a missing service or a profile problem. If the competitor is simply closer to the person searching, no field on your profile explains it and none will fix it. I separate those two cases in the findings, so you don't pay to chase a gap that is really about distance.
Request a profile audit.
Enter your business name. I start with what anyone can see on your listing, before asking for access.
- A rank grid showing where you appear, and where you don't
- The technical and Google Business Profile issues that matter most
- What I'd change first, in plain English
Prefer to talk? Call (619) 675-7678, 9am to 6pm.