If local customers find you on Google, your Google Business Profile is doing more work than you might think. Google has rolled out a handful of updates recently that point in one direction: Google is putting more weight on profiles that look active, current, and trustworthy.
A profile you set up once and forgot years ago is quietly working against you. The updates below are small on paper, but they add up to a clear to-do list.
Key Takeaways
- An active profile matters. Google is putting more weight on Business Profiles that show recent activity, not ones you filled out once and left alone.
- Your profile should match the business you are today. Fresh posts, current photos, and connected social links tell Google and customers that you’re active and worth choosing.
- How you ask for reviews now matters as much as getting them. Incentives, or pressuring staff for a set number of reviews, can put you in risky territory. Ask real customers, make it easy, and don’t script what they say.
Post Like It’s a Channel, Not a Forgotten Tab
Google’s own Business Profile playbook recommends posting at least once a week using Updates, Events, and Offers. That’s a clear signal that Google Posts aren’t meant to sit empty. The mistake a lot of businesses make is not making regular updates.
You don’t need a whole new content plan for it, though. The smarter move is to repurpose what you’re already saying. Take the most useful local updates from your email, social, or website and turn them into a Google Post. One seasonal reminder or service update a week is plenty.
Show Your Work With Photos and Video
While you’re in there posting, don’t skip the photos and video. Google keeps pushing visual content because it helps customers see what makes you worth choosing, and Google says businesses with photos get more direction requests and website clicks.
For local video, you don’t need fancy production. What matters is making the local context obvious. Say your business name. Mention the town, region, or service area. Show the work, the place, the team, or what a customer can expect. And add captions, because the videos on your Business Profile play without sound.
While you’re connecting things, make sure your YouTube and social links are actually linked on your profile. Your website, Business Profile, YouTube, and social accounts shouldn’t feel like strangers to each other. Together they help someone understand what you do, where you do it, and why you’re a fit.
See It All in One Place
Once your profile is active, it helps to know whether any of it is working. You can now connect your Google Business Profile to Google Analytics, which puts your organic, referral, ad, and profile traffic in one view. You’ll still get profile insights from Google Business Profile, but seeing everything together makes local activity easier to measure.
Ask for Reviews the Clean Way
The last update we go over is the one to slow down on, because getting it wrong carries real risk. Reviews still matter, but Google is tightening its standards for how you ask.
You can encourage real reviews. You can’t offer incentives or try to influence the rating or the content. The staff piece is the part to watch: Google’s policy doesn’t want you pressuring staff to bring in a set number of reviews, or asking customers to mention someone by name. So if your review plan is “whoever gets the most name mentions wins,” rethink it. A customer naturally mentioning your team is fine. Manufacturing it isn’t.
A clean review process is simple: ask real customers, make it easy, don’t pressure them, don’t reward them, and don’t script what they say. Then respond to the reviews you get, because responses show you actually care.
Action Steps This Week
Here’s what to check on your profile this week:
- Publish one Google Post from something you already have: an event, offer, or helpful tip.
- See whether your Business Profile can connect to Google Analytics, and link it if it can.
- Review your video, social, and review setup: add local context and captions to videos, connect your social links, and remove anything that rewards staff for review counts or specific wording.
When your profile reflects the business you actually are today, the right local customers have an easier time finding you, comparing you, and choosing you. Keeping it active, current, and trustworthy does more than satisfy Google’s latest updates. It makes you the obvious choice when someone nearby is deciding between you and the next option.
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Links in this episode: [Official] GBP Best Practices Playbook 2026
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