Guides for local businesses on Google
Step-by-step guides for your Google Business Profile, your reviews, your local rankings and the AI assistants that work with Reach.
Start here
New to Reach or to your Google listing? Begin with these two.
- Business Profile
Google Business Profile checklist: 12 things to get right
A complete checklist for your Google Business Profile: name, categories, hours, description, attributes, services, photos, posts, reviews and more, each checked against Google's own guidelines.6 min read · Updated Sep 25, 2026 - Reviews
How to reply to Google reviews
What to write for positive, negative and fake reviews, with example replies, when to reply, and what never to say in public.6 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026
More guides
- AI assistants
Connect Reach to Claude, ChatGPT and Claude Code
Add the Reach MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or another MCP client, then ask about your reviews, rankings and profile in plain language.5 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 - Local rankings
How to track your local rankings on Google Maps
Why your Google Maps ranking changes with the searcher's location, how grid tracking measures it, and how to read the results and act on them.5 min read · Updated Sep 25, 2026 - Access and ownership
How to verify your Google Business Profile
Google picks the verification methods for your profile. How each method works, what to show on a video, and what to do if a check fails.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Access and ownership
How to request ownership of your Google Business Profile
Someone else manages your listing? Check your own accounts first, then send a Request access. What happens when the owner approves, denies or stays silent.3 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Access and ownership
How to add an owner or manager to your Google Business Profile
Owners control who has access; managers run the profile day to day. How to invite people, hand over primary ownership, and remove someone who has left.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Access and ownership
How to fix a duplicate Google Business Profile
Work out which listing is the real one, then remove or report the extra without touching the profile that holds your reviews.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to choose your Google Business Profile category
Pick a primary category that says what your business is, add only the extra categories that are true, and change them without surprises.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to write a Google Business Profile description
Write a business description Google accepts and customers can use: the rules, a four-part structure, two examples and why descriptions are held back.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to add Google Business Profile photos that get approved
Which photos to add to your Google Business Profile, Google's size and format rules, shot lists for four trades, and what to do about customer photos.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to use Google Business Profile posts
The three kinds of Google Business Profile post, where they appear, when they're archived, post ideas you can adapt and what gets posts rejected.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to change your business address on Google
Move your Google Business Profile to a new address without losing your reviews or leaving a duplicate behind.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to set up a service-area business on Google
If you go to your customers instead of them coming to you, show the areas you serve on Google, not your home address.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to mark your business closed on Google, and reopen it
Choose the right closed status on Google for a short break, a long closure or a permanent close, and switch it back when you reopen.3 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
Google changed my business info. What should I do?
Find what Google or the public changed on your profile, accept or reject it, and get your own corrections approved.3 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Reviews
How to get a Google review removed
Which Google reviews can be removed, how to report one, how to track and appeal your report, and what to do while you wait.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Local rankings
How to report a fake Google Business listing
Spot listings that break Google's guidelines, report them on Maps, escalate fraud with Google's complaint form, and gather evidence that holds up.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to fix your business info across Google and other listings
Find every place your name, address or phone number disagree, pick one source of truth, and fix Google first, then your website, then directories.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to add WhatsApp to your Google Business Profile
Add a WhatsApp or text message chat button to your Business Profile, the link Google needs, and what to do when the option is missing.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
How to add a menu to your Google Business Profile
Publish an accurate menu on Google with the menu editor, a menu link or menu photos, and find out why your menu may not show.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Local rankings
How to read your Google Business Profile performance report
What each metric in Google's performance report means, how Google counts it, and how to check a drop before you change anything.4 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Business Profile
Google Business Profile name rules, with examples
What Google allows in a business name, the mistakes that get a name edited or a profile suspended, and how to fix yours or report a competitor's.5 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Reviews
How to ask customers for Google reviews
When to ask, what to send on WhatsApp, SMS, email or in person, where to get your review link, and the asking habits that break Google's rules.5 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026 - Local rankings
How to track Google Business Profile clicks in GA4
Tag your profile's website, booking and menu links with UTM parameters, find those visits in Google Analytics 4, and see why they will not match your Performance report.5 min read · Updated Sep 28, 2026
Do this in Reach
See what to fix on your Google listing, then fix it
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