How to audit a Google Business Profile

Begin with authorised access and real identity

A profile audit starts with the business represented in the real world. Confirm the authorised manager, the entity being described and the location or service-area model before changing names, categories or addresses. A public profile is not evidence that every detail on it is eligible or current.

Compare the current Google guidelines with the actual operation. Do not invent a storefront, add a keyword-stuffed business name or create a duplicate to bypass an unresolved problem. Preserve existing identifiers and notices so proposed edits can be traced to the right account and location.

Reconcile the facts customers act on

Prioritise wrong phone numbers, incorrect hours, false location information and broken destination links. These affect whether a customer can reach the business. Distinguish a material identity error from a harmless formatting variation instead of treating every mismatch as an equally urgent citation problem.

Check the primary service and category against what the business actually provides. Keep proposed changes in an approval log with the source of the new fact and the person responsible for it. A marketing team should not silently approve a professional credential or a regulated service claim on the client’s behalf.

Follow the profile-to-page route

Open the website, appointment or service links as a customer would. Confirm that each arrives on an appropriate page, preserves the relevant location and offers an available next step. A link that reaches a working homepage may still lose the location context needed to make a booking.

Test a representative contact action through to receipt rather than stopping at a browser success message. Record any mismatch between the profile, landing page and receiving team. Keep this operational check separate from observations of local ranking, which vary with the query and observer location.

Record changes and external decisions separately

A submitted edit, a live edit and a resolved appeal are different statuses. Retain the evidence and account notices for each. Where a profile is suspended, follow the current authorised appeal route and address the stated issue rather than repeatedly changing unrelated fields.

The audit handover should list accepted corrections, open evidence requests and the next verification step. No audit can promise reinstatement, a particular review outcome or a top-three local position. An accurate eligible profile and a usable customer journey are concrete acceptance goals within the scope of the work.

Example decision register

Illustrative rows explain how to use the worksheet. Bracketed entries are intentionally blank inputs; these are not client records or measured results.

Use the blank worksheet

1. Choose one real decision and replace the blank fields with evidence you are authorised to use.
2. Name the source and owner for each factual statement. Keep unresolved assumptions visible.
3. Agree an acceptance check before commissioning the change, then retain the result beside the original observation.

Common questions

Sources and editorial boundary

This guide proposes a working method. Its examples are illustrative and do not claim a completed client engagement. Commercial terms and individual author or reviewer details remain subject to confirmation.