A Google Business Profile is free, quick to set up and often the first thing a potential customer sees. That makes it surprising how many profiles are left half-finished or quietly broken. These are the problems we come across most often when reviewing profiles for businesses across Northampton, Wellingborough, Daventry and the surrounding towns.
Duplicate profiles
Duplicates usually appear after a move, a rebrand or a well-meaning staff member creating a new profile because they could not access the old one. Two profiles split your reviews, confuse Google and can cause both to rank poorly. Search for your business name and phone number on Google Maps to check. Duplicates can be reported and, where you have access to both, merged or removed.
The wrong primary category
The primary category has more influence on rankings than almost any other setting. We often see accountants listed as "Consultant", cafes listed as "Restaurant", or a specialist kitchen fitter listed as "Furniture store". Pick the most specific category that accurately describes the core of the business.
Keyword-stuffed business names
Adding "Best Plumber Northampton" to your business name can give a short-term lift, which is why people do it. It is against Google's guidelines, competitors can report it, and profiles have been suspended for it. Use your real trading name.
Missing services and products
The services section lets you list each service with a short description. Many profiles leave it empty. Filling it out helps Google match you to relevant searches and helps customers understand what you do before clicking through.
Out-of-date opening hours
Few things annoy customers more than turning up to a closed door. Update hours for bank holidays, Christmas and any temporary changes. Google also uses whether you are open at the time of search as a factor for some queries.
A wrong or vague pin location
On some business parks and industrial estates, such as Brackmills, Moulton Park or Swan Valley, the map pin can land on the wrong unit or road. Customers and delivery drivers end up lost. Check your pin on the map and drag it to the right entrance if needed.
Old or stock photos
Profiles with recent, genuine photos attract more engagement. A single blurry shopfront photo from several years ago does not inspire confidence. Add photos of the inside and outside of your premises, your team, your work and your products. Update them a few times a year.
Ignoring reviews
Unanswered reviews, especially negative ones, look neglected. A short, polite reply to each review shows you care. For negative reviews, acknowledge the issue, avoid arguing in public, and offer to resolve it offline. Readers judge your reply as much as the original complaint.
Not asking for reviews
Businesses with many reviews rarely got them by chance. They ask consistently, usually right after a successful job or visit, using the direct review link from the profile. A simple text message or a card with a QR code at the till both work well.
Unused questions and answers
The Q&A section is public, and anyone can answer questions on your profile, including competitors or people who have the wrong information. Keep an eye on it and answer questions promptly. You can also add common questions yourself with clear answers.
No website link, or a poor landing page
The website link should go to a relevant page. For a multi-location business, link each profile to its own location page rather than the homepage. Make sure the page loads quickly on mobile and makes contacting you easy.
Wrong service area settings
Service-area businesses sometimes list dozens of towns, including places they would never travel to. Others list nothing. Choose the areas you genuinely cover. Listing too many does not help you rank further away, and can mislead customers.
No tracking
Google provides basic insights on calls, direction requests and website clicks. Adding UTM tags to your website link lets you see profile visits separately in Google Analytics. Without tracking, you cannot tell whether changes are working.
Forgetting Bing and Apple
Google is the biggest, but Bing Places and Apple Business Connect also feed results into maps, voice assistants and car navigation systems. Claiming and completing these takes an hour and keeps your information consistent across platforms.
A simple monthly routine
Multi-location businesses
Businesses with more than one site, such as a clinic in the town centre and another in Wellingborough, need a separate verified profile for each genuine location with staff present during opening hours. Each should link to its own location page on the website. Virtual offices and shared workspaces where you do not actually see customers are not eligible, and profiles created for them are often suspended.
A quick self-audit
Work through this list with your profile open. Each "no" is something to fix.
| Question | Yes / No |
|---|---|
| Is there only one profile for this location? | |
| Is the primary category the most specific accurate option? | |
| Is the business name exactly what is on your signage and paperwork? | |
| Are opening hours correct, including upcoming holidays? | |
| Are your main services listed, each with a description? | |
| Have you added photos in the last three months? | |
| Have you replied to every review from the last year? | |
| Is the map pin on the right entrance? | |
| Does the website link go to the most relevant page? | |
| Are your details the same on Bing Places and Apple Business Connect? |
An example
A dental practice near the town centre had two profiles, one from before a move a few streets away. Reviews were split between them, the older one still showed the old opening hours, and the newer one was categorised as "Medical clinic". Fixing it meant reporting the old profile as moved, switching the category to "Dentist", adding treatments as services, uploading photos of the new surgery and replying to the backlog of reviews. None of it was technical, but together it made the practice much easier to find and choose.
Where to go from here
If you would rather hand this over, our Google Business Profile service covers set-up and monthly management, and local SEO covers the website and citations as well. For trades, the local SEO checklist is a good companion to this article. Businesses on the county borders, such as Brackley, should pay particular attention to service-area settings.
Once the profile is set up properly, keeping it in good shape takes very little time. Once a month, add a post and a few new photos, reply to new reviews, check your hours and answer any questions. That small routine puts you ahead of most competitors, many of whom set up their profile years ago and have not looked at it since.