Your Google Business Profile is doing more work than your website

Before someone visits your website, before they call you, before they read a single review — they see your Google Business Profile. It's the card that appears when someone searches your business name, or when they type 'plumber Bankstown' or 'migration agent Lakemba' into Google Maps.

Most local businesses in Western Sydney have a profile. Most of those profiles are incomplete, unverified, or haven't been touched since 2019. That's a problem — because the profile you ignore is the first impression you make.

Why it matters more than most people realise

Research from BrightLocal consistently shows that around 60% of interactions on Google Business Profiles — calls, directions, website visits — happen directly from the profile itself, without the customer ever clicking through to the website. Your GBP isn't a shortcut to your site. For many customers, it is the site.

That means your hours, your photos, your description, your reviews, and your response to those reviews are all doing active selling work, 24 hours a day. A profile that says 'hours not available' or shows a blurry photo from 2018 is quietly losing you business every single day.

The five things to fix first

• Claim and verify your profile if you haven't already. Go to business.google.com and follow the verification steps. Verification can take a few days by postcard, or instantly by phone or email for some business types.
• Fill in every field. Business name, address, phone, website, opening hours, and business category. The category matters — choose the most specific one that fits (e.g. 'Immigration Attorney' not just 'Lawyer').
• Add real photos. Interior, exterior, your work, your team. Google profiles with photos get significantly more direction requests and website clicks than those without. Aim for at least 10 photos to start.
• Write a proper business description. You get 750 characters. Use them. Tell people who you are, what you do, where you're based, and who you serve. Include your suburb and nearby areas naturally.
• Set up your services or products section. This is prime real estate that most businesses ignore. List each service separately with a brief description and price range if appropriate.

The review strategy most businesses overlook

Google reviews are one of the strongest local ranking signals there is. More reviews, higher average rating, and regular recent reviews all help you appear higher in local search results — and make customers more likely to choose you.

The simplest review strategy: after every job, send a direct link to your Google review page via WhatsApp or SMS. Most people are happy to leave a review; they just forget. Make it one tap. You can generate a direct review link from your GBP dashboard under 'Share review form'.

More importantly: respond to every review. Good ones get a brief, genuine thank you. Bad ones get a professional, calm response that addresses the concern without being defensive. How you respond to a negative review tells potential customers far more about your business than the review itself.

Posts, Q&A, and the weekly maintenance habit

Google Business Profiles support posts — short updates that appear on your profile for about a week. Think of them like a noticeboard: new services, seasonal promotions, an interesting job you just finished. Businesses that post regularly tend to appear in more searches.

The Q&A section is public, and anyone can ask or answer questions. Check yours regularly — because if you don't answer, someone else will, and their answer may not be accurate.

A well-maintained Google Business Profile is free, powerful, and takes about 20 minutes a week to keep current. It is often the highest-return digital marketing activity a local business can do.

What a website adds that a GBP can't

A GBP can tell someone where you are, when you're open, and what you charge. It cannot explain your process, show a detailed portfolio, build the kind of trust that converts a $30,000 renovation enquiry, or rank for the specific suburbs and service types that drive your best work.

The GBP and a proper website work together. The profile gets you found. The website gets you chosen. For the businesses we work with in Bankstown and surrounds, doing both well is what separates consistent lead flow from relying on word of mouth alone.