Three factors consistently correlate with higher GBP rankings: 1) Review volume and recency. Businesses with a steady stream of recent reviews consistently outrank those with more total reviews but no recent activity. 2) Category accuracy. Choosing the most specific primary category (not a broad one) dramatically affects which searches you appear for. 3) Completeness. Profiles with photos, hours, services, and descriptions filled out rank better than sparse profiles. If you focus on nothing else, focus on these three.
Google Business Profile posts (the mini blog posts you can publish) get very few views and have minimal ranking impact. They're not useless, but they're not worth spending an hour on every week. Similarly, obsessing over your business description wording won't move the needle. Keep it accurate and clear, but don't agonize over it. And constantly checking your profile stats leads to anxiety without actionable insight. Check monthly, not daily.
Upload 10-20 photos to start, then add 2-3 new photos per month. Include: your storefront (from the street, so people can find you), interior shots, your team at work, and your best products or completed projects. Avoid stock photos. Google's algorithms can detect them and they don't help your ranking. Customers also distrust businesses that use stock photos. Real photos of real work build trust in a way that polished marketing images don't.
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