When someone two blocks away searches for what you sell, the first thing they often see is not your website. It is your listing on Google Maps. That listing is your Google Business Profile, and for a Brooklyn storefront it does a lot of the selling before anyone walks in. This checklist is built from Google’s own guidelines, so every item is something Google itself asks for.
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How Google picks which shops to show
Google says “Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity.” Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching or the place they named. Popularity is how well known your business is, online and off. Google also says “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” So the work is getting the profile complete and correct, and earning a real reputation.
The checklist
Your name, exactly as it is
Google’s rule: “Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers.” If the awning says one thing and the profile says another, fix the profile. Do not add neighborhood names or service words to the name or the address lines. Google forbids keywords there.
Few categories, chosen well
Google asks owners to “Use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business” and says “Do not use categories solely as keywords”. Pick the one that describes what you mostly are, then add only the ones that are truly part of the business.
Your address stays, service areas get added
A storefront that customers visit keeps its real address on the profile. If you also travel to customers, Google lets you “Enter both your address and service area.” So a bakery in Bay Ridge that delivers to Sunset Park and Dyker Heights shows its shop address and lists those areas too. Keep the address; add the areas.
One profile per location
Google says “Do not create more than one page for each location of your business”. One shop, one profile. A second location with its own staffed storefront gets its own profile. Extra profiles for the same spot get taken down, and they confuse customers.
Hours, phone and website that match
Check that your hours, phone number and website link match what is on your door and your site. Update holiday hours before the day, not after. Small mismatches send people to a locked gate.
Photos of the real place
Show the front of the shop as people see it from the sidewalk, the inside, and what you sell. A customer who recognizes your awning from the photo finds you faster.
Reviews, done by the rules
Reviews are part of popularity, and both Google and the FTC have rules about them. Google’s Maps policy does not allow reviews “that have been paid for, directly or in kind”, or offering “incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services – in exchange for posting any review”. It also bans asking only happy customers, which it calls selectively soliciting positive reviews. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews (16 CFR Part 465), in effect since October 21, 2024, adds federal limits, including on fake reviews and on suppressing honest ones.
- Ask every customer for an honest review, and offer nothing for it.
- Never write reviews for yourself or have friends post them from several accounts.
- Never pressure anyone to take down a negative review.
- Answer reviews, good and bad, in a calm and helpful voice.
Practices with several professionals
Google treats doctors, dentists, lawyers and real estate agents as individual practitioners. Each public-facing practitioner can have a profile of their own, alongside the office’s profile.
Check it again every few months
A profile is not a one-time job. Hours change, phones change, a second location opens, the awning gets repainted with a new name. Put a reminder on the calendar to open your profile, read it as a stranger would and fix anything stale. Look at the questions people have asked and the photos customers have added, and answer or flag anything that is wrong. Ten minutes of checking can save a customer a wasted trip across the borough.
Where your website fits
Your profile links to your site, and the page it lands on should finish the job: what you sell, where you are, how to reach you, all readable on a phone. If your site is thin, read about Brooklyn website design. For the profile and the pages working together, see local SEO Brooklyn owners use, and if you run a single shop, the guide to small business SEO in Brooklyn.
Want someone to go through your profile with you? Tell us about the shop and an independent agency can send a written proposal.
Questions people ask
Should I remove my address to look bigger?
No. A storefront that customers visit keeps its real address. If you also serve customers elsewhere, Google lets you enter both your address and your service areas.
Can I pay Google to show my shop higher on the map?
Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. A complete, accurate profile and genuine reviews are what an owner controls.
Can I give a discount for a review?
Not for Google reviews. Google’s Maps policy bans incentives of any kind for posting a review. Ask everyone for an honest one and offer nothing.
Can I add Brooklyn or my neighborhood to my business name?
Only if it is part of the real name on your storefront and stationery. Google does not allow keywords in the business name.