The Google Business Profile checklist for a Burlington small business

Step 1: Confirm you own the profile

Search your business name on Google Maps. If a profile appears, check who manages it. Many small businesses discover that a former employee, a previous web designer or an old agency set it up and still holds the keys.

• If you own it: make sure at least two trusted people in the business have access, so it isn't tied to one person's email.
• If someone else owns it: use Google's ownership request process to claim it. Don't create a second profile for the same place.
• If there's no profile: create one with your business's own Google account, not a personal one.

Ownership is the foundation. Everything else on this list is wasted if you can't control the profile later.

Step 2: Get the name, address and phone exactly right

Google's guidelines ask that your name match what customers see on your storefront, website and paperwork. That rules out tacking on "Burlington", a slogan or a list of services.

Check these against your signage and invoices:

• Business name: exactly as used in the real world. "Lakeside Tea Co." not "Lakeside Tea Co. Best Tea Shop Burlington ON".
• Address: with the correct unit number, especially in plazas and mixed-use buildings where customers get lost.
• Phone: a number that a person actually answers during your stated hours. If calls go to a mobile, make sure it rings.

If you visit customers rather than host them

Cleaners, mobile groomers, tutors who travel, and landscapers often run from home. Google lets service-area businesses hide their address and list service areas instead. Choose the parts of Burlington, and nearby Oakville, Hamilton or Milton, where you actually work. Don't list every town in Halton if you never drive there.

Step 3: Choose categories carefully

The primary category is one of the strongest signals of what your business is. Google's local ranking help page names relevance as one of three main factors, and category is central to relevance.

1. Write down the single thing most customers come to you for.
2. Search Google's category list for the most specific match. "Bubble tea store" is better than "Café" if that's what you are; "Physiotherapy clinic" beats "Health".
3. Add secondary categories only if they're genuinely true and a meaningful part of your business.
4. Check what categories nearby competitors use. If they're all in a broader category, you may stand out with the precise one.

Revisit categories once a year. Businesses change, and Google sometimes adds new categories.

Step 4: Set hours, including the awkward ones

Wrong hours are one of the quickest ways to lose a customer for good. Set:

• Regular hours for each day.
• Special hours for public holidays such as Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and the December holidays, plus the August Civic Holiday, which isn't a statutory holiday in Ontario but which many businesses observe.
• Seasonal changes, such as shorter winter hours or longer summer evenings near the waterfront.
• More hours, if your profile type supports them, such as separate hours for pickup, delivery or a drive-through.

Put a reminder in your calendar two weeks before each holiday to update the profile.

Step 5: Describe what you actually do

The description should read like a helpful paragraph from you to a new customer. Include:

• What you sell or do, in plain words.
• Who it's for.
• What makes you different, stated as fact: "family-run since [year]", "same-day appointments most weekdays", "free parking behind the building".
• The part of Burlington you're in, mentioned naturally once.

Skip superlatives and keyword lists. They don't persuade people, and they don't fit Google's guidelines.

Step 6: Add services or products

Depending on your category, you can list services, products or a menu. Fill these in thoroughly:

• Services: each one named the way customers say it, with a short description and a price or "from" price where you can.
• Products: your main lines or bestsellers, with photos.
• Menus: for food businesses, kept current, with prices.

These details help Google match your profile to specific searches, and they answer customer questions before they call.

Step 7: Upload real photos

Photos do a lot of the persuading. Aim for:

• Exterior: your storefront from the street and from the parking lot, so people recognise it on arrival. In busy plazas, a photo showing your unit relative to a neighbouring store helps.
• Interior: clean, well-lit shots of your space.
• Team at work: with permission, real people doing real work.
• Products or results: the things customers buy from you.
• Logo and cover photo.

Use your own photos rather than stock images. Add a few new ones every month so the profile looks alive.

Step 8: Start a review routine

Reviews are part of prominence, the third ranking factor. More importantly, they're what strangers read before choosing you. Google's own tips on reviews encourage asking customers and replying to what they write.

• Get your review link from the profile and save it somewhere easy to share.
• Ask every satisfied customer, in person, right after a good experience.
• Follow up once, where they've agreed to hear from you, with the link.
• Reply to every review within a few days, good or bad.

Don't offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, and never write your own. Our reviews and repeat business service explains the full routine.

Step 9: Connect your website

Your profile should link to a page that matches it. For a single-location business, that's usually your home page. If you have multiple locations, link each profile to that location's page. Make sure the name, address, phone and hours on the website match the profile exactly. If the website is weak, read about small-business websites.

Step 10: Keep it current, fifteen minutes a week

A once-a-year effort isn't enough. Each week:

• Add one or two new photos.
• Reply to any new reviews.
• Answer any questions customers have posted.
• Check that hours are right for the coming week.
• Post an update if there's something genuinely useful to share.

Each month, look at the profile's performance numbers: calls, direction requests and website clicks. Note any change after you've made improvements.

Common mistakes we see in Burlington

• Plaza confusion. The pin sits on the wrong side of a large plaza, so customers circle the lot. Drag the pin to your actual door.
• Duplicate profiles created after a move or a rebrand. Merge or remove duplicates through Google's support process.
• Old phone numbers from a previous owner or a disconnected line.
• Holiday hours never set, especially for the August Civic Holiday, which catches many owners.
• Photos from years ago showing a storefront that has since changed.

When to get help

Most owners can work through this list themselves. Bring in help if your profile has been suspended, if you can't get ownership back, if you have several locations, or if you've done all of this and still don't appear for your main searches. That's where our local search service comes in. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your profile, call, text or email us with the link.