How to check your own Google listing in 10 minutes
Most owners haven't opened their Google listing since the day it was set up. Some never set it up. Somebody else did, and nobody remembers who.
- Your Google listing is the first thing most customers see. Not your website.
- Seven things cover most of the problems. You can check them on your phone.
- Fix what you can today. The rest is what I do for a living.
You've probably paid someone for "SEO" before and couldn't tell what changed. Here are the seven things I check first on any listing, in the order I check them. No tools. No login needed for most of it.
01. Find your listing the way a customer would
On your phone, search your business name and your city. Your listing should show up on the right or at the top. Three things to look for. Is the name spelled the way it's on your truck. Is there a second copy of the listing with an old address or phone. Does it say "Own this business?" anywhere. If it does, nobody has claimed it, and anyone can suggest edits to it.
02. Hours
Compare the hours on the listing with the hours on your door. A listing that says "Closed" on a Saturday you're open sends that call to the next guy. Then add holiday hours for the next holiday coming up. Google asks customers to confirm hours around holidays, and if nobody at the shop answers, Google guesses.
03. Phone number
The listing, your website, Yelp and your social pages should all show the same number. On one listing I checked, Yelp and the website showed one number and social media showed another. Pick one number. Fix the rest. Google trusts a business whose details match everywhere.
04. Primary category
Open the listing (Google Business Profile, from the same Google account that owns it) and look at the main category. It should be the one thing you do most, worded the way Google words it. "Pest control service," not "Exterminator and more." You can add extra categories after, but the primary one does most of the work.
05. Services and the description
List the services you actually sell. Each one gets a line in plain words. Then write the description like you'd explain it to a neighbor: what you do, which towns you serve, how to reach you. Skip the slogan. Say the towns by name.
06. Photos
Real photos of the truck, the shop, the team and finished work. A phone photo in daylight is fine. No stock photos, no logo as the only picture. Customers want to see who's showing up.
07. Reviews
Reply to every review, including the bad one. Thank them by name, mention one detail from the job, say what's next. Under 60 words. A calm reply to a bad review does more for the next customer than ten five-star reviews with no reply.
The catch. It's not instant. Fixing the listing helps right away for the people who already find you. Showing up more often takes 3 to 6 months. I'll show you what month one looks like.
Bottom line
- Search yourself on your phone. Claim the listing if nobody has.
- Make hours, phone and name match everywhere.
- Reply to every review.
Do those three and you're ahead of most of the shops on your street.
Questions owners ask
Search your business on Google and look for "Own this business?" If it's there, claim it. If someone else already owns it, Google has a process to request access. It takes a few days.
No. The listing works on its own. A website helps, but a clean listing with no website beats a messy listing with a nice website.
Yes. Ask right after the job, in person or by text, with the link. Don't offer anything for it. Google and the customer can both tell.
Want me to look at it? Send your business name and city. I'll text you the top fixes. No call, no contract.
Free Google listing check
Adrian Luna, Four Moons Marketing, Inland Empire. Electrician by trade. About Adrian. Last reviewed October 2026.