Google Business Profile Audit: 25-Point Checklist With Benchmarks

October 14, 2026 by Adam Abdelmoumen Google Business Profile

In short. A Google Business Profile audit is a 25-point check in five blocks: identity, content, reputation, visibility and compliance. Google states that "businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results," and its guidelines set a precise rule for almost every field. Our observatory of 1,800 top-20 profiles in France shows where most businesses fail: 88% have an empty description, 16% have no website, 12% have no hours, and 46% never reply to a review. What separates the top 5 from positions 16 to 20 is not the rating (4.62 in both groups) but volume: 738 reviews against 300, and 110 photos against 54. Run the checklist below, or get the same result in two minutes with our free Google Business Profile audit tool.

How to score the audit

Each check is a yes or no. Count the yeses out of 25. Under 15, your profile is losing searches it should win; 15 to 20 is normal for a managed profile; above 20 is where the top 5 of our observatory sits. Do the audit signed out, in a private window, so you see what a customer sees, then signed in to the profile to fix what you find.

Block 1: identity (7 checks)

These are the fields Google uses to match your profile to a search. Its guidelines are strict, and a mistake here can suspend the profile.

The name is your real-world name. Google: "Your name should reflect your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers." No city, no keywords, no slogan added.
One profile per location. Google: "Do not create more than one page for each location of your business, either in a single account or multiple accounts." Search Google Maps for your name and check for duplicates.
The primary category describes what you are. Google's test: "Select categories that complete the statement: 'This business IS a' rather than 'this business HAS a.'" And: "instead of 'Salon,' choose 'Nail salon.'" Check the exact label with our Google Business Profile categories tool.
Additional categories are few and real. You can add up to 9, but Google says to "use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business" and "do not use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business."
The address or service area is accurate. Google: "Enter the full and accurate address of your business location." A service-area business that does not receive customers at its address should hide it.
Hours are set, including special hours. Google lists hours among the info that makes profiles "more likely to show up," with "special store hours" for holidays.
Phone and website are correct. The website URL "includes 'http://' or 'https://'" and points to your own site, not a directory or a social page. You can add "up to 2 more phone numbers."

Benchmark: in our observatory, 7% of top-20 profiles are not even claimed by their owner, 16% have no website and 12% have no hours. In movie theaters, 84% of profiles show no hours.

Block 2: content (8 checks)

What the customer reads and looks at once the profile is found.

The description is filled and under 750 characters. Google's rules: "Do not include URLs or HTML code," "Do not exceed 750 characters," and "Focus primarily on details about your business instead of details about promotions, prices, or sales." Benchmark: 88% of top-20 profiles leave it empty. This is the easiest gap to close.
A logo and a cover photo are set. Google: "Help your customers recognize your business on Google" with a logo, and "Set a cover photo at the top of your profile that best represents your business."
An exterior photo exists. Google: "When you add an exterior photo, it helps customers recognize your business when they visit."
Photos meet the specs. "Format: JPG or PNG," "Size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB," "Recommended resolution: 720 px tall, 720 px wide," and "The photo should be in focus and well lit, and have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters."
Photo volume is in line with the top of your industry. Benchmark: the top 5 of our observatory have a median of 110 photos against 54 for positions 16 to 20. Restaurants sit at 426, opticians at 42.
A post was published in the last 30 days. Google archives posts "older than 6 months" when no date range is set. A profile with no recent post looks unattended. See our guide to Google Business Profile posts.
Attributes are reviewed. Google: "If you add certain attributes, your business might show up in searches for places with those attributes." Accessibility, payments, amenities.
Menu, services or products are listed where available. Google notes that restaurants "can add links for online orders, reservations, and menus" and that health and beauty businesses "can add a booking button."

Block 3: reputation (5 checks)

Review volume is close to your top-5 competitors. Benchmark: top 5 median 738, positions 16 to 20 median 300, same 4.62 rating. The top-20 entry threshold ranges from 44 reviews for movie theaters to 388 for restaurants. Our guide on how many Google reviews you need has the full table.
Reviews arrive every week. A profile whose last review is three months old has a collection problem, not a reputation problem.
A review link or QR code is in place. Google's own method: "you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code." Get yours with the Google review link generator.
Reviews get a reply. Google lists "Respond to reviews" among the ways to improve local ranking. Benchmark: 46% of top-20 profiles never reply, and the average reply rate is 33%. We found no link between reply rate and position, so count this one for conversion, not ranking.
No incentives, ever. Google: "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, to customers in exchange for reviews is considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited."

Block 4: visibility (3 checks)

You know your position from several points, not from your own phone. Google ranks on "relevance, distance, and popularity," and "if a customer doesn't share where they are, Google uses what it knows about their location." Searching from inside your store tells you nothing about the street three blocks away. Use the Google Maps rank checker.
You rank in the top 3 for your main category plus city. The local pack shows three results; the rest is a tap away.
Your competitors' profiles have been read. Their category, their photo count, their review volume: the benchmark that matters is the one in your own search results.

Block 5: compliance (2 checks)

Nothing in the profile breaks a guideline. The ones that suspend profiles most often: keywords in the name, a P.O. box or virtual office as address, categories "that pertain to other businesses that are nearby or related," duplicates.
Edits are not pending. Google writes: "We review your changes before we update them live on your profile." Check the edit status after each change, and remember that changing a category or address can make Google ask you "to verify your business again."

What our data says about priorities

Our observatory covers 1,800 Google Business Profiles in France, collected on September 25, 2026 across 9 industries and 10 large cities: the first 20 results of each search. Comparing the top 5 with positions 16 to 20:

Signal	Top 5	Positions 16 to 20	Reading
Reviews (median)	738	300	The strongest gap we measured
Rating (median)	4.62	4.62	No difference
Photos (median)	110	54	Second strongest gap
Reply rate	no link with position		Useful for conversion

So, after the identity block, the order of work is: review collection, photos, then everything else. For the method, read how to rank higher on Google Maps.

Auditing several locations

With one profile, the checklist takes 20 minutes. With 15 or 50, the audit is never finished: a franchisee changes a category, a manager leaves a description empty, a holiday goes unannounced. GMB Club is the all-in-one marketing platform for local businesses: its profile hub lists every location with its missing fields, review volume and reply rate on one screen, next to social media publishing, local SEO tracking and the AI agents that reply to reviews. Pricing is public.

Limits of this checklist

Our observatory covers France only, in 10 large cities and 9 industries, and only profiles already in the top 20: it shows what visible profiles do, not what invisible ones lack. Figures are correlations on a snapshot dated September 25, 2026, not an experiment. Google's quotes come from its English help pages read on October 14, 2026, and its interface changes regularly. The scoring scale is our convention, not a Google metric.

Guide written by Adam Abdelmoumen, co-founder of GMB Club. Sources checked on October 14, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Google Business Profile audit?

A structured check of everything Google and customers see on your profile: identity (name, category, address, hours), content (photos, description, posts, attributes), reputation (reviews and replies) and visibility (where you rank). The goal is a list of fixes ordered by impact.

How often should I audit my Google Business Profile?

A full audit once a quarter, plus a quick check after any change: new hours, a renovation, a change of category. Google reviews edits before publishing them, and some edits can trigger a re-verification.

What is the most common gap you find?

The empty description. In our observatory of 1,800 top-20 profiles in France, 88% have no description. Next come missing websites (16%) and missing hours (12%, up to 84% for movie theaters).

Does a complete profile rank higher?

Google states that businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results. Our data shows that what separates the top 5 from positions 16 to 20 is mostly review volume (738 against 300 at the same 4.62 rating) and photos (110 against 54).

Can I audit several locations at once?

Manually, one profile at a time. For a network, you need a dashboard that lists every location with its gaps side by side. GMB Club's profile hub does that for 3 to 50 locations.

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