Local SEO
If you run a local business in New Zealand and you haven’t claimed your Google Business Profile, you’re handing customers to your competitors for free. Here’s how to fix that in one afternoon.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (GBP) is the listing that appears when someone searches for your business name — or for a type of business near them. It shows up in Google Search and Google Maps. It includes your hours, phone number, address, photos, reviews, and more.
It’s completely free. And yet a huge number of NZ small businesses either haven’t claimed theirs, or have claimed it but never properly filled it out. That’s a big missed opportunity.
Step one: claim and verify your listing
Go to business.google.com and search for your business. If it already exists (Google often auto-creates listings from other data sources), claim it. If not, create a new one. Verification is usually done by postcard, phone, or — increasingly — by video call with Google.
Don’t skip this step. An unclaimed listing can have wrong information — wrong hours, wrong address, wrong phone number — and you have no way to fix it until you’ve verified ownership.
Fill out every section
Most business owners fill in the basics and stop. Don’t. Every section you leave blank is a missed opportunity to match what someone is searching for.
The sections that matter most: your business description (use keywords people actually search for), your services and products (write real descriptions, not just titles), your hours (keep them up to date — wrong hours destroy trust fast), and your photos.
Photos make a bigger difference than most people expect
Listings with photos get significantly more clicks and direction requests than those without. You don’t need a professional photographer — your phone is fine. Aim for at least 10 photos to start: your exterior (so people recognise you), your interior, your team at work, your products or services in action, and a few happy customers if they’re willing.
Add new photos regularly. Google’s algorithm gives a small nudge to profiles that show recent activity.
Reviews are everything
Reviews are the single biggest trust signal for local businesses. They’re also a direct ranking factor — businesses with more (and better) reviews rank higher in the map results.
The most effective way to get reviews: ask. Right after you’ve done a good job, send a quick text or email with a direct link to your review page. Most people are happy to leave one if you make it easy. And respond to every review — positive and negative. It shows you’re paying attention.
Keep your information consistent everywhere
Google cross-checks your GBP details against your website and other directories like Yellow Pages and Finda. If your name, address, or phone number differs between them — even something small like “St” vs “Street” — it creates doubt in Google’s algorithm and can hurt your ranking.
Do a quick audit. Search your business name and check the first few results. If anything’s wrong or inconsistent, fix it.
Post updates occasionally
GBP has a posts feature — think of it like a mini social media feed attached to your listing. A post a month is enough. Promotions, new services, seasonal hours, events — anything that shows the business is active. Active profiles tend to outrank stale ones.
None of this takes long. A focused afternoon gets the hard work done. After that, 20 minutes a month keeps it humming. For a free tool, the return is hard to beat.
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