If you run a shop, clinic, or restaurant in Toronto, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is doing more selling than your website ever will. It's the card that shows up when someone searches "near me," and it's usually the deciding factor between a phone call and a scroll-past.
We've audited more than a dozen GBP listings across The Beaches and Leslieville this year, and the same five mistakes keep showing up.
1. Your primary category is too broad
"Restaurant" is not a category, it's a guess. Google rewards specificity: "Italian Restaurant" or "Breakfast Restaurant" tells the algorithm exactly which searches you should show up for. A broad category dilutes your ranking across the searches that actually convert.
2. Photos haven't been updated in over a year
Stale photos are a trust signal in reverse. If your most recent photo is from a 2023 renovation, customers assume the business itself hasn't been touched since. Fresh photos, even phone photos, tell Google (and humans) that you're active.
3. You're not responding to reviews
Every unanswered review is a missed opportunity to show up in "review recency," one of the ranking signals Google weighs. It also reads badly to anyone scrolling reviews before they call. A two-line reply takes 30 seconds and compounds over time.
4. Services and attributes are left blank
Most business owners fill out the name, address, and phone number and stop there. But the services list, attributes (wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, walk-ins welcome), and business description are all searchable fields. Leaving them blank means you're invisible for those specific searches.
5. NAP (Name, Address, Phone) doesn't match your website
If your GBP lists "123 Queen St E" and your website footer says "123 Queen Street East," that inconsistency confuses Google's confidence in your listing, and it's more common than you'd think.
The fix
Most of these take under an hour to correct once you know what to look for. If you want a second set of eyes, our free AI SEO audit tool checks your GBP against a full checklist in about 30 seconds, no strings attached.