Google Business Profile: the settings that matter to get recommended by AI

When someone searches “florist in Austin” or asks an assistant “a good plumber in Geneva tonight”, the answer relies heavily on public information about nearby businesses. For Google and Gemini, a central source is the Google Business Profile, the listing that shows up in Google Maps. Here are the settings that make the difference, in the order to tackle them.

1. The primary category: the most important setting

The primary category tells Google what you are. Pick the most precise one: “Florist” rather than “Store”, “Plumber” rather than “Contractor”. Then add secondary categories only if they match a real activity (for example “Flower delivery”). A category that's too broad puts you up against everyone, and so against no one in particular.

2. Identical information everywhere

Name, address, phone number and hours must be exactly the same on your profile, your website and directories. When they differ (an old number in a directory, different hours on the site), search engines and AI have fewer reasons to trust you, and a customer may find the door closed.

• Write your address as text on your site, not in an image.
• Update special hours (holidays, vacations).
• Check your listings in your city's and your industry's directories.
• Describe your business with LocalBusiness structured data on your site: the structured data generator creates the code.

3. A description that answers real questions

The profile description is limited to 750 characters. Use them to say, simply, what you do, for whom, where, and what sets you apart. Skip hollow superlatives (“the best in town”) and keyword lists: write the way you'd answer a customer on the phone.

4. Detailed services and products

Fill in the services (or products) section with what you really offer, using your customers' words: “bridal bouquet”, “drain unclogging”, “e-bike repair”. These details help match you to precise searches, which are often those of customers ready to buy.

5. Reviews: recent, numerous, and answered

Reviews matter both to customers and to how your profile is shown. Three simple habits:

1. Ask every satisfied customer for a review, with a direct link (the profile provides one).
2. Reply to every review, positive or negative, politely and precisely.
3. Never buy reviews or post fake ones: it's forbidden, and Google removes them.

6. Photos and posts

Add real photos (storefront, interior, work, team) and refresh them now and then. Profile posts (offers, news, events) show the business is active.

What about your website?

The profile doesn't replace your site: AI also cites pages that explain what you do, articles and directories. One page per service, an FAQ with your customers' real questions and a robots.txt that lets AI crawlers in complete the profile. Also read how to show up in Gemini.

Check what AI says about you

The simplest way is to ask like a customer: “What's the best [your trade] in [your city]?”. CoolSEO's free audit does it for you with Gemini and Google Search, shows who gets recommended, and ranks your site's fixes by impact.