Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels. Illustrative stock photo; not a photograph of a Grand Traverse Bay business or event.
Before a Grand Traverse Bay small business spends more on promotion, it is worth checking what a prospective customer sees on its Google Business Profile.
Google’s own guidance says complete and accurate business information helps it understand a business and match it with relevant local searches.
That is a useful starting point for a profile review, but it does not guarantee a particular position or a set number of customers.
Begin with what you actually offer
Compare your profile with your current services, location arrangements, and contact details.
Use an accurate business category and explain the services customers can genuinely obtain from you.
If you cover several communities, check that your service area reflects your real operating limits rather than every place you hope to reach.
Keep the business name consistent with your established identity instead of adding unrelated promotional phrases.
Record the changes you make so another staff member can understand what was corrected and why.
Make hours useful to the customer
Check ordinary opening hours and any special hours for holidays or temporary changes.
If customers need an appointment, make that arrangement clear through the appropriate available fields and your linked website.
Review whether the hours you publish describe when customers can visit, contact you, or receive the advertised service.
Do not copy another location’s schedule into your own profile.
For a business with changing seasonal operations, assign someone responsibility for updating the information before customers make plans.
Choose photographs that explain the visit
Use current images of your own entrance, workspace, products, or completed work when you have the right to share them.
A useful entrance photo should help someone recognize the business when they arrive.
A service photograph should show work you actually perform and should have permission from anyone whose private property or identity is visible.
Review older images that your business controls for information that is no longer accurate.
Google recommends adding photos and videos, but the practical purpose here is to help customers understand the business rather than meet an invented posting quota.
Review the next action on a phone
Open the profile as a customer and check the website destination, phone number, and any booking or ordering options you use.
Confirm that the destination page explains the same service advertised on the profile.
If an inquiry form is involved, test that a message reaches the person responsible for replying.
Check that the page is readable on a small screen and that the customer does not have to search for basic contact information.
A profile can be accurate while the linked customer journey still needs attention.
Understand what an update can change
Google identifies relevance, distance, and prominence as the main factors in local results.
An owner can improve the information they supply, but cannot make every searcher physically closer or pay Google for a better organic local ranking.
Treat reviews as genuine customer feedback and follow Google’s review policies rather than buying favorable ratings.
Measure actions over a defined period.
Record the date of your corrections and review the performance information Google makes available for your profile.
Compare relevant customer actions with actual calls, inquiries, bookings, or sales recorded by your business.
Changes in activity can have several causes, so avoid crediting every improvement to a single edit.
Start with clear information, maintain your free Cherry Buzz listing alongside it, and explore Traverse Bay Business Network’s promotion services if you want to discuss additional support. |
 Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash. Illustrative stock photo; not a photograph of a Grand Traverse Bay business or event. |
Sources and practical resources Google: improve your local ranking Google: requesting and replying to reviews Michigan SBDC: marketing your small business
Take the first step: add your business to Cherry Buzz for free. Add Your Business to Cherry Buzz — Free
Want to discuss additional visibility for your business? Explore Traverse Bay Business Network’s business promotion services. |
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