Google Business Profile Optimisation Kit: step-by-step guide, review templates, QR card & Excel tracker

Description

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a local customer sees: your opening hours, photos, reviews, and buttons to call or get directions. This kit helps UK cafés, restaurants, trades and local service businesses get that profile accurate, complete and active, using Google's own guidelines, in an afternoon.

The 16-page guide takes you through ten steps: owning and verifying your profile, getting your business name right (no keyword stuffing, which Google can suspend profiles for), categories, hours, your 750-character description, attributes, photos, services, products, menus and ordering links, Posts, and asking for and replying to reviews. There are tips for food businesses, trades and services, a page on how Google's Q&A changed in 2025–26, and a 15-minute monthly routine.

Reviews get careful treatment. Google bans incentives, review gating (asking only happy customers) and fake reviews, and UK law has banned fake and concealed incentivised reviews since 6 April 2025. Every template in this kit stays within those rules: ask everyone, the same way, for nothing in return.

The Excel tracker scores your profile against 51 checks, gives you a 12-week posting plan, logs reviews and your reply times, and keeps a monthly check of your routine and performance figures.

Written in plain English by Hampstead IT, a West Hampstead IT and web service for London small businesses.

What's included

- GBP Optimisation Guide (PDF, 16 pages): the rules in five minutes, ten setup steps with examples of what Google allows and doesn't, tips for food businesses, trades and services, Q&A changes, a monthly routine, a 51-point checklist and links to the official Google and CMA sources

- GBP Tracker (Excel .xlsx): Profile Checklist with drop-downs and an automatic score, Dashboard, 12-week Posting Plan, Review Log (date, rating, replied, reply date, days to reply) and a 12-month Monthly Check

- Review & Reply Templates (Word .docx, opens in Google Docs, 7 pages): review requests by text, WhatsApp, email, receipt and counter card, plus what you mustn't say; 13 reply templates for 5-star, 4-star, mixed and negative reviews; 24 post ideas by business type

- Review QR Card (PDF): four A6 cards per A4 sheet, a fold-up table tent and single A6 cards, each with a clearly marked space for your own Google review QR code, plus instructions for getting it from your profile

- Instant download. Print it or fill it in on screen.

FAQ

Will this get me to the top of Google Maps?

Nobody outside Google can promise that, and we don't. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that there's no way to request or pay for a better ranking. This kit helps with what you can control: an accurate, complete, active profile and a fair, steady flow of genuine reviews.

Is there a QR code included?

No. Every business has its own review link, so the cards have a marked space for yours. The guide shows how to get your official link and QR code from your Business Profile (Read reviews › Get more reviews) in about five minutes on a computer.

Can I offer a discount or prize draw for reviews?

No. Google's policy bans incentives for reviews, including discounts and free goods or services. The templates ask every customer for an honest review with nothing in return.

I'm a plumber with no shop. Is this for me?

Yes. There's a section for service-area businesses (hiding your home address and setting the areas you cover) and tips for trades.

What about the Q&A section?

Google has changed it. It discontinued the Q&A API in November 2025 and announced in December 2025 that customers would ask questions in Google Maps instead. The guide explains what that means and what to do now.

Do I need Excel?

Yes. The tracker is an Excel workbook (Excel 365 or Excel 2021 or later). The templates open in Word or Google Docs.

Do I need a verified profile first?

It helps. Google says you need to verify before you can reply to reviews, and photos only show after verification. The guide covers ownership and access first.

Disclaimer

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Google. No ranking guarantees. A practical guide and templates, not legal advice. Google Business Profile is a trademark of Google LLC. Google help pages and CMA guidance were checked in November 2026; Google changes its menus and features often.