Local SEO & Google Business ProfileOptimising your Google Business Profile · Lesson 6 of 17
Hands-on: the GBP optimisation checklist and scoring sheet
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Hands-on: the GBP optimisation checklist and scoring sheet
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0:00 Hands-on: the GBP checklist
Optimise the Google Business Profile. It's on every local marketing plan, and it means completely different things to different people. To one person it's uploading a photo. To another it's rewriting the description. In this lecture you'll turn that vague instruction into a scored checklist with evidence, a formula driven sheet, and a clear order of priorities, so anyone on your team can run it and you can compare locations over time.
0:31 Why score it
Why a scored checklist? Because vague tasks can't be delegated, checked or compared. A score from zero to two per item, with a link to evidence, means a junior team member or a franchisee can run the audit, and you can see progress month by month. It also stops the most common failure in local SEO: polishing photos while a serious ownership or eligibility risk sits unnoticed.
1:00 Section A = the brakes
Think of it like a car's annual safety inspection. The inspector checks brakes and tyres before the paint job. Section A is our brakes: eligibility and ownership. Is the business eligible? Is the primary owner a business controlled account with multi factor authentication? Are there duplicates? Does the name match the signage exactly? If any of these fail, fix them first. They're the items that can get a profile suspended or taken away.
1:32 Section B: core info
Section B is core information: the most specific accurate primary category, genuine secondary categories, an accurate address or hidden address with realistic service areas, a phone that reaches you, a website link to the right page with UTM tags, accurate regular and special hours, and a helpful description with no URLs or superlatives. Section C is depth: services with short descriptions, products or packages, attributes, booking or menu links where the category supports them, and answers to frequent customer questions.
2:07 Sections D, E, F
Section D covers visuals and activity: logo and cover set, real recent photos that help people find the entrance, a post in the last thirty days with a tracked link, and no inappropriate customer photos left unreported. Section E is reviews: a compliant request process, responses to every recent review, and a benchmark against the top three competitors. And Section F is monitoring: unwanted edits checked, including any collected info area, and performance data reviewed monthly with GA4 and call data.
2:42 The sheet
Now the sheet. Item IDs in column A, descriptions in B, scores in C, evidence links in D, owner and date in E. A section score uses SUMIF on IDs starting with that section letter, divided by the maximum possible points. The overall score divides the total by twice the number of items. And a risk alert formula checks whether any section A item scored below two, and if so, shows fix eligibility and ownership first in big letters. Add red, amber and green conditional formatting.
3:19 Example 1 (simple)
Worked example one, simple. An independent optician in Lahore scores its profile. Section A: all twos. Section B: the description is a list of keywords, so it scores one, and there are no Eid special hours, another one. Section C: no services listed, zero. Using the template in the lesson, they rewrite the description in natural language: who they serve, core services, languages spoken, parking. They add four services and set Eid hours. Forty five minutes of work, and the score jumps from sixty to eighty five percent.
3:57 Example 2 (illustrative)
Worked example two, realistic and illustrative. A pharmacy chain with six branches in the UAE runs the sheet everywhere. Section A flags one branch owned by a former manager's personal account and another with a duplicate listing. Section B shows three branches missing Eid hours. Section C shows no services anywhere. The team fixes ownership and the duplicate first. Then they set holiday hours for all branches in one session, and add services from a central template with branch specific details.
4:32 The right order
Here's why the order matters. If the team had started with photos and posts, the branch owned by a former manager could have been lost entirely the day that person decided to leave the account, taking years of reviews with it. Risk first, then accuracy, then depth, then polish. And for multi location brands, add a summary tab with each branch's section scores, so a regional manager can see at a glance which branches need attention this month.
5:06 Description template
A quick word on the description, because it's often the weakest item. Use a simple structure: business name, what you are in plain words, where, and who you serve. Then three to five core services in natural language. Then one distinctive fact, like years in business, qualifications or languages spoken. Then a practical detail, like parking, accessibility or how to book. No URLs, no best or cheapest, and no keyword lists. If you use AI to draft it, check every fact.
5:41 Watch me do it: score a live profile
Watch me do it. I'll score a real looking profile, an independent optician in Lahore, using the checklist sheet. First, I copy the template, with item IDs in column A. Next, I open the live profile in one window and the sheet in another, and I score from what I see, not from memory. Section A. Is the primary owner a business account? I check the users list: yes, with two managers. Two points. Does the name match the signage? I compare the profile with a photo of the shop front: exact match. Two points. Section B. Primary category is Optician, good. Special hours for Eid aren't set, so one point, and I add the evidence note. Description is a keyword list, one point. Section C. No services listed at all, zero. Attributes, partly done, one. Section D. The newest photo is eight months old, one point. No post in the last month, zero. Now the formulas calculate section scores. A is one hundred percent, so the risk alert is clear. B is seventy one, C is thirty three, D is fifty. Then I write the top five fixes in priority order: services, Eid hours, description, a new post, fresh photos. Finally, I date the sheet, because next month I'll score it again and compare. I also share the section scores with the owner as three simple percentages, because that's something they can understand and track without reading every item.
7:25 Common mistakes
Common mistakes. Scoring from memory instead of checking the live profile. Fixing photos and posts before ownership and eligibility. Using one generic description for every branch. And treating a hundred percent as done. The checklist is a monthly routine. Things drift: hours change, people leave, customers upload photos, and Google updates details.
7:48 Recap
Recap. A scored checklist makes profile optimisation specific, delegable and comparable. Fix eligibility, ownership, duplicates and naming first. Use section scores, a risk alert and colour coding to prioritise. And run it monthly, with a summary tab for multi location brands. Try this now. Copy the checklist into a sheet, score one real profile with evidence links, and write down your top five fixes in priority order.
Why a scored checklist
"Optimise the profile" is too vague to delegate or measure. A scored checklist turns it into specific, checkable items with evidence, so a junior team member, a franchisee or a client can run it and you can compare locations over time.
The checklist (score 0 = missing/wrong, 1 = partial, 2 = complete and accurate)
A. Eligibility and ownership (fix first — risk items)
| # | Item | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Business is eligible (in-person contact; real, staffed address or SAB with hidden address) | Signage photo, lease |
| A2 | Primary owner is a business-controlled account with MFA; agency/staff are managers | Users list screenshot |
| A3 | No duplicate profiles for the same location | Maps search for name/phone |
| A4 | Name matches real-world signage exactly (no keywords/locations/taglines) | Signage photo |
B. Core information
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| B1 | Primary category is the most specific accurate category for core revenue |
| B2 | Secondary categories are genuine services only |
| B3 | Address accurate (or hidden with realistic service areas for SABs) |
| B4 | Phone reaches the business; call-tracking set up as primary with main number as additional (if used) |
| B5 | Website link goes to the right page (location page for multi-location) with UTM tags |
| B6 | Regular hours accurate; special hours set for the next holidays (Ramadan, Eid, national days, Christmas) |
| B7 | Description helpful, specific, no URLs or promotional superlatives |
C. Depth
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| C1 | Services listed for every core service, with 1–3 sentence descriptions |
| C2 | Products/packages with photos, descriptions and links where relevant |
| C3 | All accurate attributes completed (accessibility, amenities, payments, service options) |
| C4 | Booking, menu or ordering links set up where the category supports them |
| C5 | Frequent customer questions answered in profile fields and on the website |
D. Visual and activity
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| D1 | Logo and cover photo set |
| D2 | Exterior photos help people find the entrance; interior, team and work photos are real and recent (last 90 days) |
| D3 | At least one post in the last 30 days with a UTM-tagged link |
| D4 | No inappropriate or outdated customer photos left unreported |
E. Reviews (see Module 3)
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| E1 | Compliant review request process live (all customers, no incentives, no gating, no staff-name requests) |
| E2 | Every review in the last 90 days has a response |
| E3 | Review velocity and rating benchmarked against top 3 competitors |
F. Monitoring
| # | Item |
|---|---|
| F1 | Unwanted edits checked in the last 30 days (including any "collected info" area) |
| F2 | Performance data reviewed monthly alongside GA4 and call data |
Build the scoring sheet
Put item IDs in column A, descriptions in B, scores (0–2) in C, evidence links in D and owner/date in E. Then:
Section score (e.g. B): =SUMIF(A:A, "B*", C:C) / (COUNTIF(A:A, "B*") * 2)
Overall score: =SUM(C2:C40) / (COUNTA(A2:A40) * 2)
Risk alert: =IF(COUNTIFS(A:A, "A*", C:C, "<2")>0, "FIX ELIGIBILITY/OWNERSHIP FIRST", "")Format the section scores as percentages and add conditional formatting (red < 50%, amber 50–79%, green ≥ 80%). For multi-location brands, copy the sheet per location and build a summary tab with IMPORTRANGE or a simple copy-paste of each location's section scores.
A description template
[Business name] is a [primary category in plain words] in [area/city] serving [who].
We offer [3–5 core services in natural language]. [Distinctive fact: years, qualifications,
languages spoken, specialism]. [Practical detail: parking, accessibility, booking method].Example: "Noor Opticians is an independent optician in Gulberg, Lahore, serving families and professionals since 2009. We offer eye tests, children's eyewear, contact lens fittings and same-day glasses repairs. Our optometrists speak Urdu, Punjabi and English. Free parking is available behind the shop, and appointments can be booked online or by phone."
Worked example (illustrative)
A 6-branch pharmacy chain in the UAE runs the sheet across all branches. Section A flags one branch whose profile is owned by a former manager's personal account and another with a duplicate listing. Section B shows three branches missing Eid special hours. Section C shows no services listed anywhere. The team fixes ownership and the duplicate first, then sets holiday hours across all branches in one session, then adds services from a central template with branch-specific details. The summary tab moves from mostly amber to mostly green within a month, and the sheet becomes the monthly QA routine.
Common mistakes
- Scoring from memory instead of checking the live profile.
- Fixing photos and posts before ownership and eligibility risks.
- Using one generic description for every branch.
- Treating 100% as "done" — the checklist is a monthly routine, not a one-off.
Key takeaways
- A scored checklist makes GBP optimisation specific, delegable and comparable across locations.
- Always fix eligibility, ownership, duplicates and name issues before cosmetic improvements.
- Use section scores, a risk alert and conditional formatting to prioritise and track progress.
- Run the checklist monthly; for multi-location brands, summarise section scores per branch.
Check your understanding
Quick questions to lock in the lesson. They don’t count towards your certificate.
Put it into practice
Copy the checklist into a sheet, score one real profile with evidence links, and list the five highest-priority fixes in order.
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