Local SEO for Metro Manila Businesses: A Google Business Profile Checklist

When someone in Quezon City searches “aircon cleaning near me” or “dentist open Sunday Makati”, Google shows a map with three businesses before any regular website. That map pack is where most local calls and direction requests come from, and the biggest single factor in getting into it is your Google Business Profile. Here's the checklist we use for every local client.

1. Claim and verify the right profile

• Search your business name on Google Maps first. If a profile already exists (customers or old staff sometimes create one), claim it instead of making a duplicate.
• Verify using the method Google offers: video verification is now common, so prepare to show your signage, your street and proof you operate there.
• If you serve customers at their location (cleaning, repairs, catering), set a service area and hide your home address.

2. Get the basics exactly right

• Business name: use your real-world name only. Adding keywords like “Best Dentist Makati” breaks Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
• Primary category: choose the most specific one (“Pediatric dentist” beats “Dentist” if that's your focus). Add secondary categories for other services.
• Address: match the format on your website, Facebook page and directories, including building, floor and barangay where relevant.
• Phone: a local landline or a mobile number your staff actually answers. Add the same number to your website.
• Hours: include holiday hours. Filipino holidays move every year, and a customer who arrives to a closed shop leaves a bad review.

3. Fill in everything customers ask about

The more complete your profile, the more searches it can match. Add services with short descriptions and prices where you can, products with photos, attributes like “wheelchair accessible” or “accepts GCash”, and booking or menu links. Write a business description in plain language that covers what you do, where and for whom.

4. Photos that prove you're real

• Upload your exterior from the street (so people can find you), interior, team and real work examples.
• Add new photos monthly. Profiles with fresh, genuine photos tend to get more engagement than ones with three stock images from 2019.
• Skip heavy text overlays and logos on every photo; they look like ads.

5. Build a steady flow of genuine reviews

Reviews influence both ranking and whether people choose you. The trick is consistency, not a one-time push.

• Ask at the right moment: after a successful appointment, delivery or project, not weeks later.
• Make it easy with a short link or QR code at the counter, on receipts and in your follow-up Viber or SMS message.
• Reply to every review, good or bad, within a few days. A calm, helpful reply to a complaint often wins more trust than a perfect rating.
• Never buy reviews or offer rewards for positive ones. It breaks Google's policies and can trigger review removal or a profile suspension.

6. Back the profile up with your website

Your Business Profile and website work as a pair. Create a dedicated page for each branch or service area, with the full address, a map embed, opening hours, parking or landmark directions (“beside the Mercury Drug on Kalayaan Ave”) and that location's reviews. Add LocalBusiness structured data so Google can connect the page to the profile.

7. Keep your details consistent everywhere

List your business on Facebook, the major Philippine business directories, your chamber or industry association, and delivery or booking apps if relevant. Use the same name, address and phone number on all of them. Inconsistent details confuse both Google and customers.

8. Post and track

Use Google posts for offers, events and new services. Then check the Performance tab monthly: searches, calls, direction requests and website clicks. Those numbers tell you whether local SEO is paying off, far better than rankings alone.

Want a second pair of eyes on your profile? Our free audit includes a Google Maps visibility check against your three closest competitors, or you can read more about our local SEO service.