A full GBP audit, geo-grid baseline, and tactical fix — the foundation work that turns a neglected listing into a competitive one. Part of every engagement we run.
Most agencies "optimize" a GBP by filling in the name and the phone number. That's setup, not optimization. Real optimization is a diagnostic — every field, every signal, every gap between what Google sees and what your customers do. Most listings fail in four common ways.
Primary category drives ~70% of map-pack rankings. If it's wrong, you're competing with the wrong businesses — for searches that aren't even yours.
Google grades listings on completeness. Empty fields = lower visibility, even when everything you did fill out is correct.
Service-area businesses with bad geographic targeting get hidden from the customers right next door — and shown to the ones too far to convert.
Stale media signals a dead listing. Fresh, geotagged, descriptive photos move rank. Stock photos hurt it.
Optimization starts with the audit. We don't touch a field until we've documented the whole listing — what's there, what's missing, what's wrong, and where the gap to the competitive leader sits.
Name, address, phone, hours, URLs — the basics Google uses to determine if you're real and where to put you on the map.
Primary category alone carries ~70% of ranking weight. We audit your primary, your secondaries, and how they map to what you actually sell.
Services and products are searchable inside Google. Most businesses leave them empty. We identify what should be listed, named, and described.
Photos, video, Q&A, posts, and descriptions — the content layer Google reads as engagement.
Review count, recency, response rate, sentiment, and policy compliance — all audited against your competitive set.
Geo-grid baseline scan across your service area — map-pack position, organic rank, and the gap to the local leaders for your top keywords.
Optimization runs the same six phases on every engagement — intake, audit, baseline, plan, execute, verify. No improvising. We don't touch a field until we've audited it.
Kickoff, account access confirmation, current-state snapshot, and scope alignment with the Local Intelligence findings.
The 100-point review across all six audit areas. Every field, every signal, documented and scored against the competitive leader.
Visibility scan across your full service area before any work begins. Map-pack and organic positions captured for the top keywords — the documented starting line.
Prioritized roadmap — what moves the ranking first, what closes the biggest gaps, what's structural vs. cosmetic. Approved before any field is touched.
Every fix shipped. Every field updated. Every category corrected. Every photo added. Documented as it ships — no surprises in the final report.
Re-scan the geo-grid after Google re-indexes. A before-and-after report: what moved, what didn't, what the ongoing operation needs to keep pushing.
Multi-location and franchise optimization is its own discipline — you can't run the single-location process 50 times. Brand standards, staggered rollouts, bulk audit workflows, and a sequenced execution plan make the difference. The founder's 20-year specialty.
Franchise optimization protects the brand while honoring the operator. The franchisor sets the standard — categories, descriptions, photography, services — and we apply it across every unit while preserving the unit-level identity each franchisee owns.
Multi-location optimization runs in staggered waves — Google flags mass simultaneous changes as suspicious. We sequence the work so every location gets optimized without triggering the suspension layer.
Optimization is the one-time foundation fix — the audit, cleanup, and tactical upgrade that turns a neglected listing into a competitive one. Management is the ongoing operation that keeps it that way — and pushes it forward.
Optimization without management is a fresh paint job on a building no one maintains. The listing degrades; the rankings follow.
No. Optimization is the foundation phase of every engagement we run — not a one-time standalone. Without ongoing management, the work degrades within months: Google updates, competitors edit, content goes stale, the geo-grid sags. We don't take engagements where the foundation work won't be maintained.
About 30 days from kickoff to verification report on a standard single-location optimization. Multi-location and franchise optimizations stagger across 60–120 days depending on volume. The schedule is documented in the engagement plan that comes out of the Local Intelligence.
Six audit areas — foundation data, categorization, services & products, content & media, reviews & reputation, and visibility & ranking. Each scored across multiple checkpoints. The full audit is delivered as a documented report with priorities, gaps, and the timeline to close them.
We set it up correctly from scratch — categories, attributes, services, photos, descriptions — and verify ownership. New profile setup is part of optimization; you don't pay extra for not having an existing listing.
Foundation accuracy and category corrections typically show visibility movement in 14–30 days post-execution. Bigger ranking changes — map-pack position, organic local — move over 60–90 days as Google re-indexes the listing. The verification scan at the end documents what moved, what didn't, and where ongoing management needs to keep pushing.
Yes — we operate the listing as a manager under your account, with you as primary owner. We become a manager, not the owner-of-record. You can revoke access at any time. We never use an agency-owned setup that puts your listing at risk if the relationship ends.
Reinstatement comes first. We've handled suspensions across dozens of categories and have the documentation playbook ready. Most resolve within 2–14 days. Optimization can't proceed on a suspended listing — reinstatement is Phase 0.
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