Phase 1 — Claim it right

The foundation; get this wrong and everything else wobbles

Search Google Maps for your business first
Claim the existing listing instead of creating a duplicate. Duplicates split your reviews and confuse Google — one listing, one source of truth.
Pick the correct primary category
This decides which searches you show up for, so choose the category that describes what you are, not everything you do. Add two or three secondary categories for the rest.
Use your real-world business name
Exactly as it appears on your signage and license. Keyword-stuffed names ('Best Plumber Singapore Cheap') get suspended — and appeals take weeks.

Phase 2 — Get verified

Usually the slowest step; prepare once, pass first time

Complete video verification
This is the default method now. Film in one continuous take: your storefront signage, business license or registration documents, and your work equipment or stock. Have everything in one place before you start recording.
Service-area business? Hide your address
If customers don't come to you — plumbers, cleaners, mobile services — hide the address and set your service areas instead. Showing a home address you don't want public is a privacy problem, not a ranking tactic.

One focused afternoon

Fill every field: hours, phone, website, description
Including holiday hours — 'hours unknown' on a public holiday costs you the exact customers who checked. The 750-character description should say what you do and who it's for, plainly.
Add your services and products with prices
Where it makes sense, list what you sell with real prices. It pre-qualifies callers and keeps the price-shoppers from wasting your time.
Tick the attributes that apply
Women-led, wheelchair accessible, LGBTQ+ friendly, and the rest. They're filters in search — free visibility for traits you already have.
Upload real photos — exterior, interior, team at work
Google ranks listings with genuine photos above stock-photo ones, and customers trust them more. Minimum useful set: storefront exterior, interior, your team working, plus your logo and a cover photo.

Ongoing; about 15 minutes a month once set up

Ask for reviews at the right moment
Grab your review link from the profile dashboard and ask right after a happy transaction — not weeks later in a bulk email. Timing beats volume.
Respond to every review, including the bad ones
Short, specific, no defensiveness. Future customers read your responses more carefully than the reviews themselves — this is public customer service.
Seed the Q&A with your five most-asked questions
Ask and answer them yourself before customers ask worse versions. An empty Q&A section is an invitation for competitors and trolls.
Post once a month: one offer, one update, one event
Stale profiles drift down in local results. A monthly post signals the business is alive — it takes five minutes.
Check insights monthly
What people searched, where they found you, and what they clicked. If 'calls' is flat while views grow, your photos or reviews need work, not your ranking.