A Google Business Profile is free, and anyone you add can keep it up to date. What matters is who has time to do it every week, and how to let them in without giving up control.

Owner, staff or agency

Doing it yourself

For plenty of firms this is fine. If you get a few reviews a month and your hours rarely change, you don't need to pay anyone. The trouble comes in a busy month, when reviews sit unanswered and holiday hours never go up.

Someone on staff

An office manager or whoever answers the phones can do it well. Give them Manager access on their own Google account and put the profile on their weekly list. When they leave, remove them that week. Their replies and posts stay up.

An agency

Paying for help makes sense when reviews come in every week, when you have several practitioners or locations, or when nobody in-house has the hours. Google's rules for agencies that manage profiles make a good test for anyone you hire. You keep ownership, the agency tells you about every change it makes, and it hands back full control within 7 business days of you asking. If it charges a fee, it also has to tell you the profile itself is free.

How to give someone access safely

A Business Profile has two roles. Owners have full control. Managers can edit the profile, reply to reviews and post, but can't add or remove people or delete the profile. There can be several owners but only one primary owner.

  • Make sure the primary owner is you, on a Google account the business controls. If a former employee or an old agency holds the profile, you can request ownership through Google, and the current owner has 3 days to respond.
  • Add a second owner you trust, such as a partner, so one lost login can't lock the firm out.
  • Invite everyone else as a Manager: open Business Profile settings, then People and access, then Add, and choose Manager.
  • Never hand over your Google account password, which usually unlocks your email and files too. Each person signs in with their own account, and Google's agency policy tells agencies not to share passwords.
  • Remove people when the work ends. Only owners can, which is another reason the owner should be you.

If you sell the firm, transfer primary ownership instead of starting a new profile, so the reviews stay with it. Allow a week: new owners and managers can't transfer primary ownership or remove other users for their first 7 days.

What should happen each week

  • Every new review gets a reply, good or bad, with no private details about the client.
  • Every customer from the week gets the same short message with your review link or QR code. Ask all of them, not only the ones who seemed happy.
  • One post about real work, with a photo from the job, the office or the team.
  • Hours, phone, services and categories checked against your website. Google also takes in suggestions from the public, so details can change without anyone at the firm touching them.

What should happen each month

  • Where you show in the map pack for the searches that bring you work.
  • The profile's own numbers, like calls, website clicks and direction requests, against last month. Google says you have a right to see them when someone else manages the profile.
  • The People and access list checked, and anyone who has left removed.
  • Holiday hours set ahead of time.
  • A written note of what changed and why. Google requires agencies to report every change, and it's a good habit in-house too.

Red flags

These shortcuts get reviews removed and profiles suspended. If anyone suggests one, say no.

  • Fake reviews: bought, posted from several accounts by one person, or written by staff or family. Google's content policy counts current or former employment and family ties as conflicts of interest.
  • Payment, discounts or free services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a bad one.
  • Review gating, where a tool asks customers to rate you first and sends only the happy ones to Google. Google doesn't allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews, discourage negative ones, or pressure people to review you while they're on your premises.
  • Keywords stuffed into the business name. "Smith Plumbing | Emergency Plumber Toronto" isn't a name. Google's guidelines say the name should match your sign, website and stationery, and extra words can get the profile suspended.
  • Fake addresses: a virtual office, a P.O. box, a co-working desk with no sign and no staff, or an "office" in a city where you have none. If you travel to clients and don't serve them at your address, Google says to hide the address and set a service area instead.
  • An agency that wants your password, wants to be the owner, promises the top spot or won't give the profile back. Google says the business must keep ownership, and that no third party can promise a ranking.

When we do it for you

Our Get found locally plan is $750 a month, three-month minimum, billed monthly. You stay the owner and add us as a Manager. Each week we reply to every review, post about real work with photos, check your services, hours and categories against your website, and track where you show in the map pack. You get a short link and message to send customers after a job, and a written report and a call every month. We never write, buy or filter reviews.

The Google Business Profile management page has the full list, and what local SEO costs per month compares it with our larger plan. If your profile needs only light upkeep, you may not need us. The free visibility check shows which firms ChatGPT and Google name for your service and city. Toronto firms can also read about local SEO in Toronto.

Questions owners ask

Can I manage my Google Business Profile myself?

Yes. The profile is free, and if reviews are few and your details rarely change, you can keep up with it yourself. Bring in help when the weekly work stops getting done.

Should my agency be an owner or a manager?

A manager. Google's policy for agencies says the business must keep ownership at all times, and that an agency should ask to be invited as a manager. Managers can do all the weekly work but can't add or remove people or delete the profile.

Is it safe to give someone my Google password?

No. Add them as a user so they sign in with their own Google account. You can remove them at any time without changing your password.

Can anyone guarantee a top spot in the map pack?

No. Google says third parties can't promise or directly influence where a business ranks on Search or Maps. A good manager keeps the profile accurate, answers every review, and shows you every month where you appear.

What does Locally Visible charge to manage a Google Business Profile?

Get found locally is $750 a month, three-month minimum, billed monthly. It covers weekly management of your profile, review replies and listing updates, weekly map-pack tracking, and a written report and a call every month. Prices are in Canadian dollars, before tax.