Google Business Profile scorecard.
Thirteen checks on your Google Business Profile, weighted by what published ranking research found.
Answer thirteen questions
0 / 100
Answer the questions above to score the profile.
Where the evidence and the advice part company
Two published sources sit behind the weighting. Google's own documentation states that local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and recommends verifying the profile, keeping information complete and accurate, choosing categories carefully and managing reviews. It says nothing about posting frequency.
Separately, a panel of 47 invited local search practitioners scored 187 named factors for ranking impact, conversion impact and AI search visibility. Primary category came first of 187 for local pack ranking. Posting frequency came 148th, and 186th for local organic, filed under myths. The same panel put posting 78th for conversion.
That seventy place gap is the finding worth acting on. Posting barely helps you get found and plausibly helps you get chosen, so the reason to post is the buyer reading your profile, and a posting schedule aimed at rankings will disappoint you.
| Check | Group | Points | The fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is your primary category the most specific one that describes what you do? | Found | 18 | Search the category list for the process you actually run. Metal Finisher, Machine Shop, Anodizer, Plating Service, Heat Treating Service, and Metal Fabricator all exist. Change the primary category, and keep the generic one as a secondary. |
| Is the profile verified and claimed by somebody who still works there? | Found | 12 | Claim it, verify it, and add a second owner with an email address at your own domain, so one person leaving cannot lock you out. |
| Are your name, address and phone identical everywhere they appear online? | Found | 10 | Write the exact name, address, and phone in one document. Make the website footer, the profile, the directories, and the invoices match it exactly, down to whether it says Inc or Incorporated. |
| Have you added every secondary category that genuinely applies? | Found | 7 | Add the processes you genuinely run as secondary categories. Leave out any you do not run, since Google’s policies and your credibility both depend on it. |
| Are your services listed individually, in the words a buyer uses? | Found | 6 | List each process separately, such as zinc plating, passivation, anodizing, and heat treating. One entry called Manufacturing Services matches nothing a buyer searches for. |
| Are hours correct, including holidays and shift patterns? | Chosen | 8 | Set regular hours, then set special hours for every holiday at the start of the year. If you run more than one shift, say so in the description. |
| Are there recent photographs of your actual floor? | Chosen | 8 | Take ten photographs on the floor this week: machines running, parts in a tote, the inspection bench, and the building from the road. Add a few more every month. |
| Do you have reviews, and have you replied to all of them? | Chosen | 9 | Ask the three customers who like you most, by name, in a phone call. Reply to every review within a week, including the good ones. |
| Does the description state what you make, for whom, and to what standards? | Chosen | 6 | Write down your processes, materials, industries served, and certifications with their scope, and include the region you serve. Leave the adjectives out. |
| Do the profile links point at the most relevant page on your site? | Chosen | 5 | Point the website link at the most relevant page, and use the appointment or quote link field to send people straight to the quote form. |
| Do you post about real work, and expect it to help buyers choose you more than help you rank? | Maintained | 4 | Post when something real happens, such as a new machine, a certification renewal, or a job you can show. Posts like these help the buyer who is deciding whether to call you. |
| Have you answered the questions on the profile yourself? | Maintained | 4 | Read the questions section today and answer everything there. Then add and answer the four questions buyers actually ask, about minimums, lead times, certifications, and whether you quote small runs. |
| Does somebody check the profile on a schedule? | Maintained | 3 | Give one named person a quarterly reminder to check the category, the hours, the phone number, and whether a duplicate listing has appeared. |
Questions owners ask about Google Business Profile
What is the most important Google Business Profile ranking factor?
The primary category is the most important factor, by a wide margin. A panel of 47 local search practitioners scoring 187 named factors ranked primary category first of 187 for local pack ranking, the map results Google shows above the ordinary listings. For a manufacturer, this usually means changing a generic Manufacturer category to the specific one that names the process, such as Metal Finisher, Machine Shop, Anodizer, Plating Service, or Heat Treating Service. It takes two minutes, and nothing else on the profile moves visibility as much.
How often should a manufacturer post on Google Business Profile?
A manufacturer should post whenever there is real work to show, and expect those posts to help buyers choose you more than to help you rank. The same practitioner panel ranked posting frequency 148th of 187 factors for local pack ranking and 186th for local organic results, filing it under myths. It also ranked posting 78th for conversion, a gap of seventy places. The reading that fits both findings is that posting barely helps you get found and plausibly helps you get chosen, so posts about a new machine, a certification renewal, or a finished job are the ones worth making.
Does a Google Business Profile matter for a manufacturer with no walk-in trade?
Yes, it matters, because a large share of industrial work is bought inside a freight radius, and Google publishes distance as one of its three local ranking factors. A plant manager with a stopped line searching for sorting or containment support is running a local search, whether or not anyone would call it one. The profile also carries your name, address, and phone in a form that search engines and AI assistants use to match your company to a place.
What are Google’s stated local ranking factors?
Google’s own documentation names three: relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance is how well the profile matches what was searched, distance is worked out from the address, and prominence reflects how well known the business is. The documentation goes on to recommend verifying the profile, keeping information complete and accurate, choosing categories carefully, and managing reviews. It does not mention posting frequency.
How many reviews does a manufacturer need?
A manufacturer needs fewer reviews than you might think, because industrial companies collect almost none. A handful of genuine reviews moves you further in this category than dozens would in a consumer one. Ask the three customers who like you most, by name, in a phone call, and reply to every review, including the good ones.
What breaks a Google Business Profile over time?
Most often it is people leaving. The profile stays verified to someone who no longer works there, and nobody else can edit it. After that come edits that users suggest to your hours or categories, duplicate listings after a move or an acquisition, and a phone number that changed everywhere except on the profile. A quarterly check by one named person catches all of it.
Who made it, and what it does not do
This tool was written by Shopfloor Agency's lead engineer, who holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and builds websites for US manufacturers. It runs entirely in your browser.
This is the one tool here whose weights come from judgment, where the others are pure arithmetic. The weights follow two published sources, Google's own documentation and a practitioner panel of 47 people scoring 187 factors, and a practitioner survey is expert opinion more than controlled measurement. Local ranking also depends heavily on where the searcher is standing and how competitive your area is, and a scorecard cannot see either. Use it to find what is missing from your profile. It cannot predict where you will rank.
If you spot an error, tell us, and we will correct the page and note the change.
We build websites for the shops that use tools like this.
We work only with US manufacturers and industrial service companies, so you never have to explain your trade. A website is a fixed $6,000, and the source code is yours at launch. Tell us what you make and who buys it, and we will reply with the scope and a delivery date.