If your website says one thing and your business listing says another, start by checking the facts a customer needs to contact or visit you: your name, phone number, location or service area, hours, services and website link. You can identify the most urgent inconsistencies in one short session. Correcting them may take longer, especially when you do not control a listing.
This check is designed for a small US or Canadian business with one location or service area. For several locations, run it separately for each. The goal is an accurate customer journey and a clear repair list—not a guaranteed ranking increase.
Minutes 0–4: write down the facts first
Open a blank document and record what is true today. Ask the person who answers customer enquiries to confirm your contact number and hours. Distinguish when customers can visit from when someone answers the phone or performs booked work.
Record your public business name, website, main contact number, customer-facing location or service area, ordinary hours, upcoming exceptions and three main services. Add the date and the name of the person checking it. Keep private addresses and customer records out of this document if you intend to share it with a supplier.
Do not start by copying a search result. An old listing may be the source of the problem you are trying to find.
Google asks businesses to use their real-world name and an accurate location or service area. Adding promotional keywords to a business name is not a substitute for describing services in the right fields. See Google’s business representation guidelines.
Minutes 4–9: compare the pages customers actually use
Check your Home, Contact and main service page. Then open your Google Business Profile as a customer would see it. If customers also use another map service or a specialist directory to find you, add that one to the first pass. You do not need to review every directory today.
Create a simple comparison table:
| Item | What is correct | Where it differs | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone | Your current public number | Old number on Contact | Ask website owner to correct |
| Hours | Confirmed customer hours | Listing shows old Saturday hours | Review and submit correction |
| Website | Current relevant page | Listing links to retired page | Replace link and test destination |
These are example discrepancies, not findings about a real client. Fill your own table with exact pages and observations. A screenshot with the check date can help someone else reproduce the issue.
Minutes 9–14: test the next customer action
Tap the telephone link on a mobile device and inspect the number before placing a call. Open the listing’s website link. Does it lead to the right business and location? Is the service mentioned in the listing actually explained on the page?
Check whether a visitor can tell if they should walk in, book first or request service at their own address. For a business that travels to customers, do not publish a private address simply to make every page identical; follow the platform’s service-area rules.
Look for material contradictions before cosmetic differences. An obsolete number or misleading opening time matters more to a customer than whether one directory abbreviates “Street.” This is a practical order of work, not a claim about how a search algorithm scores punctuation.
Minutes 14–18: assign the repairs
Give each issue an owner and a next action. Separate changes you can make on your website from edits a directory must review. Preserve legitimate differences, such as separate department numbers, with an explanation.
Prioritize information that could send someone to the wrong place, prevent contact or imply a service you no longer offer. Avoid creating another profile just because you cannot access an existing one; investigate ownership and the platform’s correction process first.
Google says complete, accurate business information helps local discovery, but local results also depend on factors including relevance, distance and prominence. Updating a phone number does not guarantee a particular position or an AI recommendation. See Google’s local ranking guidance.
Minutes 18–20: leave a repeatable checklist
- Confirm the current business facts with someone responsible for them.
- Compare the website and the listings customers use.
- Test the phone and website destinations.
- Log each material mismatch with its location and date.
- Assign an owner and a recheck date.
- Revisit public results after corrections are accepted.
Repeat the check when you move, change hours, change your phone number or add a service. Mark submitted edits as pending until you can see them publicly. Twenty minutes is a useful first pass, not a comprehensive visibility audit or a promise that platforms will process edits immediately.
If you want help turning the findings into priorities, explore Beacon or request a visibility check. Bring your business details and the discrepancies you found so the discussion starts with evidence.
Featured image: AI-generated illustrative image; not an actual client.