How to optimise your café's Google Maps profile, step by step
To improve your café's Google Maps profile, verify it, use the exact name on your sign, pick a specific primary category, keep your hours current (holidays included), upload real photos of the place, add your menu and reply to every review. It takes one afternoon to set up, then a few minutes a week.
In short
- Google ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence. You can't change distance; you can work on the other two.
- What matters most is in your hands: complete, correct details, real photos and answered reviews.
- There are no shortcuts: Google says you can't pay for a better local ranking, and keywords in your business name break its rules.
How does Google decide which café shows up first on Maps?
Google explains it in its own help centre: local results depend on three things (Google, "Tips to improve your local ranking"):
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone is searching for. A complete profile helps Google understand that you serve breakfast, have oat milk or a terrace.
- Distance: how far your café is from the person searching. You don't control this.
- Prominence: how well known your business is. Links from other websites and your number of reviews and ratings both count.
On the same page Google says you can't request or pay for a better position. So the work is the usual work: good information and happy customers who say so.
Where do I start if I've never touched my profile?
First, check the profile is yours. Look up your café on Google Maps. If you see an option to claim the business, someone else created the listing (sometimes a customer), and you need to claim and verify it. Verification tells Google you represent the business, which makes you more likely to appear in results.
Then sit down with your phone, open your profile as a customer would see it, and go through the checklist below.
What do I check, point by point? The full checklist
This is the same list we use when we review a café's profile. Copy it and tick as you go.
| What to check | How to tell it's right | What to do if it isn't |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Exactly what's on your sign, nothing added | Remove "specialty coffee Gràcia", hours or slogans. Google forbids them (guidelines) |
| Primary category | Describes what you are, not what you have: "Coffee shop", "Bakery", "Cafe" | Pick the most specific one and few extras (guidelines) |
| Address and pin | The pin is on your door, not the corner | Move the pin when editing the address |
| Hours | They match the sign on your door | Fix them today |
| Special hours | Holidays and closures are listed | Add them under "Special hours" (Google) |
| Phone and website | Someone answers the phone; the site (or your Instagram) loads on mobile | Use a number someone picks up |
| Attributes | Wi-Fi, terrace, vegan options, accessibility, card payments are ticked | Tick them in the info section |
| Menu | There's a menu with prices, in sections | Use the menu editor (Google) |
| Logo and cover | Both look sharp on a phone | Upload a square logo and a cover that shows the place |
| Photos | Storefront, counter, interior and your best sellers, some from this year | Take 10 new photos in good light |
| Reviews | Recent reviews have a reply | Reply to all of them, good ones too |
| Posts | There's a recent update | Post an update or offer once a month |
If three or more rows fail, that's this week's job.
Which photos should I upload, and how many?
Google doesn't set a number, but it does give guidance: photos in focus and well lit, without heavy filters, showing the business as it really is, and at least one of the storefront so people recognise you when they arrive (Google, Business Profile photos). Files should be JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, and the recommended resolution is 720 × 720 px.
For a café, a good first set is:
- The storefront in daylight, sign readable.
- The counter, with the machine and the pastry case.
- The tables, in natural light.
- Your signature coffee and your best-selling pastry.
- Something that sets you apart: the roaster, the terrace, fresh bread.
Photos can take 24 to 48 hours to appear, and they only show publicly once the profile is verified (Google).
Should I add keywords to my name to rank higher?
No. Google's guidelines say your name must match your real-world business name, as on your sign and website, and they forbid adding slogans, product descriptions, hours or location (Google, Business Profile guidelines). If you change "Café Lola" to "Café Lola, brunch and specialty coffee in Gràcia", you risk your profile being edited or suspended.
Those keywords belong in your business description, your menu and your attributes. There they do help relevance.
How do I handle reviews without breaking the rules?
Reply to all of them. Google recommends it to show you value customer feedback, and reviewers get a notification when you reply (Google, manage customer reviews). Two or three sentences with a name is enough: "Thanks, Marta, glad you liked the lemon cake. See you soon!"
Asking for reviews is allowed. What Google forbids is offering something in return (a discount, a free coffee) and asking only happy customers (Google, prohibited content). So no "five-star review = free croissant". Ask everyone, with no reward, at the moment they thank you.
How often do I need to update my profile?
Once it's set up, upkeep is short. One possible routine:
- Every week: reply to new reviews.
- Every month: one post (a seasonal pastry, an event, a menu change). Google archives posts older than six months unless you give them dates (Google, posts).
- Every season: new photos and a check of your special hours. Right now that means Christmas, New Year's Eve and Epiphany (6 January, a holiday in Spain).
A well-kept profile brings in people who don't know you yet. Getting them to come back is a different job: if that interests you, see how a loyalty card for cafés that lives in the customer's phone works.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Google Maps profile cost money?
No. Google Business Profile is free. And, according to Google, you can't pay to improve your position in local results (Google). Maps ads exist, but they're a separate thing.
How long until a change shows?
Photo and menu changes take 24 to 48 hours to appear (Google, photos; Google, menu). Moving up in results has no fixed timeline: it depends mostly on the reviews that come in.
Can I have my profile in Spanish and Catalan (or English)?
A profile has one name. Google's guidelines don't allow repeating the name in two languages (Google). Use the name on your sign, and write the description and posts in your customers' language.
What if someone already created my café's profile?
Claim it from the listing on Google Maps, using the option to claim the business, and follow the verification steps. Until it's verified, your photos won't show publicly (Google) and you can't manage the profile as the business.