How do reviews and business details support local visibility?
Keep business details accurate and help customers with genuine reviews, without buying or manipulating them.
Customers move between your website, Maps and other business listings. Conflicting hours or phone numbers can stop them contacting you even when they find you.
The basics to remember
- Maintain accurate names, addresses, phone numbers and hours. Accuracy matters, rather than making every punctuation mark match a supposed ranking format.
- Reviews should reflect genuine experiences. You can invite honest feedback, but cannot offer discounts or gifts for reviews or selectively invite only people likely to leave positive ones.
- Helpful public replies show how you handle feedback. Google local search considers several factors, including reviews; a few reviews cannot be converted into a fixed ranking improvement.
See Google: Maps fake engagement policy and Google: Getting more reviews .
Walk through an example
| Check | Before (hypothetical) | After or appropriate action |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | Different on the website and Maps | Update both to the actual number |
| Review invitation | Discount for five stars | Invite honest feedback without rewards |
| Hours | Changed but not updated elsewhere | Update the main places customers check |
Suppose the shop stops opening on Sundays. Update the website and Google Business Profile, then check commonly used listings to reduce wasted visits based on old hours.
Common misunderstandings
Displaying a review on your own website does not add a Google Maps review. Negative reviews do not necessarily break the rules and cannot be removed simply because you dislike them.
See also Google: Local ranking .
Read next
- What should your Google Business Profile include?
- Search and discovery: all modules
- SiteMonk technical SEO standards
Official sources checked on October 2, 2026. Tables and scenarios are illustrative, not real business results.