Why the profile matters more than you think
When someone in Tampines searches “dentist near me” or someone in Tanjong Pagar searches “lunch near me”, Google shows a map with three businesses before any regular website result. Who gets into those three depends mainly on three things Google describes in its own help pages: relevance (does your profile clearly match the search), distance (how close you are to the searcher) and prominence (reviews, links, and how well-known the business is). You can’t move your shop, but relevance and prominence are almost entirely in your hands, and the profile is where most of that work happens.
Most Singapore profiles we look at were set up once, often by whoever opened the shop, and never touched again: one generic category, a handful of old photos, hours that are wrong over Chinese New Year, and reviews nobody replies to. That is the gap we close.
What we do on your profile
- Categories and servicesThe most specific primary category Google offers for what you do, the right secondary categories, and a full services or menu list written the way customers actually search.
- Name, address and phone, done rightYour real business name (no keyword stuffing, which Google’s guidelines prohibit and which can get a listing suspended), your unit number and six-digit postal code in the same format everywhere, and a phone number that is actually answered.
- Hours that are always trueRegular hours plus special hours for public holidays, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali closures, so customers don’t turn up to a closed shutter and leave a one-star review.
- Photos that sellShopfront (so people recognise you from the street or the mall corridor), interior, team, and your best products or work, refreshed regularly so the profile looks open and active.
- Booking, WhatsApp and website linksThe fastest route from “found you” to “contacted you”: a booking or appointment link where your system supports it, your website, and a clear way to message you.
- Posts and Q&ARegular updates on offers, new services and events, and answers to the questions people ask before they visit.
Reviews: the part that compounds
Reviews are the most visible trust signal on the map, and in Singapore people read them closely before choosing between two shops that are both a short MRT ride away. We set up a simple system you will actually use: a QR review card for your counter or receipt, a short message template for WhatsApp, and a habit of replying to every review, good or bad.
What we won’t do is anything Google’s review policies prohibit: no paying or rewarding customers for reviews, no asking only happy customers (“review gating”), and no fake reviews. Those shortcuts risk having reviews removed or the whole profile restricted, and they are not worth it.
Suspended, unverified or duplicate listings
A large part of our profile work is fixing problems, not just polishing. Common Singapore cases:
- Verification keeps failing, often because the video doesn’t show signage, the business inside, and proof you can access the premises in one take.
- The listing was suspended after an address change, a name edit, or because it uses a virtual office. Google’s guidelines don’t allow a profile at an address where you don’t actually serve customers or have staff during business hours, so a registered-office address alone won’t qualify.
- Duplicates created by a previous owner, an old agency or Google itself, splitting your reviews across two pins.
- Home-based and mobile businesses (aircon servicing, movers, home tutors, mobile beauty) that should be set up as a service-area business with the home address hidden, not shown on the map.
How we work
- Free health check. We review your profile, your ranking on a grid around your shop, and the three competitors outranking you, and send a written report within two business days.
- Fix and build. A fixed scope, quoted in SGD upfront: profile rebuilt, review system set up, duplicates and suspensions resolved where possible.
- Keep it active. Optional monthly management: posts, photos, review replies, Q&A and a simple ranking report by area.
If your website also needs work, see website design for Singapore SMEs; for the full map-ranking programme, see local SEO services. And if you want to understand the landscape first, our guide to local SEO in Singapore explains what Singapore searches reward.