If you set up your Google Business Profile a year or two ago and have not revisited it since, there is a good chance your profile is missing things that now affect your ranking -- and doing a few things that no longer matter.
Google Business Profile (GBP) has gone through a series of significant changes in the last twelve to eighteen months. Some features have been removed. New requirements have been added. The ranking signals have shifted. And the way your profile appears in search results has changed in ways that are not obvious unless you have been watching closely.
This post covers the specific changes that affect service businesses the most -- trades contractors, cleaning companies, landscapers, trucking operations -- and what to do about each one.
The biggest change: AI-generated business summaries
When someone searches for your business or category on Google, they may now see an AI-generated summary of your business rather than (or in addition to) your standard profile description. Google's AI reads your profile description, your reviews, your website content, and other available information about your business, and it synthesizes a short paragraph that appears at the top of your profile.
You do not write this summary. Google generates it. What you can do is influence it by making sure the content it is reading is accurate, detailed, and consistent.
If your business description on GBP is sparse -- "We provide plumbing services in Wilmington NC" -- the AI does not have much to work with. If your website has detailed pages about your services, your process, your licensing, and your service area, the AI has better raw material and tends to generate a more accurate and useful summary.
The practical implication: your website content now feeds your GBP appearance more directly than before. A thin website hurts your profile even if your profile itself is filled out. A well-built service website is no longer just a conversion tool -- it is core infrastructure for how Google represents your business.
Video verification is now required for many accounts
Until recently, most businesses could verify their Google Business Profile through a postcard mailed to their business address. That option has been reduced significantly. For service-area businesses -- businesses that go to the customer rather than having customers come to them, including most HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and cleaning companies -- Google now commonly requires video verification.
Video verification means you record a short video (typically 30 to 60 seconds) showing your business location or vehicle, your equipment, any signage, your face, and proof of your license or business registration. Google's reviewers watch the video and approve or reject the verification.
If you are trying to create a new GBP listing or you have been asked to re-verify an existing one, you will likely encounter this. The Google Business Profile help center has the current guidance on verification methods.
This change was introduced to reduce the number of fake business listings -- a significant problem where scammers created fictitious local businesses to capture search traffic. The downside for legitimate small businesses is that verification now takes more effort. The upside is that it is harder for fake competitors to outrank you.
The Q and A feature is gone
Google removed the Q and A feature from Google Business Profile in late 2025. This was the section where anyone could ask a question publicly on your profile and you or other users could answer it.
If you had invested time answering questions there, that content is no longer publicly visible through your profile. The practical response is to move that question-and-answer content to an FAQ page on your website, where it will still be indexed by Google and now more directly feeds your AI-search visibility as well.
Behavioral signals are weighted more heavily now
In previous versions of Google's local ranking algorithm, the primary signals were relevance (does your profile match what was searched), distance (how close is the business to the searcher), and prominence (how well-known is your business, measured partly by links and review volume).
In 2026, behavioral signals have moved up in importance. These are signals derived from how people actually interact with your profile:
- How often do people click your phone number
- How often do people request directions
- How often do people visit your website from your profile
- How often do people view your photos
- How often do people click to book an appointment
A profile that gets viewed but not clicked -- because the description is generic, the photos are dated, or there is no clear call to action -- will now trend down in rankings relative to a comparable competitor whose profile drives engagement.
The response is partly about content quality -- better photos, a more specific description, a current service list -- and partly about making sure your profile gives people something to do. A booking link (pointing to your online booking system or a contact form) gives GBP a measurable engagement signal that a profile with no booking link cannot produce.
Photos and freshness matter more than before
Google's current guidance, and the behavior observed by local SEO practitioners tracking ranking changes in 2025-2026, indicates that profiles that go more than 30 days without new photo uploads or posts tend to see ranking declines relative to competitors who are posting regularly.
This does not mean you need to run a marketing campaign through your GBP. It means that uploading a few job photos every couple of weeks -- photos of completed work, your vehicle on a job site, your crew -- signals to Google that the business is active and current.
Google Posts (short updates, offers, or announcements you can publish to your profile) also count as freshness signals and can be set up in about five minutes. They disappear after seven days unless you re-publish, which provides an easy cadence for maintaining activity.
How reviews interact with the AI layer
The review threshold for serious local competition has moved. A year ago, having 20 or 30 reviews at a 4.5-star average was generally enough to compete in most markets outside major cities. In 2026, as AI Overviews and AI Mode begin synthesizing local recommendations from multiple signals, businesses with higher review counts have an observable advantage.
What research from local SEO tracking firms suggests: 30 or more reviews at a 4.3 or higher rating appears to be a minimum floor for appearing in AI-generated local recommendations. In competitive markets or for high-value categories (HVAC, roofing, emergency plumbing), 100 or more reviews is becoming the threshold for strong AI visibility.
The review platforms that matter most: Google first. After that, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Houzz (for home services), and any industry-specific directory relevant to your category. AI systems cross-reference across platforms, so volume on a single platform matters less than a consistent positive presence on several.
One change worth noting: your responses to reviews are now being processed by Google's AI along with the review text itself. A business that responds to every review -- positive and negative -- with specific, substantive language is giving the AI more context about how the business operates. A business that never responds or uses the same generic template for every response provides very little additional signal.
Your service list needs to match what you actually offer
Google now generates service recommendations based on the service types listed in your profile. If you offer air conditioning repair but your GBP only lists "HVAC Services" as a broad category without the specific service listed, you may not surface when someone searches specifically for "AC repair" in your area.
Go into your profile's services section and make sure each specific service you provide is listed. For a plumbing company, this means individual listings for water heater replacement, drain cleaning, leak detection, emergency plumbing, and so on -- not just "Plumbing." For a cleaning company, it means residential cleaning, commercial cleaning, post-construction cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, and any other specific service you offer.
This is one of the fastest GBP improvements most businesses can make, and it is often overlooked because the profile appeared complete when first set up.
The profile suspension problem
Google has been significantly more aggressive about suspending Business Profiles that violate its guidelines. The most common triggers in 2025-2026: using a virtual office address, using a PO box as a business address, having a business name that does not match your legal or commonly used business name, and having a service area so large it covers dozens of cities without any physical presence to justify it.
If your profile gets suspended, the recovery process involves submitting a reinstatement request with documentation proving your business is legitimate. The Google Business Profile support center has the current reinstatement process outlined. Resolution typically takes one to three weeks and can result in extended ranking loss even after reinstatement.
Avoiding suspension is much easier than recovering from it. If your profile setup involves any shortcuts -- an address that is not genuinely yours, a business name with extra keywords, a service area that covers territory you cannot realistically serve -- correct those now.
What to actually do this month
Audit your verification status. Log into your GBP account and confirm your profile shows as verified. If it is showing a verification request or a suspended status, address that first.
Update your service list. Go through every service type you offer and make sure it is individually listed in your profile's services section with a specific name and short description.
Upload new photos. Add at least five to ten new photos of recent work, your vehicle, or your team. Plan to add photos every two to three weeks going forward.
Write a real business description. If your current description is one or two generic sentences, rewrite it to specifically describe your most important services, your service area cities, and what sets you apart. Aim for three to four sentences.
Set a review request process. Whether it is a text message you send after every completed job or a physical card you hand customers, make it part of your standard process to ask for Google reviews.
Link your website. If your website URL is not in your profile, add it. If the page it links to is your homepage and your homepage does not have detailed service information, that is a website problem to address as well.
None of these steps require paying anyone. They are table stakes for competing in local search in 2026. The businesses that do them consistently -- not perfectly, just consistently -- are the ones that appear when customers search.
If you want to know where your GBP stands relative to local competitors, or if you need a website that actually supports and strengthens your profile rather than undermining it, we can show you what that looks like.
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