Google Business Profile Melbourne: The Complete Optimisation Guide

Why Your Google Business Profile Is Your Most Valuable Digital Asset

For Melbourne businesses that serve local customers, your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is more important than your website. That is not an exaggeration. When someone searches "plumber Richmond" or "dentist South Yarra", the Map Pack — those three local business listings at the top of Google Maps and Google Search results — captures 42% of all clicks. Your website's organic listing sits below it, fighting for what remains.

With 46% of all Google searches carrying local intent and 76% of people who search for a nearby business visiting within 24 hours, a fully optimised GBP can generate 30 to 50 calls per month for a well-positioned Melbourne business. That is leads you are not paying for with Google Ads, delivered month after month.

In 2026, the stakes are even higher. Google's AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT now pull information directly from Google Business Profiles when recommending local services. If your profile is incomplete, stale, or poorly categorised, AI systems skip you entirely.

How the Map Pack Actually Works: Three Ranking Factors

Understanding local SEO in Melbourne starts with the three core signals Google uses to rank local results, and understanding them is essential before you start optimising:

Relevance measures how closely your profile matches the search query. This is driven by your primary and secondary categories, service descriptions, and the keywords in your business description and reviews. A profile categorised as "Plumber" with detailed services listing "blocked drain clearing", "hot water system installation", and "gas fitting" will match more queries than one that simply says "Plumber" with no service detail.

Distance is how far your business is from the searcher. You cannot change your physical location — which is why Google Maps ranking is partly determined by geography — but you can optimise your service area settings and create suburb-specific content on your website that reinforces local SEO relevance for areas you serve.

Prominence reflects how well-known and trusted your business is online. This is where you have the most control: review count and quality, photo activity, post frequency, website authority, citation consistency, and overall online presence all feed into prominence. This is where Google Maps SEO efforts have the most impact — and where most Melbourne businesses underinvest.

Step 1: Categories — The Foundation of GBP Visibility

Your primary category is the single most influential field in your entire Google Business Profile. Get this wrong and nothing else matters.

Google offers over 4,000 business categories. Choose the one that most precisely describes what you do — not the broadest one. "Paediatric Dentist" outperforms "Dentist" for parents searching for children's dental care. "Emergency Plumber" captures different intent than "Plumbing Contractor."

You can add up to nine secondary categories. Use them to capture adjacent services. A Melbourne electrician might use:

Step 2: NAP Consistency — The Silent Ranking Killer

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. It must be identical — character for character — across your Google Business Profile, website, and every directory listing. "Suite 4, 120 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065" is a different citation to "4/120 Smith Street, Fitzroy, 3065" in Google's eyes.

Inconsistent NAP is the number one reason Melbourne businesses fail to rank in the Map Pack despite doing everything else right. AI search engines cross-reference your details across the web before recommending you. Mismatched data triggers verification failures that tank visibility.

Audit your NAP across these critical platforms: your website (header, footer, and contact page), Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places, TrueLocal, Yellow Pages Australia, Yelp Australia, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Every listing must match exactly.

Step 3: Service Descriptions That Rank

Most Melbourne businesses leave their GBP services section empty or fill it with generic one-liners. This is a missed opportunity. Google matches service descriptions directly to search queries.

For each service, write 150 to 300 words describing what you do, who it is for, and what makes your approach different. Include the natural language your customers use when searching.

Step 4: Photos — The Most Underestimated Ranking Signal

Google has confirmed that businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to their website. In 2026, Google's Vision AI actively scans uploaded photos to understand what services you provide, what your premises look like, and whether your business is active.

A Melbourne plumber who uploads a high-resolution photo of a completed heat pump installation may rank for "heat pump installer" searches even without that exact phrase in their text profile — because Google's AI identified the equipment in the image.

Upload at minimum: exterior photos (streetscape showing your signage), interior photos (workspace, showroom, treatment rooms), team photos (builds trust), work-in-progress and completed project photos, product or equipment photos. Add five to ten new photos per month. Businesses that stop uploading photos see ranking decay within 30 to 60 days as Google interprets inactivity as a negative signal.

Step 5: Reviews — The Competitive Battleground

In competitive Melbourne suburbs, the businesses ranking in the Map Pack typically have 150 to 300+ reviews at 4.7 stars or above. If you have 12 reviews at 4.3 stars, you are not in the game yet.

Review signals that Google weighs include total count, average rating, recency of new reviews, keywords mentioned in review text, and whether the business responds to reviews.

How to get more Google reviews systematically: Send an SMS with your direct Google review link two hours after every completed job — when satisfaction is highest. Use a simple message: "Thanks for choosing [Business Name] today! If you were happy with the service, a Google review helps other [suburb] residents find us: [link]." Aim for four to eight new reviews per month.

Always respond to every review, positive and negative. Google has confirmed that review responses are a ranking signal. Keep responses professional, mention the specific service performed (this adds keyword content), and thank the reviewer by first name.

Step 6: Google Posts — Weekly Activity Signal

Google Posts appear directly on your Business Profile and signal to Google that your business is active and engaged. Businesses that post weekly see measurably better Map Pack performance than those that post sporadically or not at all.

Post types that work well for Melbourne businesses: project completions with before-and-after photos, seasonal offers and promotions, industry tips relevant to your local audience, event announcements, team updates and milestones, and community involvement. Posts expire after seven days in terms of visibility, which is why weekly posting matters. Each post should include a call to action — "Call Now", "Book Online", or "Learn More" — linking to the relevant page on your website.

Step 7: Website Alignment — The Missing Link

Effective local SEO in Melbourne requires your Google Business Profile and website to work as a single system. Your GBP does not exist in isolation. Google cross-references your GBP against your website to verify claims and build confidence in your listing. Businesses whose website content aligns closely with their GBP data rank significantly higher.

Create dedicated service pages on your website that match your GBP service listings. If your GBP lists "blocked drain clearing" as a service, your website should have a page targeting "blocked drain clearing Melbourne" with 800 to 1,500 words of genuine expertise. Build suburb landing pages for every area you serve. Embed a Google Map on your contact page using your actual GBP listing. Include your exact NAP in your website's header or footer, schema markup, and contact page.

For Melbourne businesses serving multiple suburbs, this is particularly powerful. A Toorak dentist with suburb pages for South Yarra, Malvern, and Armadale — each referencing the local housing demographics and common dental needs — creates suburb-level relevance that generic competitors cannot match.

Step 8: GBP for AI Search in 2026

Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity now actively reference Google Business Profile and Google Maps data when answering local queries. When someone asks "best Italian restaurant in Carlton" or "emergency electrician near Hawthorn", AI systems evaluate your GBP completeness, review quality, and content freshness before including you in their response.

To optimise for AI citation: ensure your business description reads as a clear, factual summary of what you do and where (AI systems parse this directly). Use structured service descriptions with specific details rather than marketing language. Build a strong review profile — AI systems weight review sentiment and keyword mentions heavily. Keep your profile active with weekly posts and monthly photo uploads — AI systems deprioritise stale profiles.

Common GBP Mistakes Melbourne Businesses Make

After auditing hundreds of Google Business Profiles (and former Google My Business listings) across Melbourne, these are the errors we see most often:

Keyword-stuffing the business name. Adding "Best Plumber Melbourne" to your business name violates Google's guidelines and risks suspension. Use your real registered business name only.

Choosing overly broad categories. "Consultant" tells Google nothing. "Management Consultant" or "IT Consultant" gives you ranking eligibility for specific search queries.

Ignoring the Q&A section. Anyone can ask a question on your profile — and anyone can answer. Seed your own Q&A with the five most common questions you receive, and provide thorough answers. This pre-empts misinformation and adds keyword-rich content to your profile.

Set-and-forget management. A GBP optimised once and never touched again will lose ranking within months. Google rewards ongoing activity: fresh photos, new reviews, weekly posts, and updated service descriptions.

Inconsistent hours. If your hours on Google do not match your website or your actual opening times, Google reduces trust in your entire profile. Update hours for every public holiday — especially Melbourne Cup Day, AFL Grand Final eve, and Christmas through New Year.