This Google Business Profile audit is a guided self-check. Open your practice's public profile in another tab, answer 13 questions, and get a 0–100 score weighted by impact plus a list of fixes in priority order. It doesn't read your profile for you and asks for no account access. No patient information is entered or stored.
Audit your profile
- Search for your practice on Google or Google Maps and open its profile in a separate tab, the way a patient would see it.
- Answer each item above Yes, No or Not sure. "Not sure" counts as a fix, because a patient can't be sure either.
- Watch the score update, then work down the Fix these first list.
Your answers stay in this browser. Searches for this are few, "google business profile audit" gets 140 US searches a month and "google business profile checker" 40, but advertisers pay about $18.23 a click to reach them (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026), usually to sell profile management.
What the audit checks
| Group | Item | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Basics | Name matches your signage, with no keywords or cities added | 10 |
| Basics | The most specific primary category | 12 |
| Basics | Address and phone match your website and listings | 10 |
| Basics | Website link goes to the right location page | 6 |
| Basics | Regular and holiday hours are current | 8 |
| Content | Services list the treatments you want found | 8 |
| Content | Factual description, no links or promotions | 4 |
| Content | Real photos, no patients without authorization | 6 |
| Content | A working booking or request link | 6 |
| Reviews | A steady stream, including the last 90 days | 10 |
| Reviews | Replies never confirm the reviewer is a patient | 8 |
| Listings | No duplicates; practitioner listings follow Google's rules | 8 |
| Listings | Verified, and owned by the practice | 4 |
Each rule traces to Google's guidelines (opens in a new tab): "Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted"; choose categories "as specific as possible, but representative of your main business"; use a phone number "that connects to your individual business location"; and "do not create more than one page for each location of your business." Using a patient's photo or story in marketing generally requires their HIPAA authorization under 45 CFR 164.508 (opens in a new tab).
How the score is calculated
The 13 weights add up to 100. A Yes earns the item's full weight; No and Not sure earn nothing. The score is the total, shown green at 80 or above, amber from 50 and red below.
The fix list is sorted by weight, so a wrong primary category (12) comes before a weak description (4). The score measures how closely your profile follows Google's guidelines; it doesn't predict rankings. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and "there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." (opens in a new tab)
The fixes that usually matter most
- Primary category. Pick the most specific one that's true for your whole practice, and add secondary categories only for services you provide.
- Name. Your real-world name only. "Riverside Family Dental" is a name; "Riverside Family Dental – Best Dentist Austin" breaks the rules.
- Name, address and phone. Identical, character for character, on the profile, your website footer and major directories.
- Holiday hours. Google lets you set special hours (opens in a new tab) and recommends confirming them for official holidays even when they match your regular schedule.
- Reviews. Ask every patient the same way; Google prohibits incentives (opens in a new tab). Our review link generator gives you the direct link. Reply without confirming anyone is a patient.
- Practitioner listings. Google treats doctors and dentists as individual practitioners who may have their own profile when they're public-facing. A solo practitioner's brand should share one profile, named "[brand]: [practitioner name]". Remove duplicates.
Our Google Business Profile guide explains each area, the optimization checklist turns it into tasks, and our summary of Google's guidelines covers the rules in full.
What a public audit can't see
A look at the public profile can't show who controls it. Check that someone at the practice holds the primary owner (opens in a new tab) role; managers can edit almost everything but can't add or remove users. Performance data, pending edits and messages are only visible when you're signed in.
This self-check also depends on your answers. The full free marketing audit reads your public Google listing automatically and scores it alongside your website, SEO, AI visibility, social and ads, with your top five fixes. Medfy's dashboard brings Business Profile reporting together with Search Console and Google Analytics; Medfy doesn't manage your profile or your reviews. More free marketing tools cover reviews, budgets and your website.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Google Business Profile audit check?
This one checks 13 items in four groups: basics (name, primary category, address and phone match, website link, hours), content (services, description, photos, booking link), reviews (recent volume and privacy-safe replies) and listings (duplicates, practitioner profiles, verification and ownership). Each item is weighted by impact, and the result is a 0–100 score with fixes in priority order.
Do I need to give access to my Google account?
No. The self-check asks for no Google access: you look at your public profile in another tab and answer the questions yourself, and your answers stay in your browser. The free marketing audit also works from public information only. If an agency needs to edit your profile, give it manager access and keep someone at the practice as the primary owner.
How often should a practice audit its profile?
Quarterly is a sensible rhythm, plus after any change to your hours, address, phone, providers or services, and before major holidays so special hours are set in time. Google recommends confirming hours for official holidays even when they match your regular schedule. Re-check ownership whenever you change agencies, so the practice still controls the profile.