What is a GMB audit?
A GMB audit (Google My Business audit, now called a Google Business Profile audit) is a structured review of the listing that shows up when people search for your business or your services on Google Search and Google Maps. It checks whether your profile is complete, active and trusted — and, more importantly, how it stacks up against the businesses that already rank in the local 3-pack.
Most profiles don't lose rankings because of one big mistake. They slip behind slowly: competitors collect reviews faster, reply to customers sooner, post more often and add more photos. A good GBP audit makes those gaps visible, puts a number on them and tells you which ones to fix first.
How Google ranks local businesses on Maps
Google says local results are based mainly on three factors. A GMB audit tool should measure the ones you can influence:
- Relevance — how well your profile matches the search. Categories, services, products, attributes and your business description drive this.
- Distance — how far your business is from the searcher. You can't change it, which is why the other two factors matter so much.
- Prominence — how well-known and trusted your business is. Review count, rating, review velocity, responses, photos and activity all feed prominence.
WhatMyRank scores 14 signals across relevance and prominence for you and your competitors, so you can see exactly where the ranking gap comes from.
Google Business Profile audit checklist
Whether you audit manually or with a tool, these are the checks that move Google Maps rankings the most:
- Primary and secondary categories match the searches you want to rank for.
- Reviews: total count, how many you get each month, rating trend and sentiment compared with competitors.
- Review responses: reply rate and speed — unanswered reviews signal an inactive business.
- Google Posts: regular updates, offers and events keep the profile fresh.
- Photos: owner and customer photos, uploaded consistently.
- Products and services: complete catalogue with keyword-relevant names.
- Attributes, hours and contact details: complete and consistent with your website.
- Suspension risk: keyword-stuffed names, virtual addresses or policy issues that can get a profile suspended.
GMB audit vs. a full local SEO audit
A local SEO audit looks at everything that affects local visibility — your website, citations, backlinks and your Google Business Profile. A GMB audit zooms in on the profile itself. Because your Google Business Profile is the single biggest driver of Map Pack visibility, it's the fastest place to find wins: most fixes take minutes and need no developer.
What to fix first after your audit
Start with the gaps that are cheapest to close and have the biggest effect on prominence:
- Reply to every unanswered review, then keep a 48-hour response habit.
- Fix categories and add missing services and products.
- Start a steady review request routine to close the review gap with the leader.
- Publish at least one Google Post a week and add fresh photos monthly.
Your WhatMyRank report turns this into a week-by-week plan specific to your profile and competitors.
How often should you audit your Google Business Profile?
Run a GBP audit every month while you're actively optimising, and at least once a quarter after that. Competitors don't stand still, so re-auditing after you finish the 4-week plan is the simplest way to measure progress and catch new gaps early.