Free Google listing checklist for Lawton businesses
A quick self-check of your Google Business Profile, plus plain steps to fix what's missing. Free, no signup.
The 3-point mini-audit
Open Google Maps on your phone, search your business name, open your listing and tick what's true. Your ticks stay on this page and aren't sent anywhere.
Every unticked box is a gap a customer can see. The checklist below shows how to fix each one.
Do-it-yourself checklist
Everything here is free and done in your own Google account. Google changes its menus from time to time, so button names may differ slightly.
- 1
Claim or create your listing
Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account that should own the listing. Search for your business. If it's already there, claim it, or request access if someone else already manages it. If it isn't, add it. Google will ask you to verify that you're the business, for example by video, phone, text, email or postcard. Which options you get is up to Google.
- 2
Set your address or service area
If customers come to you, show your address. If you go to them, like contractors, cleaners and mobile services, add the towns you serve, such as Lawton, Fort Sill, Cache and Elgin. A home-based business that doesn't serve customers at home can hide its address and show only its service area.
- 3
Hours
Add your regular opening hours. Use special hours for holidays and one-off closures, so nobody drives over to a locked door. If you're just opening, add your opening date.
- 4
Photos
Add a logo and a cover photo, then real photos: finished jobs, your trucks, your storefront, your food, your team. Phone photos in good light are fine. Skip stock images.
- 5
Website
Point the website field at a page that says what you do, where, and how to reach you. If Facebook is all you have, link your own Facebook page, not facebook.com, and consider a simple one-page site.
- 6
Description
Write a plain description of up to 750 characters: what you do, the areas you serve and what makes you different. No links, no ALL CAPS and no lists of keywords. Keep your business name exactly as it is on your sign.
- 7
Asking for reviews
From your profile, copy your review link (Google calls it "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews") and send it to every customer after a job. Ask everyone the same way. Google doesn't allow paying or offering discounts for reviews, or asking only happy customers. Reply to every review, briefly and politely, including the bad ones.
None of this guarantees a higher spot on Google, and nobody can promise that. It makes your listing complete and accurate, which is what customers see when they find you.
Common problems we see in Lawton
Patterns from local listings, with names left out.
A contractor posting before/after photos on Facebook, with no Google listing
People searching Google Maps for a contractor nearby never see that work, so they call a business that does show up.
A food truck whose listing still shows an old address after a move
Hungry customers follow the map to the old spot, find nothing there and eat somewhere else.
A new venue with an unclaimed listing: no hours, no photos, no reviews
With nothing to go on, people can't tell if it's open or worth the trip, so they pick a place that looks active.
A cleaning company with hours set but zero reviews and no website
Before letting someone into their home, people want reassurance. With no reviews and nowhere to learn more, they hire someone who has both.
Rather not deal with it?
One-time $149. You add us as a Manager on your profile, so we never need your password. We'll send a PayPal invoice after you add us as Manager.
We work through this whole list for you: categories, services, hours and holiday hours, description, 4 Google posts, replies to up to 20 reviews, a review-request link with a printable QR card, and a before/after scorecard. Done within 3 business days of getting Manager access. See everything included
Email us your Google Maps linkPrefer a form? Use the request form
Where we work
Lawton, Fort Sill, Cache, Elgin, Medicine Park and the rest of Comanche County. Based in Lawton, OK 73505.