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If you’ve ever felt confident because your Google Business Profile says “Looks good”?
You might be in for a rude awakening.
After analyzing millions of data points from thousands of Google profiles, we discovered something surprising (and a bit alarming):
That “profile strength” meter in your GBP dashboard?
It’s basically meaningless.
Let’s unpack why, and what matters if you want to rank higher on Google Maps.
The Green Circle Myth
When you log into your Google Business Profile, you’ve probably seen a green progress ring labeled Profile Strength. Maybe it’s marked as “Good” or “Complete.”
Sounds promising, right?
Here’s the problem: That meter only checks for the most basic info, like if you’ve added your phone number, one photo, and your operating hours.
That’s it.
Meanwhile, just inches below the “complete” status, Google is often telling you to:
- Set up a booking link
- Get more reviews
- Add your business directions widget to your website
- Complete your profile to convert better
So, which is it? Is your profile complete or not?
The truth: Google’s profile strength meter just means you’ve started, not that you’re optimized.
So, What Does Matter?
There’s a hidden section in your GBP dashboard that holds the real gold. Look for the carousel of suggestion cards, those rotating tips just below your profile overview. That’s where Google quietly tells you exactly what you should be doing to improve your visibility.
Here’s what shows up there:
- Add booking links
- Improve photo quantity and quality
- Embed Google widgets on your website
- Encourage and manage reviews
- Enable address autocomplete
Each of these tasks directly ties into user experience and search performance, the two things Google cares most about.
👉 Bottom line: The green circle might say “complete,” but unless these deeper steps are done, your profile isn’t really optimized, and your rankings will reflect that.
Use Our Free Tool To Build Your GBP Profile Optimization Plan
We built a tool to help you cut through the noise and know exactly what matters for real-world rankings.
Our tool analyzes 16+ key areas of your profile and gives you a score based on what impacts your local SEO.
Most “complete” profiles we audit score just 40% optimized. That’s a huge gap between looking done and being done.
With this tool, you’ll know:
- What Google sees as missing
- Where your profile falls short
- What changes will have the biggest impact
And yes, it’s free.
If you’re an agency, you can even white-label this audit tool and embed it on your website to win clients.
Or, skip the manual work altogether and automate it with Paige
If you want your profile to:
- Rank higher for your target keywords
- Stay updated without logging in every week
- Automate posts, photos, reviews, and audits…
Meet Paige, your AI-powered Google Business Profile assistant.
Here’s what Paige does for you:
- Automatically posts to GBP, Facebook, and Instagram
- Replies to reviews (and sounds human doing it)
- Optimizes and geotags images
- Write keyword-rich content with your city names
- Builds citations to boost local rankings
- Audits your rankings and shows progress with heatmaps
It’s like having a full-time local SEO expert working behind the scenes, without lifting a finger.
Before vs. After: The Real Impact
Let’s say your current profile strength says “Looks Good,” but your GMB Audit score is 43%. After implementing the suggestions:
- You improve photo quality and quantity
- You add booking links and widgets to your site
- You generate 5+ new keyword-rich reviews
- You post geo-optimized content every week
In 30–60 days, your heatmap flips from red to green.
Your rankings rise.
Your calls increase.
Your foot traffic grows.
And you would have missed out on all of that if you implicitly trusted that green "profile strength" meter.
Final Thoughts
Here’s the real takeaway. if you’re relying on the profile strength meter to tell you if you’re done, you’re already falling behind.
Instead, focus on:
- The actionable prompts Google gives you
- A true audit of your optimization score
- Tools like Paige that take care of it all
Want to know how your profile stacks up?
Run a free GMB audit here
Want to automate your way to the top?
Start using Paige for just $1
Don’t let a green circle lull you into a false sense of security. Optimize for what matters.
