Unclaimed #6: Google Published a Playbook. I've Audited 278 Accounting Firms. Most Haven't Read It
Google published a playbook for how to optimize your Business Profile.
It's free. It's official. It's step-by-step. It comes directly from the source.
I've audited 278 accounting firms. Almost none of them have read it.
This isn't speculation. Google literally tells businesses exactly what to do. The playbooks are publicly available. They cover every element of a Business Profile — categories, descriptions, hours, photos, posts, reviews, services, attributes, bookings, chat. Everything.
And yet when I open an accounting firm's Google Business Profile, here's what I typically find:
Zero description. One or two categories of ten available. No services listed. Zero photos or the default street view. No posts. Reviews unanswered. Hours possibly wrong. "Claim this business" still visible.
The playbook exists. The execution doesn't.
What's in the playbook
Google's Service Business Playbook is a comprehensive guide covering every element of your profile. Here are the highlights — and how accounting firms measure up.
Business Category
What Google says: Select the right primary category. Add up to 9 secondary categories. Categories tell Google exactly what your business does and determine which searches you appear in.
What I see: Most accounting firms use 4-5 of their 10 available slots. That's 5-6 types of searches they're invisible for. Some firms have no category set at all — Google literally doesn't know what they are.
Business Description
What Google says: A concise overview of your business, its offerings, and what makes it unique. 750 characters. You can even use AI to generate one based on your website.
What I see: Blank. On almost every profile I audit. The About page on the firm's website has paragraphs of carefully written copy. The GBP description field is empty. Not one sentence.
Business Hours
What Google says: Specify your operating times, including holiday hours. 96% of customers are more likely to visit a business that displays hours of operation.
What I see: "Open 24 hours" on accounting firms. Configuration errors that make professional services look unprofessional. Holiday hours never updated. Prospects drive to closed offices.
Photos & Videos
What Google says: Businesses with photos receive 42% more direction requests and 35% more website clicks. 90% of people are more likely to visit if you have photos.
What I see: Zero photos on most accounting firm profiles. The firm has 50 staff, a beautiful office, team events — and their GBP shows a gray placeholder icon.
Google Posts
What Google says: Publish timely updates, offers, or events. Post at least once a week. Use Updates, Events, and Offers. Include keywords and visuals.
What I see: Zero posts. Ever. On profiles that have existed for years. The last update was a Christmas message from 2019, still sitting there in June.
Reviews
What Google says: Respond to reviews — both positive and negative. 91% of consumers use reviews to evaluate businesses. 65% are more likely to choose a business that responds.
What I see: Reviews from years ago. Detailed, personal, five-star testimonials. Not one reply. Not a single "thank you." Or worse — the profile is unclaimed, so they literally cannot respond.
Services
What Google says: A comprehensive list of offerings with descriptions and pricing builds immediate customer trust. 1 in 3 customers check offerings before contacting.
What I see: Services listed clearly on the website. Audit. Tax. Bookkeeping. Payroll. Corporate finance. None of them ticked on the Google profile. Prospects searching for specific services find competitors who bothered to list them.
Social Links
What Google says: Link your social media profiles. 20% of customers check social media before visiting a business.
What I see: The firm is active on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. None of it linked on Google. The cross-platform presence is invisible.
Bookings & Chat
What Google says: Add booking links. Add WhatsApp or SMS chat. 77% of consumers expect to be able to book services online. 67% prefer messaging over calling or emailing.
What I see: None of it set up. Prospects who want to book or message go elsewhere.
Attributes
What Google says: Highlight features like "free Wi-Fi," "wheelchair accessible," "women-owned." These increase discoverability.
What I see: Blank. The free trust signals sit unused.
The playbook vs reality
| What Google Recommends | What I See on Most Accounting Firms |
|---|---|
| Complete all 10 categories | 4-5 used. 5-6 empty. |
| 750-character description | Blank. |
| Accurate hours, including holidays | "Open 24 hours" errors. |
| 10+ photos | 0-2 photos. |
| Weekly posts | Zero posts ever. |
| Respond to all reviews | Zero replies. Or unable to — profile unclaimed. |
| Services listed with descriptions | None listed. |
| Social links added | None. |
| Booking/chat enabled | None. |
| Attributes completed | None. |
The playbook tells you exactly what to do. The gap isn't knowledge. It's attention.
Why this happens
Google published these playbooks. They're free. They're official. They're step-by-step.
But accounting firm partners don't wake up thinking about Google Business Profiles. They wake up thinking about client work, deadlines, staff, compliance. The playbook sits unread because nobody's job description includes "read the Google playbook and implement it."
This is not a knowledge problem. It's an ownership problem.
Someone needs to own it. Someone needs to do it. The playbook makes it simple. It just needs a person.
The fix
Everything Google recommends is free to implement. Everything they recommend already exists — the description is on your website, the photos are on your phone, the services are defined, the happy clients are in your inbox.
20 minutes: Set your primary category. Add all 9 secondary categories.
20 minutes: Write your description. Adapt it from your About page. 750 characters.
5 minutes: Correct your hours. Remove "Open 24 hours." Add holiday hours.
15 minutes: Upload 10+ photos. Team. Office. Events. Branding.
10 minutes: List your services. Tick the boxes. Add descriptions.
10 minutes: Add social links. LinkedIn. Twitter. Instagram.
10 minutes: Create your first Google Post. An update. An offer. An event. Anything.
30 minutes: Respond to existing reviews. Every single one. Positive and negative.
5 minutes: Ask 5 recent clients for new reviews. Send them the link.
2 hours. £0. Done.
The bigger picture
Google doesn't just give you a profile. They give you the instruction manual. For free. And most accounting firms haven't opened it.
The firms that implement the playbook will dominate local search. The firms that don't will keep wondering why prospects find their competitors instead.
The playbook is on the table. The question is: who's going to read it?
This is Unclaimed #6.
I find what professional services firms leave on the table. Sometimes it's reviews. Sometimes it's photos. Sometimes it's an entire playbook that Google handed them for free.
Unclaimed is written by the founder of VindMyBusiness. I help accounting and bookkeeping firms fix their Google Business Profiles.
Trying to find your business on Google? Get a free scorecard — I'll personally review your profile against Google's own standards and show you exactly what's missing. No cost. No pitch. No obligation.