Benjamin Tietz
Technology & setup
Step 1: create or claim the listing
Often a listing already exists, created automatically by Google or by a customer. So first check whether your business is already listed — a second entry does more harm than good because reviews get split.
Verification usually happens by postcard to your business address, sometimes by video or phone. Without verification you cannot fully maintain the listing — and Google shows it less often.
Step 2: categories, services and hours
The primary category is the single most important lever. It should describe what you do as precisely as possible — “massage studio” rather than “wellness”. Additional categories can be added afterwards.
Next, enter your services with price and duration and maintain opening hours including public holidays. Wrong holiday hours are a common cause of bad reviews — someone stands in front of a closed door and is annoyed.
Step 3: photos that actually show something
Three subjects matter: the exterior, so customers find the place again; the interior, so they know what they are walking into; and a picture of you or your team, because people build trust with people, not with rooms.
Phone photos are fine if they are taken in daylight and the room is tidy. What does not work: pictures from the internet, pictures from Thailand that are not your studio, or a single dark photo from 2019.
Step 4: reviews — ask and answer
Reviews rarely appear by themselves. The simplest route: print a short link on the invoice or business card and ask regulars directly afterwards. Do not buy reviews and do not reward them with discounts — both are not permitted and get detected.
Every review deserves a reply, including the good ones. With criticism: stay factual, show understanding, offer a solution, do not argue. New customers read your reaction more than the criticism itself.
Primary sources
Benjamin Tietz
Technology & setup
Has been building websites and software for small businesses for over ten years. Built a company in Southeast Asia himself and knows where the paperwork gets stuck.
