Your business on Google Maps, looked after monthly

Get picked first when locals search.

I look after your business on Google every month so you show up properly on Google Maps: fresh photos, review replies, the right hours, and help getting more Google reviews from real customers.

Free 10-point check. One-page score in your inbox within 1 business day. Yours to keep, whether or not you hire me.

Top Tick Report Example Plumbing Co · October
8out of 10 Top Tick points in good shape

Done this month

  • 4 updates posted, including Christmas closing dates
  • 6 job photos added (sent by text from the van)
  • 5 review replies, each okayed by the owner first
  • Holiday hours set for 24 Dec to 5 Jan
See the rest of this sample report

Still to fix

  • "Gas fitting" isn't listed as a service yet
  • Cover photo is a 2019 shopfront

From the listing this month

Listing activity this month, example figures
Calls from the listing30
Direction requests10
Website clicks20

Needs you: a yes or no on one reply to a 2-star review.

Sample report for a made-up business. The numbers are for show, not a prediction.

Picked first

Three businesses show on the map. The rest are a scroll away.

Search "plumber near me" or "café open now" and Google shows a map with three businesses before anything else. You've probably rung one of them yourself.

Listings with old photos, unanswered reviews or the wrong hours get scrolled past. Most owners are flat out with the actual work. That's the bit I do.

What Google says it looks at: relevance, distance and prominence. I can't move your shop closer to anyone. The other two come down to a listing that's complete, current and getting real reviews. Google's help page on how local results work.

Picked first means the one people choose and ring. I can't promise a ranking; I can help make you the obvious pick when they look.

Free, no strings

The Top Tick Check

I go through your Google listing against ten things and send you a one-page score out of 10, with the fixes I'd do first. It's yours to keep.

Sign up and I score the same ten points every month in your Top Tick Report.

Type your suburb and state and I'll find it, or paste the link.

Takes a minute. No sales call unless you ask for one.

I'll use these details to do your check and get in touch about it. More in the Privacy Policy.

What happens after you send this

I'll look up your listing, go through the ten checks and email you a one-page PDF within 1 business day: your score and the fixes I'd do first. If you want me to keep it up, we'll have a 15-minute chat. If not, the PDF is yours.

The ten things I check

  1. Is the main category the most specific one that fits?
  2. Are the hours right, public holidays included?
  3. Does the phone number ring you, and does the website link work?
  4. Is the service area set, without showing your home address?
  5. Is the description plain and accurate?
  6. Are all your services listed?
  7. Are there recent, real photos?
  8. How many reviews, and how recent, next to the businesses showing above you?
  9. Have the reviews had replies?
  10. Has anything been posted in the last month?

Sorted for you

The jobs your listing needs.

You text me a few photos from jobs and say yes or no to my review replies. Everything else on this list is mine.

I'm added as a manager on your listing, never the owner. You can take me off any time.

  1. Get the category right

    Your main category carries a lot of weight. Google's rule is to pick the category for what your business is, and use as few as you can. Plenty of listings get this wrong at setup and leave it that way.

    Google's guidelines for categories

  2. Photos that look like this year

    You send me photos: a finished job, a fresh cut at the salon, the specials board at the café. I pick the good ones, tidy them up and post them.

  3. Replies to every review

    I write a reply to each new review and send it to you first. I only post a reply once you've okayed it in writing, and a text is fine. Google lets the reviewer know when you reply, so it's worth getting right.

    How Google handles review replies

  4. Weekly posts, and hours that are right

    A short post most weeks: a job you're proud of, a seasonal tip, a heads-up that you're shut over Christmas. And the hours people get wrong: public holidays, the Christmas close-down, the week you're away. Google has a special-hours setting for this and most listings leave it empty.

  5. Services, description and the answers Maps gives

    Every service you actually do, listed, and a plain description of what you do and where. Google is starting to answer people's questions on Maps straight from your listing and reviews, so the detail has to be on there.

    Google's rules for descriptions

  6. Asking for reviews, the fair way

    When a customer books, you ask one question: happy to get a text about a review afterwards? Yes or no. Only the ones who say yes get one text, from your business name, with an easy way to opt out. No old customer lists, no picking the happy ones, no freebies and no pressure from staff. There's also a QR card for the counter or invoice, for anyone who wants to leave one. If you're a health practitioner, I skip the review texts.

    Google's review policy

What it costs

Your Google listing, looked after every month

$149 a month inc GST

plus $199 setup inc GST, charged once.

Your first month is $348 inc GST, then $149.

  • Setup: category, services, hours, description and photos sorted
  • Weekly updates on your listing
  • New photos from your jobs
  • Review replies, each one okayed by you in writing
  • Review texts, only to customers who said yes
  • Hours and services kept right
  • The Top Tick Report: the same 10 points, scored every month

Your Google Business Profile is free from Google. You're paying me for the time it takes to keep it up to date.

All prices include GST.

No lock-in. It's month to month. Tell me by text or email and I'll stop at the end of the month you've paid for. I hand back control of your listing and remove my access within 7 business days.

Setup is charged when I start work.

If our first chat was a call from me, you've got 10 business days to change your mind. I don't start or charge you until they're up.

A few straight answers.

Who owns my Google listing?

You do. You add me as a manager, and I'll send you a one-minute how-to. A manager can edit the listing and reply to reviews, but can't remove you or delete the listing. If you leave, you take me off and that's it. Google explains owners and managers here.

And no, I don't work for Google. Top Tick is independent.

Can you get me to number one?

No one honestly can, and I'd be wary of anyone who says they can. Google decides who shows first, and says you can't pay it for a better spot. What I can do is keep your listing right and keep real reviews coming in.

What do you need from me?

A 15-minute chat to start, adding me as a manager on your listing, a few photos a month, and a yes or no on review replies.

What about a bad review?

I'll draft a calm reply and you decide whether it goes up. A fair bad review stays up; that's how Google works. If one breaks Google's rules, say it's fake or abusive, I'll report it for you.

And I'll never post reviews for you; only real customers can.

Do you work with online-only businesses?

No. Google only gives listings to businesses that customers can visit, or that travel to their customers. So this is for businesses with a shopfront or a service area. If you only sell online, I'm not the right fit.

Google's rules on who can have a listing

What if I don't have a Google listing yet?

First I'll check whether Google already has one for you, because it often does. If it does, you claim it. If someone else has it, you can ask Google to hand it over. If there's none, you set it up on your own Google account, so you're the owner from day one. Google picks how you verify, often a short video of your sign, van or tools, and I'll talk you through it by phone. Don't share Google's code with anyone, me included. Once you're verified, you add me as a manager.

Google's help on verifying

Trusted at a glance

Hi, I'm Michael.

Based on the Sunshine Coast, working with businesses Australia-wide.

Each month I go through your listing, keep it up to date and send you your Top Tick Report so you can see exactly what I did. If something's wrong, ring my mobile and you'll get me.

Michael
Top Tick

Ring me, text me, or start with the free check.

Get my free Top Tick Check
Phone
0439 736 189 · text me
Email
michael@toptick.com.au
Where
Anywhere in Australia, by phone, text and email, and in person by arrangement in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
When
Replies within 1 business day