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Google 101

playbook ยท last checked 2026-09-27

Four free Google tools decide whether people near you find your business, and whether you can tell what is working.

This playbook says what "set up correctly" looks like for each, what to look at, and how to keep improving. Written for clients; the "Chad does it" notes say what changes when Chad helps. What decides which playbook an item is in is where the thing is edited and checked: in a Google tool, it is here; on your site, it is in the Website 101 playbook. Where one thing has both, each playbook has an item and names the other. Every item has a number, so your page or a note from Chad can say "do 1.3" and this page says what that means. Numbers are never reused or shifted: a new item gets the next number in its part, and a retired item keeps its number with a note saying so. How each item is scored for the to-do lists on your page: Google 101 ICE scores per item.

Last checked: 2026-09-27. Google moves its buttons often: each How line names the screen and the button as they were on that date, and the help link beside it is the one to trust when they have moved.

Summary

Part 1: Setup

All four exist, are yours, are complete, and Chad can see the data.

Part 2: Viewing data

Once a month, the four numbers that matter, then what they say about your goals.

Part 3: Optimizing

A monthly loop that pulls one lever, and a quarterly loop that questions the goals.

Details

Part 1: Setup

Each item is something you can check, not an opinion.

1.1 GBP: the listing is claimed and verified by you

Claimed and verified by you, not by a former web designer or an agency. Verify: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242

How: In Business Profile, open the listing; if it shows Get verified, follow it. Google sends a code or asks for a short video of the place.

Why important: If not done, whoever did verify the listing controls it, and every other listing fix waits on them. High: nothing else on the listing is yours until this is.

1.2 GBP: a category for the service you most want, and one for every other service

The primary category matches the service you most want to be found for, and every other service you offer has a category too. Google matches categories before anything else, so a service without one is at a disadvantage on Maps for that search: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091

Check: Business Profile, Edit profile, Business category: the primary category is the service you most want, and each other service has one.

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Business category: set the primary category to the service you most want, add one for each other service, save.

Why important: If not done, the listing is less likely to show for searches about a service with no category; Google says categories help it match you to searches. High for the service you most want, medium for the rest.

1.3 GBP: hours published for every day, closed days marked closed

Hours are published for every day you are open, and closed days are marked closed rather than left blank.

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Hours: enter the hours for each open day, set the other days to closed, save.

Why important: If not done, a searcher cannot tell when you are open and may choose a business that says. Medium: it takes minutes and matters most for walk-in and same-week services.

1.4 GBP: the address field holds only the address

The street address field holds the address and nothing else. Parking or entrance directions go in the description or the "from the business" fields.

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Location: keep only the street address in the address field; move directions to the description.

Why important: If not done, Google says extra text in the address can lead to changes to your information or, in some cases, removal of the listing: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177. Medium: rare, but costly when it happens.

1.5 GBP: name, address and phone match everywhere

Name, address and phone match your website and every other listing exactly.

How: Compare the name, address and phone on the listing (Business Profile, Edit profile, Contact and Location) with the site's; fix whichever is wrong.

Why important: If not done, people who find a different phone or address on the site and the listing may reach the wrong one, and Google's guidelines ask the listing to match how the business shows itself elsewhere. Medium to high, by how many places differ.

1.6 GBP: your own photos and a description that names services and area

Your own photos, not only the ones Google pulled in, and a description that names your services and your area.

How: Business Profile, Edit profile: write a description that names your services and your area; add photos of your own from Photos.

Why important: If not done, the listing shows only the photos others added and no words of yours, when searchers compare listings. Medium.

You have a review link you can send (https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122), and you reply to reviews: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050

Check: Business Profile, Ask for reviews gives a link you can send, and every recent review has a reply.

How: Business Profile, Ask for reviews: copy the link and send it after a visit. Reply to each review from Read reviews.

Why important: If not done, asking for a review takes explaining, and unanswered reviews read as nobody listening. High: reviews are the lever you pull most often.

1.8 GBP: Chad added as Manager

Chad does it: add Chad as a Manager on the listing, which lets him make edits the same day rather than sending you a list. https://support.google.com/business/answer/3403100

Check: Business Profile, Business Profile settings, People and access: Chad is listed as a Manager.

How: Business Profile, Menu, Business Profile settings, People and access, Add: Chad's address, role Manager.

Why important: If not done, every listing fix is a request to you instead of a same-day edit by Chad. Medium: it saves time on everything else.

1.9 GTM: one container on every page, the GA4 tag inside it

One GTM container on every page of the site, in the head, and the GA4 tag lives inside it. Install: https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/14847097 and https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/9442095

How: In Tag Manager, create a container for the site if there is none and put its two snippets on every page (the site's editor has a place for header code: WordPress the theme's header or a header-code plugin, Wix Settings, Advanced, Custom code, Squarespace Settings, Developer tools, Code injection, Header, Shopify Online store, Themes, Edit code, theme.liquid inside head, Webflow Site settings, Custom code, Head code). Then Tags, New, Google tag, your GA4 ID, trigger All Pages, Submit, Publish. On Google Sites there is no place for header code, so this item does not apply: Analytics goes in the editor's own setting (1.13).

Why important: If not done, each tracking change needs someone who can edit the site's code. Low to medium: it matters when tags need changing, and not before.

1.10 GTM: no second copy of the analytics tag on the site

No second copy of the analytics tag pasted directly into the site, which double-counts every visit.

How: Look in the site's header code, or the site editor's analytics setting, for a second GA4 tag (gtag.js with your G- ID) and remove it, keeping the one in Tag Manager.

Why important: If not done, visits count twice, so the totals read high; the trends still move the same way. Low: fix it when convenient.

1.11 GTM: you own the account

You are an Administrator of the account, not your web designer.

Check: Tag Manager, Admin, User management (account): you are an Administrator, and nobody who no longer works for you is listed.

How: Tag Manager, Admin, User management (account): make sure you are an Administrator; remove people who no longer work for you.

Why important: If not done, a vendor who leaves can take the account and its setup with them. Low day to day, high the day it happens.

1.12 GTM: Chad given Publish, only if tags need fixing

Chad does it: Publish permission on the container, only if tags need fixing; otherwise none. https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6107011

Check: Tag Manager, Admin, User management: Chad is listed with Publish on the container.

How: Tag Manager, Admin, User management (container): add Chad with Publish, only when tags need fixing.

Why important: If not done, only whoever has Publish can fix a broken tag. Low: only matters when tags need fixing.

1.13 GA4: one property, one web stream, traffic visible in real time

One GA4 property with one web data stream for your site, and traffic shows up in real time when you open your own site. Set up: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9304153

How: GA4 Admin, Data collection and modification, Data streams: keep the one stream whose measurement ID the site uses; check any other has no recent data before deleting it. On Google Sites the measurement ID goes in the editor, Settings, Analytics.

Why important: If not done, visitors can be split between streams, so a report may show only part of them. Medium.

1.14 GA4: one key event, the thing you most want a visitor to do

One key event that is the thing you most want a visitor to do: a booking, a call, a form. Everything in Part 2 hangs off this. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12844695

How: GA4 Admin, Data display, Key events: mark the event your site sends when someone books or gets in touch. If none exists, 1.23 and 1.24 add it.

Why important: If not done, GA4 cannot tell a visit that led to a booking from one that did not, so 2.3 and 2.5 have nothing to count. High: the other GA4 numbers stay usable, but not the ones about results.

1.15 GA4: data retention set to 14 months

Data retention set to 14 months, not the 2-month default. The standard reports are unaffected either way; the setting decides how far back the detailed Explore reports can look. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196

How: GA4 Admin, Data collection and modification, Data retention: event data retention 14 months, Save.

Why important: If not done, Explorations and funnels cannot look back more than two months; the standard reports, and the monthly and yearly comparisons in Part 3, are not affected. Low: it matters only for deeper analysis.

1.16 GA4: your own visits filtered out

Your own visits filtered out if you spend a lot of time on your site.

Check: GA4 Admin, Data streams, your stream, Configure tag settings, Define internal traffic: your own visits are marked, and Data filters excludes them.

How: GA4 Admin, Data streams, your stream, Configure tag settings, Show more, Define internal traffic: add your own IP addresses. Then Data filters: set Internal Traffic to Active.

Why important: If not done, your own visits and automated ones are counted with real visitors, so totals read high. Low for most small sites: they lose no data, and trends still show.

1.17 GA4: Chad given Viewer

Chad does it: Viewer access to the property is enough to read everything; Editor only if key events need setting up. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9305587

How: GA4 Admin, Property access management, the plus sign, Add users: Chad's address, role Viewer (Editor if key events need setting up).

Why important: If not done, Chad cannot read the numbers he is asked to explain. High, if you want Chad's help with Part 2.

1.18 GSC: the site verified, ideally as a domain property

Your site is verified, ideally as a domain property so www and non-www count together: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9008080

How: Search Console, Add property, Domain: enter the domain and add the TXT record it gives to the domain's DNS settings.

Why important: If not done, Search Console shows nothing about how Google sees the site. High: 1.19, 1.20, 2.4 and 2.7 all need it.

1.19 GSC: sitemap submitted with no errors

Your sitemap is submitted in Search Console and shows no errors there: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7451001. The sitemap file itself lives on your site and is Website 101 item 3.8; this item is only the step done in Search Console.

How: Search Console, Sitemaps: enter the sitemap's address (usually sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml) and click Submit. Google Sites has no sitemap setting of its own, so there this item does not apply; whether Google finds the pages is 1.20.

Why important: If not done, Google finds pages only through links, which can be slower for new ones. Medium: a small site whose pages are linked from the homepage loses little.

The page indexing report shows the pages your homepage links to, your services among them, as indexed: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203

Why the homepage: in Google's words, "As a general rule, the more links a page has to it within a site, the higher the relative importance of the page to other pages on your site. For example, if you have a best selling product, consider linking to it from the home page"; and "Every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site." https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/ecommerce/help-google-understand-your-ecommerce-site-structure and https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable

How: Search Console: paste the page's address into the inspection bar at the top. If it says the page is not on Google, click Request indexing; if it names a problem, fix that on the site first. Google takes days to weeks.

Why important: If not done, a page Google has not indexed cannot appear in any search. Medium to high, by which page it is: a service page matters, an old one may not.

1.21 GSC: Chad given Full access

Chad does it: Full user, which can read everything and submit a sitemap, but cannot add or remove people. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615

How: Search Console, Settings, Users and permissions, Add user: Chad's address, permission Full.

Why important: If not done, Chad needs you for each sitemap or indexing request. Medium: it saves round trips.

The website link on your listing carries tracking tags (UTM parameters), so a visit from the listing shows in GA4 as coming from Google Business Profile instead of blending into search or direct visits. Without them, 2.5 cannot tell Maps from web search. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10917952

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Contact, Website: add ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp to the end of the address, save. The listing's other links to your site get their own campaign, so each shows apart in GA4: the menu or services link utm_campaign=gbp-services, the booking link utm_campaign=gbp-booking (1.29).

Why important: If not done, visits from the listing mix with other Google searches, so you cannot see what the listing alone brings to the site. Medium: the listing's own report (2.1) still counts its clicks.

1.23 GA4: the key event counts bookings made off your site

When booking happens on another company's page (a scheduling or patient-records widget such as Calendly, Acuity, Square or an EHR), the key event still counts it: usually by counting the click to the booking page or the visit to your thank-you page. Following the visitor onto the booking site only works when you control that site: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10071811. Some widgets cannot be tracked at all; then that is worth knowing, and the key event is the click to book.

Check: GA4 Reports, Engagement, Events: an event fires when a visitor clicks to book, and it is marked as a key event.

How: Find how a visitor reaches the booking page (a button or link) and, in Tag Manager, add a GA4 event tag that fires on that click, then mark the event as a key event (1.14).

Why important: If not done, bookings made on another company's page are never counted as results. High for a business that books through a widget; none for one that does not.

1.24 GA4: phone and email clicks counted

A tap on your phone number or email address is counted. For a business people call first, this is the real key event. GA4 counts links to other sites on its own; phone and email links usually need a Tag Manager click trigger: https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/7679320

Check: GA4 Reports, Engagement, Events: events fire for clicks on your phone number and email address.

How: In Tag Manager, add a GA4 event tag with a Just Links trigger where Click URL starts with tel: (and one for mailto:), publish, then mark the events as key events if calls are what count.

Why important: If not done, phone and email taps usually go uncounted. High for a business people call first, low for one they book online.

1.25 GA4: payment and booking sites not credited as where visitors came from

The payment and booking sites your visitors pass through (Stripe, PayPal, your booking system) are listed as unwanted referrals, so a visitor who comes back from paying still counts as coming from wherever they first found you: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10327750

Check: GA4 Admin, Data streams, your stream, Configure tag settings, List unwanted referrals: your payment and booking sites are listed.

How: GA4 Admin, Data streams, your stream, Configure tag settings, Show more, List unwanted referrals: add the payment and booking sites' domains.

Why important: If not done, a visitor who returns from the payment or booking page can be credited to that site instead of the search that brought them. Low unless people pay or book on another site.

1.26 GA4: linked to Search Console

GA4 is linked to Search Console, so the searches that brought people sit beside what they did on the site: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10737381

Check: GA4 Admin, Product links, Search Console links: the site's Search Console property is linked.

How: GA4 Admin, Product links, Search Console links, Link: choose the site's Search Console property and your web stream.

Why important: If not done, search data stays in Search Console and visit data in GA4, and you look in two places. Low: a convenience.

1.27 All four: owned by the business, with a backup at the top role and no former vendors

Each of the four is owned by the business, a second person you trust also holds its top role (Owner in Business Profile and Search Console, Administrator in Analytics and Tag Manager), and former web designers or agencies are removed. 1.11 says this for Tag Manager; this item says it for all four. Access pages: GBP https://support.google.com/business/answer/3403100, GA4 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9305587, GTM https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6107011, GSC https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615

Check: The user settings of each of the four (1.8, 1.11, 1.17, 1.21): the business owns it, a second person you trust holds the top role, and no former vendor is listed.

How: In each of the four tools' user settings (1.8, 1.11, 1.17, 1.21 name them), make sure the business owns it, add a second person you trust at the top role, and remove former vendors.

Why important: If not done, one person leaving can lock the business out of its own data. Low day to day, high the day it happens.

1.28 GBP: a business that goes to its customers hides its address

If you serve customers where they are, or work from home and do not see customers there, the listing shows a service area and hides the street address. This changes what 1.4 and 1.5 check. https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481

Check: Business Profile, Edit profile, Location: if customers do not come to you, the address is hidden and a service area is set.

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Location: if customers do not come to you, clear the business address and set a service area instead.

Why important: If not done, a business that serves customers where they are shows an address Google says to remove: https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481. Medium, and a privacy matter for a home address.

The listing has a link to book an appointment, pointing at the page where booking actually happens: https://support.google.com/business/answer/6218037

How: Business Profile, Edit profile, Booking, Add link: add the page where people actually book. If that page carries your GA4 tag (your own site, or a booking site you control), add ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp-booking to the end, so GA4 shows which bookings started from the listing's Book button; on a booking site without your tag the tags do nothing, and the listing's own report (2.1) still counts the clicks.

Why important: If not done, a searcher who wants to book must find the booking page on the site first. Medium for businesses that take bookings online.

1.30 GSC: no manual actions and no security issues

Search Console's Manual actions and Security issues reports are both empty. Either one, when not empty, can take the site out of search: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175 and https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044101

Check: Search Console, Security and manual actions: Manual actions and Security issues both say no issues detected.

How: Search Console, Security and manual actions: open Manual actions and Security issues; both should say no issues detected. If not, follow what each says.

Why important: If not done, a manual action or security issue can take the site out of search without you knowing. High when present, which is rare: checking takes a minute.

Access summary

Tool Where the data lives You do it Chad does it
GBP Maps and search nothing to grant Manager (1.8)
GTM the tag container nothing to grant Publish, only if tags need fixing (1.12)
GA4 your website nothing to grant Viewer, or Editor to set up key events (1.17)
GSC Google search nothing to grant Full (1.21)

Access is granted to Chad's Google identity. No passwords change hands, ever.

Part 2: Viewing data

Essentials once a month (2.1 to 2.4), then the insights tied to your goals (2.5 to 2.11). Chad records for each business the one thing that counts (the key event) and what actually makes it money; the insight questions are about those two things, not about traffic in general.

Chad does it: Chad reads the four essentials each month and puts them, with what changed, on your page; you read the summary.

2.1 GBP Performance: views, calls, directions, website clicks

How many people saw the listing, and how many called, asked for directions or clicked to the site. This is the Maps side of your business.

Why important: Without it, the calls and directions the listing brings stay invisible, since they never pass through the site. High for businesses customers call or visit.

2.2 GA4 Reports snapshot and Traffic acquisition: visitors and where they came from

How many people visited and where they came from. The channels to watch are Organic Search, Direct, Referral and Organic Social, plus Paid Search if you run ads. Overview of the reports: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9212670

Why important: Without it, there is no count of who came, the base every other number is read against. High.

2.3 GA4 Key events: how many did the one thing you wanted

This is the number the rest of this page exists for.

Why important: Without it, there is no way to tell whether any of the work brought results. High: this is the number the rest serves.

2.4 GSC Performance: searches that showed your site, and which got a click

The queries people typed before your site appeared, with impressions and clicks per query and per page. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553

Why important: Without it, you do not know what people searched before finding the site. Medium to high.

2.5 Which channel brings the visitors who complete the key event

Traffic that never converts is not a goal.

Why important: Without it, effort goes to channels that bring visitors but not customers. Medium once 1.14 is done; meaningless before.

2.6 New versus returning visitors

Is the site bringing new people, or serving people who already know you?

Why important: Without it, you cannot tell whether the site finds new people or mostly serves those who know you. Low to medium.

2.7 Searches with impressions and no clicks

Either the page's title is not earning the click, or the search was not really about a business like yours; the query tells you which.

Why important: Without it, the searches where you were shown and not chosen go unnoticed; each is a cheap place to win a click. Medium.

2.8 Which service pages get traffic and which get none

A service with a category on GBP, a page on the site and search impressions in GSC is fully wired; a missing piece is the first thing to check.

Why important: Without it, a service nobody finds stays unnoticed. Medium.

2.9 GSC: searches for your name versus searches for what you do

Searches for your name come from people who already know you. Split them from searches for the service, since only the second kind shows whether the site finds new customers. Search Console has a filter for this, except for sites with few impressions: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/17011259

Why important: Without it, searches for your name hide how rarely the site is found by people who do not know you yet. Medium.

2.10 GBP: the searches that showed your listing

The search terms people used before your listing appeared, reported monthly in the listing's performance: https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094

Why important: Without it, you guess which services and words people use to find the listing. Medium.

2.11 GBP: review count and rating, month over month

The count and the rating, against last month. This is the lever 3.2 names first, and the number that says whether asking for reviews is working.

Why important: Without it, you cannot tell whether asking for reviews is working. Medium: the count is also on the listing itself.

Part 3: Optimizing

Two loops, on two clocks: a monthly single loop (3.1 to 3.3, 20 minutes) that assumes the goals are right, and a quarterly double loop (3.4 to 3.7) that questions the goals themselves.

3.1 Monthly: did the key event count move

Up or down, against last month and the same month last year.

Why important: Without it, nobody checks whether last month's work did anything. High: it is the point of the loop.

3.2 Monthly: pick one lever, not five

Why important: Without it, several changes at once make it impossible to tell which one moved the number. Medium.

3.3 Monthly: write down what you changed and when, as a note on the charts

Next month you compare against that note. Add it in GA4 as an annotation, so it shows on the charts beside the numbers it should move: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15884203

Why important: Without it, next month's rise or fall cannot be tied to anything you did. Medium.

Chad does it: with Manager rights Chad makes the listing edits the same day and notes them on your page; the parts only you can do stay yours, asking for reviews and deciding what a page should say.

3.4 Quarterly: where did your last five customers actually come from

If the answer is referrals, a class, an event, then Google is not your main channel and the monthly loop should be short.

Why important: Without it, Google work can grow while most customers come from elsewhere. High once a quarter.

3.5 Quarterly: is the key event still the thing that makes you money

Or has the business shifted?

Why important: Without it, a key event that no longer makes money keeps being optimized. Medium.

3.6 Quarterly: is the service you optimize for still the one you want more of

If not, change the primary category on the listing and the key event first; everything monthly follows from those two.

Why important: Without it, the monthly work keeps serving a service you no longer want more of. Medium.

3.7 Quarterly: what did the monthly notes show

Did any lever move the number, or none of them?

Why important: Without it, you keep pulling levers that do not work. Medium.

Chad does it: the quarterly questions are a 20-minute call together, not homework.

A quarter where the answer changes the goal is a good quarter. Tell Chad what changed, update the key event and the categories to match, then go back to the monthly loop.