Competitor GBP Analysis: Categories, Posts, Reviews, Photos, and Attributes

Your competitors' Google Business Profiles are publicly visible intelligence goldmines. Every category they've selected, every photo they've uploaded, every review they've earned, and every attribute they've enabled tells you something about their optimization strategy. Systematically analyzing competitor GBPs reveals both their strengths to learn from and their weaknesses to exploit.

GBP signals account for 32% of Local Pack ranking weight—the single largest signal category. Understanding how competitors optimize (or fail to optimize) their profiles directly informs your strategy.

What to examine:

• Primary category — what main category have they selected?
• Secondary categories — how many and which ones?
• Category alignment with your shared target keywords

Why it matters: Primary category is the strongest relevance signal. If a competitor uses a more specific category than you (e.g., "Water Heater Installation Service" vs. your generic "Plumber"), they'll have a relevance advantage for water heater queries.

Action: Verify your primary category is the most specific accurate option. Add all applicable secondary categories. If a competitor ranks better for specific services, check whether their category selection gives them an edge.

What to examine:

• Total review count on Google
• Average star rating
• Review velocity (estimate by checking recent review dates)
• Review content themes — what services do reviewers mention?
• Owner response rate and quality
• Presence on other review platforms (Yelp, industry-specific)

Key benchmarks: Businesses in the Local Pack average 4.2 stars with 60+ reviews. If competitors significantly exceed these benchmarks, you need to match or approach their level to compete.

Action: If competitors have 200+ reviews and you have 50, closing that gap is a high-priority investment. Focus on review velocity (consistent monthly acquisition) rather than one-time campaigns.

What to examine:

• Number of owner-uploaded photos
• Photo quality (professional vs. casual)
• Photo variety (exterior, interior, team, work examples, products)
• Customer photo contributions
• Listing with photos receive 42% more direction requests

Action: If competitors have 50+ quality photos and you have 10, invest in professional photography of your business, team, work, and products. Upload 5-10 new photos monthly. Avoid stock images—Google and customers can tell.

What to examine:

• How often do competitors post on GBP?
• What type of content do they post (offers, updates, events, products)?
• How much engagement do their posts receive?

Action: Match or exceed your most active competitor's posting frequency. Weekly posts is the minimum standard in 2026. If no competitor posts regularly, weekly posting gives you an immediate activity advantage.

What to examine:

• Which attributes have they enabled (accessibility, amenities, payments, highlights)?
• Have they added services and products?
• Are they using GBP messaging or booking features?
• Q&A section — are they proactively adding FAQs?

Action: Ensure you've enabled every accurate attribute. Add all services with detailed descriptions. Proactively seed your Q&A with common customer questions and answers. If competitors haven't utilized these features, your completeness creates a differentiation advantage.

What to examine:

• Have they written a full description (750 characters)?
• Do they include relevant service keywords naturally?
• Is it engaging and informative or generic and keyword-stuffed?

Action: Write a complete, keyword-informed description that communicates your unique value proposition in the first 250 characters (the portion displayed in search). Mention your primary services and geographic area naturally.

For each competitor (3-5 primary competitors):

1. Search their business name in Google to view their knowledge panel
2. Click through to their full GBP listing on Google Maps
3. Document every element listed above in a spreadsheet
4. Compare against your own profile side-by-side

Create a simple scoring system to quantify the comparison:

| Factor | Weight | Your Score | Competitor A | Competitor B | |--------|--------|-----------|-------------|-------------| | Category accuracy | 25% | 8/10 | 9/10 | 7/10 | | Review strength | 25% | 6/10 | 9/10 | 5/10 | | Photo quality/count | 15% | 5/10 | 8/10 | 4/10 | | Post activity | 15% | 3/10 | 7/10 | 2/10 | | Attribute completeness | 10% | 6/10 | 8/10 | 4/10 | | Description quality | 10% | 7/10 | 7/10 | 5/10 |

This matrix immediately highlights where each competitor leads and where you have the biggest improvement opportunities.

Cross-reference your GBP analysis with actual ranking data from LocalSERPChecker.app. If a competitor with a weaker GBP consistently outranks you, their advantage likely comes from proximity, website authority, or link signals rather than GBP optimization—guiding you to investigate those areas instead.

The primary category is visible on their GBP listing. Secondary categories are not always displayed publicly but can sometimes be inferred from the services they appear for or checked using third-party GBP audit tools.

Full analysis quarterly. Monthly quick checks on review counts, ratings, and posting activity. Immediate check when you notice a competitor's ranking improvement.

This violates Google's guidelines. You can report it through GBP's "Suggest an edit" feature. However, focus your primary effort on optimizing your own profile rather than depending on competitor corrections.

Match their strengths and exceed their weaknesses. If they have great reviews but poor photos, match their review quality while building a superior photo library. If they post weekly but their descriptions are generic, post weekly with better content.

Competitor GBP analysis turns publicly available data into strategic advantage. By systematically evaluating category strategy, review profiles, photo libraries, posting patterns, and attribute usage, you identify both the minimum requirements to compete and the specific gaps where improvement will have the most impact.

Audit your top 3-5 competitors' profiles today, score them against your own, and prioritize closing the highest-weight gaps that correspond to the 32% of ranking influence that GBP signals carry.