You can be the best crew in town and still lose the click because your Google listing looks abandoned next to a competitor who posts every week. Ghost Score is our name for that gap: how visible and alive you appear online versus the shops around you. This guide breaks down the score, what Google Business Profile rewards, and a monthly rhythm that does not require a marketing agency.
Executive summary
- Map pack is shelf space: Incomplete profiles rank below active ones even with better reviews.
- Posts signal life: Weekly photos and offers beat a static listing from 2019.
- Consistency beats virality: Short local posts with real job photos outperform stock art.
- Measure monthly: Re-run Ghost Score after each post batch.
Basics: what Ghost Score measures
Ghost Score combines profile completeness, review velocity, photo freshness, and posting cadence into one operator-friendly number. It is not a Google API secret; it is a checklist so owners know where they are fading.
| Signal | Why it matters | Quick win |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Wrong category = wrong searches | Match how customers describe you |
| Photos this month | Stale gallery looks closed | Three real job photos |
| Review replies | Engagement trust signal | Reply to last 10 reviews |
| Google posts | Freshness bump | One post per week |
Monthly rhythm (90 minutes)
- Re-run Ghost Score check (free, about 60 seconds).
- Upload three job photos with city in description.
- Publish two Google posts using local templates.
- Reply to every new review within 48 hours.
Visibility Rescue Kit: outcome lens
Visibility Rescue Kit packages baseline audit, GBP completion guide, and a monthly local post template pack with job-photo placeholders. You keep ownership; we install once. Public marketing pages describe outcomes, not internal scoring code or hosting diagrams.
Further reading
- Google Business Profile: How to create and verify
- Google Maps Platform overview (public docs)
- BizRescue Ghost Score check
Actionable checklist
- Run Ghost Score check and screenshot baseline.
- Fix primary category and service area this week.
- Schedule monthly 90-minute visibility block on calendar.
- Stop using stock photos when real job photos exist.
- Reply to every review, especially neutral ones.
- Re-run score after 30 days and compare delta.