If you set up your Google Business Profile a few years ago, filled in your opening hours and moved on, you’re in good company. Most business owners in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable did exactly the same. The problem is that in 2026, that set-and-forget approach has quietly stopped working. Google has made a series of changes this year that reward active profiles and punish stale ones — and some familiar features have disappeared entirely.
This article covers what’s changed, why it matters for local search visibility in Kent, and a simple monthly routine that keeps your profile working alongside your website rather than instead of it.
What actually changed this year
Three changes stand out from the stream of updates Google has pushed through in 2026.
Q&A is gone, replaced by Ask Maps. The old Questions & Answers section — the one most businesses ignored — has been discontinued. In its place, an AI feature called Ask Maps now answers customer questions in real time, pulling from your profile, your reviews and your website. Customers ask things like “do they do gluten-free options?” or “is there parking nearby?” and Google answers on your behalf, whether the answer is right or not.
WhatsApp is now a messaging option. Google is phasing out its native chat feature and now lets businesses add WhatsApp directly to their profile. For trades, restaurants and appointment-based businesses across Kent, this is a genuinely useful change — customers already have WhatsApp, and a message is a far lower barrier than a phone call.
Freshness now carries real ranking weight. Google’s local ranking has shifted towards active engagement — how often you post, how quickly you respond to reviews, when you last added photos. Profiles that go a month or more without any activity are seeing measurable visibility drops. Static history counts for less than it used to.
Why stale profiles are losing visibility
The freshness change is the one most likely to affect you, because it penalises the default behaviour of almost every small business.
Think about a search like “café Whitstable” or “electrician Herne Bay”. Five years ago, the businesses that ranked in the map pack were largely the ones with the most reviews and the longest history. Now, a newer competitor who posts weekly updates, adds photos of recent jobs and replies to every review within a day or two can leapfrog an established business with a dormant profile.
That’s frustrating if you’ve spent a decade building your reputation. But it’s also an opportunity, because the bar is low. Most of your local competitors aren’t doing any of this. A 30-minute monthly routine — covered below — puts you ahead of the majority of profiles in your area.
Ask Maps answers for you — make sure it answers correctly
The Ask Maps change deserves particular attention, because it takes something out of your hands. When Google’s AI answers a customer’s question about your business, it builds that answer from whatever information it can find: your profile fields, your attributes, your reviews and your website content.
If that information is thin or out of date, the AI fills the gaps — and it doesn’t always fill them accurately. A profile with no services listed, vague descriptions and an out-of-date website gives the AI very little to work with.
The fix is unglamorous but effective: complete every relevant field on your profile, list your actual services individually, keep your hours accurate (especially around bank holidays), and make sure your website answers the questions customers actually ask. This is the same principle behind getting your business cited in ChatGPT and Google AI search — AI systems can only describe your business as well as your published information allows.
Your Google Business Profile is the shop window — your website still closes the deal
There’s a school of thought that Google Business Profile has become the “new homepage”, and for quick lookups — hours, directions, phone number — that’s true. Plenty of customers will never get past the map panel.
But the enquiries that matter most still happen on your website. Someone choosing between three Canterbury builders for an extension isn’t making that decision from a map listing. They’re looking at your project photos, reading how you work, checking you look established and professional, and filling in your contact form. The profile gets you noticed; the website gets you chosen.
The two also feed each other. Google cross-references your profile against your website, so your business name, address, phone number and services need to match exactly in both places. A fast, well-maintained site strengthens your profile’s credibility — something we covered in more depth in our guide to local SEO for UK small businesses in 2026.
A 30-minute monthly routine that keeps you visible
You don’t need a marketing department for this. Once a month:
- Add three to five new photos. Recent work, your premises, your team. Google’s image recognition now reads photo content to understand what you do, so photograph the work itself, not just your van.
- Post one short update. A finished project, a seasonal offer, a change in hours. Two sentences is enough.
- Reply to every new review. Response speed is now a ranking signal. A two-line reply within a couple of days beats a perfect paragraph three weeks later.
- Check your details. Hours, services, phone number — especially before bank holidays and seasonal changes.
- Set up WhatsApp messaging if it suits your business, and make sure someone actually monitors it.
Put a recurring reminder in your calendar and treat it like invoicing — routine admin that directly affects revenue.
Where to start
The businesses winning local search in Kent this year aren’t doing anything clever. They keep their Google Business Profile active, they keep their website fast and accurate, and they make sure the two tell the same story. Start with the monthly routine above — it costs nothing but half an hour.
If your website is the weak half of that equation — slow, out of date, or saying something different from your profile — that’s the part worth fixing first, because every signal Google reads flows through it. We build and manage WordPress websites for businesses across Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and the rest of Kent, and we’re happy to take a look at how your site and profile are working together. Get in touch for an honest assessment.