If I update opening hours on my website, does Google update too?

Not automatically or reliably. Google may use information from your website, but edit the Business Profile directly and monitor the change until it's approved. If you own the business and lack access, claim the profile or request ownership — "suggest an edit" is for listings that aren't yours.

What is NAP and why must it be consistent?

NAP means Name, Address, and Phone. Keep those public details accurate and materially consistent so customers and platforms never get conflicting information — punctuation and formatting don't need to match exactly. And never publish a private home address just for consistency: a service-area business keeps the address off the public profile.

Besides Google, where else should I list my business?

Where your customers actually look — Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, and reputable local or industry directories, all with accurate details. Separately, accurate LocalBusiness structured data on your own site gives search engines a machine-readable description; it's not a directory listing, and no guarantee of how it's used or displayed.

Do you have a real local presence online?

When people look for a nearby business, search and map results are where they compare options — and accurate location, service-area and contact information improves your visibility in exactly those places. If you serve a particular area, a deliberate local presence is one of the most worthwhile marketing steps available to a small business.

Claim your Google Business Profile

An accurate, verified profile lets an eligible business (Google generally expects in-person customer contact) manage what may appear on Maps and in local results — hours, photos, reviews:

Claim and verify the listing; complete every relevant field accurately.
Keep hours accurate on the profile itself — website changes don't reliably carry over. Edit directly and monitor until approved.
Ask customers neutrally for honest reviews and reply professionally — more reviews and positive ratings can help local visibility, and recent ones show customers the business is alive. Don't offer incentives, filter out the dissatisfied, or pressure anyone — platform rules prohibit it — and never reveal customer or transaction details in a public reply.
Add real photos and pick accurate categories.
Don't ignore Bing Places and Apple Business Connect either.

Keep your NAP consistent everywhere

Your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) should be accurate and materially consistent across your website, profiles and directories. Conflicting details — an old address, a disconnected number — mislead customers and make it harder for platforms to associate information with the right business; it's the substance that matters, not identical punctuation. Two qualifications:

Publish a street address only if it's genuinely customer-facing. A home-based or service-area business should protect the private address and publish the service area and contact routes instead — the platforms themselves require it.
Where a public location exists, put the details in the footer and contact page, and add the most specific applicable LocalBusiness structured-data type, matching the visible page — a machine-readable description, not a display guarantee.

Use a number that reaches you

A number with the right local area code reassures nearby customers — and many VoIP services provide local numbers, route calls to any device, and offer voicemail or recording without a physical line per location. The honest-use rules:

A local or virtual number doesn't prove a physical presence — use area numbers and local claims only for places you genuinely operate in or serve, and a second regional number never justifies a separate "location" listing on its own.
Recording calls is regulated. Voices and customer details are personal data: check the rules for every participant, give required notice, have a valid legal basis, restrict access, and delete recordings when no longer needed.
Make sure the number is answered (or has sensible voicemail), and matches your NAP everywhere.

Show up as a real, findable, contactable local business, and nearby customers get accurate information exactly where they're already comparing options.

What to do

Claim and verify your Business Profile (if eligible) and complete the relevant fields accurately.
Keep opening hours updated on the profile itself, monitored until changes land.
Keep your public business details materially consistent everywhere — private addresses protected — and add accurate LocalBusiness schema where a real location exists.
Collect honest reviews neutrally and reply professionally, without incentives or filtering.
Use a reliable, answered number with an appropriate area code for areas you genuinely serve — with call recording, if any, handled lawfully.