UK adult local SEO in practice: a monthly routine for shops and venues

A1Reviews, under the 2025 rules

From 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 made fake reviews a banned practice. The ban covers writing or commissioning fake reviews, hiding the fact that a review was incentivised, presenting reviews misleadingly, and failing to take reasonable steps to prevent and remove fake ones. The CMA can now fine up to 10% of global turnover for consumer law breaches, and after a review of more than 100 business websites it reported that over half lacked a compliant policy.

• Ask every customer the same way, whatever their likely rating.
• Reply to every review, calmly and without revealing anything about the customer's purchase.
• Publish a short reviews policy if you show reviews on your own site.

B2Profile updates

Check the Business Profile at least once a month: opening hours, holiday hours, services, and the description. Anything that has changed on the shop floor should change on the profile the same week. The profile basics are set out on adult local SEO.

C3Posts and photos

Posts work best for news people can act on: an event, a new range, changed hours. Google's post rules do not allow phone numbers in the text, and all photos and posts are checked against its content policies, so keep images to the shopfront, interior, staff and events, and nothing explicit. Google's image guidelines say stock photos may be removed, so use your own.

D4Listings elsewhere

Once a quarter, check the business name, address, phone number and opening hours on the main directories, maps apps and your own site. They should match each other and your licence exactly. Mismatches confuse customers and search engines alike.

E5What to measure

Business Profile performance data shows searches, calls, direction requests and website clicks. Track them month by month next to footfall and takings, and compare months like for like around holidays and events. The wider picture is mapped in our UK guide.

F6Asking for reviews the right way

The safest routine treats every customer the same. A card at the till, a line in the receipt email or a sign by the door, asking for an honest review, reaches happy and unhappy customers alike, which is what the rules expect. Avoid asking only people who seem pleased, offering any reward for a review, or asking staff, friends or family to post. If you work with an agency or software that sends review requests, check that it follows the same rules; under the DMCC Act the business remains responsible.

G7Answering reviews with discretion

Customers of adult shops and venues value privacy, and a review reply is public. Thank people without naming what they bought or describing their visit, keep replies short and calm, and take any complaint to a private channel with a contact address. For reviews that break Google's policies, such as fake or abusive ones, use the reporting tool rather than arguing in public. A steady, polite reply record reassures future customers more than a perfect score.

H8Events and seasonal moments

Venues and shops with events can use posts and the website to give searchers a reason to choose them this week. List events with dates, times and entry details on an events page on your own site, then link a short post to it. For shops, Valentine's Day, Pride month and the run-up to Christmas are natural moments for posts about new ranges, extended hours or in-store advice evenings. Keep every post safe for work and within Google's content rules.

J9When a profile is suspended

Adult premises see more suspensions than most businesses, often after an edit, a new photo or a change of address. Do not create a new profile. Check the profile against Google's guidelines, remove anything that may have triggered the review, and submit a reinstatement request with evidence: photos of the signage and premises, a utility bill or business document with the address, and the licence where relevant. Keep a record of what you sent and when. Most suspensions of genuine businesses are resolved, though it can take weeks.

K10A one-page monthly checklist

• Profile details checked against the website and the licence.
• Every new review answered within a few days.
• Two posts published, each with a date.
• New photos added that follow the content rules.
• Calls, route requests and website visits from the profile recorded beside footfall or sales.
• Listings on other maps and directories checked once a quarter.

The service that runs this routine is described on local SEO, and the wider rules on adult SEO in the UK.

L11Photos that help and pass review

Photos are one of the most viewed parts of a profile, and for adult premises they are also the most likely to trigger a review. Show the shopfront so people recognise it from the street, a tidy interior that gives a sense of space and atmosphere, and staff if they are happy to appear. Show products only in their packaging, never in use. Replace old photos when the shop is refitted, and remove any uploaded by customers that break the rules by reporting them.

M12Measuring beside footfall

Profile numbers mean most next to what happens in the shop or venue. Keep a simple monthly table with profile searches, calls, route requests and website visits in one column and footfall, sales or bookings in the next. Over a year it shows which months local search matters most, which changes to the profile made a difference, and whether a fall in calls reflects the profile or the season. It also gives you something concrete to show when deciding whether the routine is worth the time.

N13Questions and answers on the profile

People ask questions on Business Profiles, and anyone can answer them, including competitors and people who have never visited. Check for new questions weekly, answer them yourself as the owner, and keep answers short, factual and safe for work: opening hours, accessibility, whether staff can advise first-time visitors, whether there is parking nearby. If the same question keeps coming up, answer it on your website as well, on the page the profile links to, so searchers find the answer before they need to ask.

P14Working with more than one person

Local routines fail when nobody owns them. Name one person to check the profile and answer reviews, and a second to cover holidays. Give both manager access rather than sharing one login, so access can be removed cleanly when someone leaves. Keep the monthly checklist in a shared document with dates, so anyone can see what was done and when. Our wider notes on indexation and technical SEO cover the website side.

Q15Sources cited

• Ofcom

Read the originals here; this guide summarises them and may lag behind later updates.

QQuestions