The Google profile is the cheapest thing that exists with a measurable effect, and almost nobody in the valley has it set up properly. Here is what to look at, in order.
A mountain business's Google profile needs four things before anything else: correct seasonal hours, photos from the last three months, concrete attributes, and a reply to every review. None of it costs money, only doing it properly.
Seasonal hours, not eternal summer hours
A valley business changes its hours three or four times a year, and the profile almost never reflects it. Google has special hours by date: load them the day you close for the season, at Christmas or at Easter. A profile that says "open" when you are closed earns you a one-star review you didn't deserve.
Recent photos, taken on a phone
You don't need studio photography. You need photos from this month: the dish you are serving now, the room with the fire lit, the snow that is actually out there today. Recent photos count in how Google decides which profiles to show, and a four-year-old photo of a menu you no longer serve does more harm than no photo at all.
Attributes: whatever people ask you on WhatsApp
If you get the same question by message every week, that is exactly what is missing from the profile. Terrace, accessible, dogs welcome, parking, children's menu, languages spoken, whether cards are accepted. Every attribute you fill in is a question you stop answering by hand.
Reply to every review, the good ones too
86% of consumers use Google to read reviews before deciding where to go, according to BrightLocal's 2025 survey. Replying isn't only good manners: it is fresh, specific content on your profile, written in the words your customers actually use.
Keep it short, use their name, and never use a template. Two lines beat a copied paragraph.
The order matters
If you only do one thing this month: the hours. That is the one costing you customers right now, and the one that takes the least time.
Source: Figure: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2025 (1,026 consumers).