🔍 Overview
If you have applied improvements using the GBP Playbook but your score has not changed yet, or if the Citations section cannot find your Google Business Profile even though it appears synced, you are not alone. Both situations have straightforward explanations and simple fixes covered in this article.
⏱️ Why Your GBP Score Has Not Updated Yet
Your GBP score is not recalculated in real time. Search Atlas runs a nightly batch process that re-evaluates all connected Google Business Profiles and updates their scores once every 24 hours.
This means:
- Changes you make to your profile — such as updating your business description, adding photos, or responding to reviews — will not be reflected in your score immediately.
- The score displayed during the day represents the state of your profile as of the most recent nightly recalculation.
- After the nightly cycle completes, your new score will appear automatically. No manual refresh is required.
What to do: After making improvements through the GBP Playbook, allow up to 24 hours for your score to reflect those changes. If your score has not updated after a full 24-hour period, continue reading or contact support using the instructions at the bottom of this article.
📋 Why Citations Cannot Find Your Google Business Profile
The Citations section in Search Atlas has a specific connection requirement that is separate from the general GBP sync used elsewhere in the platform. This is the most common reason customers see the message that their profile cannot be found in Citations, even though it appears connected in other areas.
Search Atlas supports two ways to connect a Google Business Profile:
- Standalone mode: The profile is connected directly and independently through the GBP integration flow. This is the connection type the Citations section recognises.
- Alternative connection paths: Some profiles are synced as part of a broader workflow — for example, through a client account setup or a bundled integration — rather than as a standalone GBP connection. Citations does not recognise profiles connected this way.
If your profile was connected through an alternative path, the Citations section will behave as though no profile is linked, even though your data is accessible elsewhere in the platform.
🔧 How to Fix the Citations Connection
To make your Google Business Profile visible in the Citations section, you need to connect it in standalone mode. Follow these steps:
- Go to Settings in your Search Atlas account.
- Navigate to Local → GBP Projects.
- Check whether your profile is listed as a standalone connection. If it was added through a different flow, it may appear under a client workspace or bundled account rather than as its own entry.
- Use the Connect GBP Account option (on the GBP Projects page) to add your Google Business Profile directly as a standalone connection. You will be prompted to sign in with the Google account that manages the profile.
- Once the standalone connection is confirmed, return to the Citations section. Your profile should now be detectable.
If you manage multiple locations, each location must be connected individually in standalone mode for Citations to recognise it.
✅ Quick Checklist Before Contacting Support
- Have you waited at least 24 hours since making your GBP Playbook improvements?
- Is your Google Business Profile connected in standalone mode under Integrations?
- Are you signed in to Search Atlas with the account that has owner or manager access to the Google Business Profile?
- If you manage multiple locations, have you connected the specific location you are trying to use in Citations?
💬 Still Need Help?
If you have followed all the steps above and your GBP score is still not updating after 24 hours, or Citations still cannot detect your profile, our team is ready to investigate. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.