When somebody types a service and a place name, the top of the results isn't websites — it's map results. Those come from Google Business Profiles. Without a profile you're simply absent from that block, no matter how good your website is.
This is the one marketing tool that's free, can be set up in an afternoon, and that your competitor probably left half-finished.
1. Claim or create the profile
First search for your own business. Sometimes a profile already exists that you didn't create — then you claim the existing one rather than making a new one. Two profiles for the same business are worse than none.
2. Choose the primary category precisely
The category is one of the strongest signals for which searches you appear in. Choose the one that describes your main activity most narrowly, not the one that covers the most ground. You can add further categories afterwards.
3. Set the service area
If you have premises customers come into, make the address visible. If you work on call-out, set the service area instead — don't publish your home address.
4. Fill in the opening hours — and keep them current
Wrong opening hours are worse than none. Anyone who turns up for nothing doesn't come back, and often writes about it. Holiday hours can be set separately; it's worth going through them once a year.
5. Upload real photographs
Not stock photos and not renders. Pictures of your own premises, your own work and your team prove the business exists. This is the most-viewed part of the profile.
6. Write the description the way you'd say it
One paragraph about what you do, for whom, and where. Not a keyword list. The description is primarily for the person deciding whether to call.
7. Ask for reviews, and reply to them
Reviews are the most important trust signal in local search. Two practical things matter:
- ask in person, at the end of the job, when the client is happy;
- reply to every one — including the bad ones, calmly and factually.
A well-handled negative review is worth more than a flawless list nobody believes.
8. Add the link, and check it monthly
Link from the profile to your website, and make sure the website carries the same address, phone number and opening hours. If they differ, that's noise. Check the profile once a month: any new reviews, anything changed, any edits Google has suggested.
What not to do
- Don't put keywords in the business name — that breaks the rules and the profile can be suspended.
- Don't buy reviews.
- Don't create a separate profile for each service if you have one location.
Where to next
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