How to optimise your Google Business Profile properly
The free listing that often beats your website for enquiries — set up properly, step by step.
Why it matters more than people expect
When someone searches for a service near them, the map pack usually appears above the normal results. For plumbers, salons, garages, cafés and most local trades, that block generates more calls than any organic listing on the page.
It costs nothing. It just takes an hour of careful setup and a habit of keeping it current.
Set it up correctly
Work through these in order:
- Claim the listing and complete verification — usually by postcard, phone or video.
- Choose the single most accurate primary category; be specific, not broad.
- Add every service you offer, each with a short plain-English description.
- Set precise opening hours, including bank holidays.
- Define your service area if you travel to customers rather than having a shopfront.
Photos and posts
Profiles with genuine, recent photos get noticeably more engagement than those with a logo and nothing else. Add before-and-after shots, your van, your premises, your team.
Post an update every few weeks — an offer, a finished job, a seasonal reminder. It's a small signal that the business is active and it gives returning searchers something new to see.
Reviews and questions
Ask for a review at the moment a customer is happiest, which is normally right after the job is done. Reply to each one. Also check the Q&A section: you can post and answer your own common questions, which quietly removes friction before someone calls.
Keep it consistent with your website
Your name, address, phone number and services should match your website exactly. Where they conflict, you weaken both. Fix the website once, fix the profile once, and keep them aligned whenever anything changes.
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