Set up your Google Business Profile the right way
The single highest-return hour you'll spend on marketing. A field-by-field walkthrough of the profile that decides whether you show up at all.
Your Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts you on the map — literally. It's what shows up when someone searches your trade near them, and it's the first thing a customer judges you on. Most contractors either never claimed theirs or filled in half of it years ago. This is a plain, field-by-field walkthrough to get it right once, so Google and your customers both take you seriously.
Claim and verify first
You can't rank a profile you don't control. Search your business name on Google; if a listing exists, click 'Claim this business' or 'Own this business?' and follow the verification. If none exists, create one. Verification (by postcard, phone, or video) proves it's really yours and unlocks every setting.
Fill every field that matters
Google rewards completeness. Work through these in order — each one is a ranking and trust signal:
- Business name — your real name, no keyword stuffing (that gets you suspended).
- Primary category — the single biggest lever; pick the one that matches your core trade exactly.
- Additional categories — every other service you genuinely offer.
- Service area — the towns and ZIPs you actually cover, not the whole state.
- Hours — including holiday hours; Google flags profiles that leave them blank.
- Phone — the number you answer, matching your website and directories.
- Website — your real site, or a simple landing page if you don't have one yet.
- Services & description — list each service and describe the work in plain customer words.
Photos are not optional
Profiles with real photos get dramatically more calls and direction requests than bare ones. Customers want to see the truck, the crew, and finished work — proof you're real and you do good work.
- Add your logo and a cover photo.
- 10-15 real job photos: before/afters, the crew, the branded truck, your storefront.
- Refresh with a few new shots every month so the profile looks active.
See how you score on this.
Your Blueprint scans your real Google presence in 60 seconds and shows the exact fixes worth the most — no card, no call.
Scan my businessThen keep it alive
Setup is a one-time hour. Ranking comes from what you do after: posting updates, answering reviews and questions, and keeping details accurate as they change. A profile that looks maintained beats a more-established competitor who abandoned theirs.
“I'd never actually claimed my listing. The week I finished the profile and added photos, the calls noticeably picked up — before I'd done anything else.”
A complete, verified, accurate profile is the price of admission to local search. Claim it, fill every field, add real photos, and keep it current — then the ranking and review work actually has something to build on.
Common questions
No. A Google Business Profile is free to create, claim, and maintain. Ads are separate and optional.
Your primary category. It tells Google what searches you should appear for; get it wrong and nothing else matters.
If you go to customers, set a service area and you can hide your address. If customers come to you, show the address. Don't fake either — mismatches hurt ranking.
A complete profile can start showing improvements within days, with steadier gains over the first few weeks as reviews and posts accumulate.