When someone nearby searches for a plumber, a dentist or a roofer, Google often shows a map with a few businesses before the regular results. Those listings come from Google Business Profile, the free tool that used to be called Google My Business.
A complete, active profile will not guarantee a top spot. Nothing can. But an incomplete one almost guarantees you won’t get there. Use this checklist to set yours up properly and keep it in shape. It is written for service businesses, including those that visit customers instead of receiving them.
Before you start: are you eligible?
Google Business Profile is for businesses that meet customers in person, either at your location or at theirs. Online-only businesses are not eligible. Read Google’s guidelines for representing your business once before you start; they explain what is allowed for names, addresses and service areas, and breaking them is the most common reason profiles get suspended.
- You serve customers face to face, at your place or theirs.
- You have a real address where you work, even if you will hide it.
- You have a phone number that is answered by your business.
1. Claim and verify the profile
Search for your business name on Google Maps first. A profile may already exist, created by Google from public data or by a former employee.
- Claim the existing profile or create a new one at business.google.com.
- Use a Google account the business owns, not a personal account of an employee who might leave.
- Complete verification. Google chooses the method, and it can be a short video of your location, tools and signage, a phone or text code, an email, or a postcard.
- Add a second owner or manager so you never get locked out.
2. Get the basics exactly right
These fields tell Google what you are and where you work. Accuracy matters more than cleverness.
- Business name: your real-world name, exactly as it appears on your signage and invoices. Adding keywords or city names that are not part of your legal or trading name breaks Google’s guidelines.
- Primary category: the single most specific description of your core service, such as “Roofing contractor” rather than “Contractor”. This field carries a lot of weight in which searches you appear for.
- Secondary categories: only the ones that describe services you actually offer. More is not better.
- Address or service area: if customers come to you, show the address. If you go to them, hide the address and list the cities or postal codes you cover. Only list places you really serve.
- Hours: regular hours, plus special hours for holidays. If you take emergency calls, say so in your description and on your website, and keep the hours honest.
- Phone number: a local number answered by your team.
- Website: link to your home page, or to the matching location page if you have several locations.
3. Describe what you do
- Services: add each service with a short, plain description. Use the words your customers use: “water heater replacement”, not “thermal storage solutions”.
- Description: explain who you serve, where and what makes you different, in plain sentences. Google caps the length of this field. Do not paste links or promotions here.
- Attributes: fill in the ones that apply, such as accessibility, payment options or languages spoken.
- Booking link: if you use online scheduling, add the link so people can book from the profile.
4. Add real photos
Profiles with clear, real photos look more trustworthy, and people do look before they call.
- Logo and a cover photo.
- Your vehicle with signage, if you have one. For service-area businesses this is often the most recognizable image.
- Your team at work, in uniform if you use one.
- Before-and-after photos of real jobs, with the customer’s permission.
- Your office or shop front, if customers visit.
- Skip stock photos and images with heavy text. Take photos with a phone in good daylight; that is enough.
- Add a few new photos each month instead of fifty on day one.
5. Build a steady flow of reviews
Reviews influence both rankings and the decision to call. The goal is a steady stream of honest reviews, not a burst.
- Copy your review link from the profile dashboard and shorten it.
- Ask every customer, right after a job goes well, by text or email. Make it one tap.
- Never pay for reviews, offer discounts in exchange, or write reviews for yourself. These break Google’s policies and can get reviews removed or the profile restricted.
- Don’t filter who you ask. Sending the link only to happy customers (“review gating”) is also against the rules.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, within a few days. Keep replies short, specific and calm.
- For an unfair negative review, reply politely with the facts. Flag it for removal only if it actually breaks Google’s policies.
6. Post updates
Posts appear on your profile and show that the business is active.
- Share a recent job with a photo and one or two sentences.
- Announce seasonal services: furnace checks before winter, gutter cleaning in the fall.
- Publish offers with clear terms and an end date.
- Aim for a regular rhythm you can keep, such as one post a week.
7. Make your website and profile agree
Google compares your profile with your website and with other places your business appears online. Mismatches create doubt.
- Use the same business name, address and phone number on your website, your profile and directories such as Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp and industry listings.
- Give each location or main service area its own page on your website, with real local details.
- Add LocalBusiness schema markup to your website with the same details.
- Make your phone number tappable on every page of the mobile site.
- Add UTM parameters to the website link in your profile so you can see profile visits in your analytics.
Our Google Business Profile service covers this alignment, and our local SEO work keeps it updated over time.
8. Avoid the mistakes that get profiles suspended
- No virtual office, mailbox or coworking desk as your address if you do not actually staff it.
- No second profile for the same business at the same address.
- No keywords stuffed into the business name.
- No service areas you don’t really cover.
- If you move, update the address on the profile instead of creating a new one.
If your profile is suspended, fix the cause first, then submit a reinstatement request with documents that prove your business is real, such as a business license or a utility bill.
9. Monthly upkeep
A profile is not a one-time setup. Put this on your calendar:
- Reply to new reviews.
- Add new photos of recent jobs.
- Publish posts.
- Check that hours, phone and services are still accurate, and add holiday hours ahead of time.
- Check for edits suggested by Google or the public and approve or reject them.
- Look at the Performance report: calls, website clicks and direction requests, compared with last month.
How long until you see results?
It depends on your category, your area and how active your competitors are, so any fixed timeline would be a guess. What we can say is that the fixes in sections 1 to 3 take effect as soon as Google processes them, while reviews, photos and posts build up over months. Treat the profile like a storefront you keep clean, not a form you fill in once.
Want a second pair of eyes?
If you are not sure what is holding your profile back, request a free audit. Within 48 hours you get a 5-minute video that walks through your Google Business Profile and your website the way a customer sees them, with the first fixes to make. No cost, no obligation.