If you do one free thing to get found locally, make it your Google Business Profile. It is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in the little pack of local results at the top of a search, and for most trades and small businesses it brings in more enquiries than anything else. Here is how to set it up properly, and the details that quietly cost people calls.
What it is, and why it matters so much
When someone searches “electrician near me” or “hairdresser in Matlock”, Google usually shows a map with three businesses before any normal results. Those are Business Profiles. Being one of the three is worth a great deal, because most people call from that pack without scrolling further. The listing is free, it is yours to control, and it is the single biggest lever you have for local visibility.
Setting it up
Go to Google Business Profile, sign in with a Google account, and search for your business in case a listing already exists. If it does, claim it. If not, create one. You will be asked for your name, category, area and contact details, then asked to verify that the business is really yours, usually by phone, email, or a postcard with a code.
Take the category seriously. “Plumber” and “Heating contractor” are different categories and surface for different searches. Pick the one that best matches your main work, and add secondary categories for the rest.
The details that quietly cost you calls
Most profiles are set up once and forgotten, and that is where enquiries leak away. Get these right:
- Name, address and phone. Use exactly the same wording as on your website and everywhere else online. Even small differences, “Ltd” in one place and not another, confuse Google and weaken your ranking.
- Service area. If you travel to customers rather than run a shop, set a service area with the towns you actually cover, not a single pin.
- Hours. Keep them accurate, and set special hours for bank holidays. A wrong “closed” costs you the job.
- Photos. Add real photos of your work, your van, your team. Profiles with genuine photos get noticeably more clicks than bare ones.
- Services and description. List your services in plain words, and write a short, honest description of what you do and where.
Reviews are the engine
Reviews on your profile are both a ranking factor and the thing customers read first. A steady trickle of recent, genuine reviews does more for your local visibility than almost anything else. Ask happy customers, make it easy by sending the link, and reply to the ones you get. We cover exactly how in our guide on getting more Google reviews. Never buy or fake them, Google is good at spotting it and the penalties are real.
Where your website comes in
A Business Profile helps you show up, but it is thin on its own. When a cautious customer is about to spend real money, they click through to your website to check you are established and reliable. A profile that points at a slow, dated site, or no site at all, plants a seed of doubt at the worst moment. The two are a pair: the profile gets you seen, the website closes the deal. This is also why matching details across both matters so much, as we explain in getting found on Google.
Keeping it working
A Business Profile is not set-and-forget. Hours change, new photos help, questions need answering, and reviews need replying to. If you would rather not keep on top of it, it is exactly the kind of thing a done-for-you service handles alongside building and looking after your site, so your whole online presence stays current and consistent.
Want your website built to work hand in hand with your profile? Get a free preview of what it could look like, no card needed, or run a quick free website check on what you already have.