Your Business Profile is free, and for a local business it’s often worth more than any single page of your website. Work through this list once, then come back to it every few months.
1. Claim and verify it
Search for your business name on Google. If a profile appears with “Own this business?”, claim it; if none appears, create one at business.google.com. Google will ask you to verify — by phone, email, video or a postcard — before your changes show.
2. Choose the right primary category
The primary category is one of the strongest signals for which searches you appear in. Pick the most specific one that describes your main service — “Plumber” rather than “Contractor” — then add secondary categories for the other things you genuinely do.
3. Get the basics exactly right
- Name: your real business name, as on your signage. Adding keywords to it breaks Google’s guidelines and can get a profile suspended.
- Address or service area: if customers come to you, show your address. If you go to them, hide it and list the towns you serve instead.
- Phone and website: the same phone number as on your website, and a link to the page that matches the profile.
- Hours: including holiday hours. A business that looks closed loses the call.
Keep your name, address and phone the same everywhere they appear online — your website, directories, social pages. Mismatches make Google less sure the listings are the same business.
4. List your services and write a real description
Add each service you offer, in the words customers use. Write a description that says what you do, where, and what makes you the right choice — for people, not for search engines.
5. Add real photos
Your storefront, your team, your vehicles, your work. Real photos help people choose you, and they show Google the profile is active. Add new ones from time to time.
6. Ask for reviews, and answer them
Reviews are one of the clearest signals for the map results, and they’re what people read before they call. Ask happy customers with a short link — Google gives you one in the profile. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly. Never buy reviews or offer something in return for them: it breaks Google’s rules.
7. Keep it active
Answer questions people post, add updates and offers, and keep hours current. An up-to-date profile is more likely to be shown, and more likely to be trusted.
Check where you stand
A profile is half of local search; your website is the other half. An SEO Report shows where you rank for your searches as they appear in your town — or start with a free report.