The basics
- Use your real business name, exactly as customers know it, with no keywords stuffed in
- Check your phone number and website are correct and match your own site
- Pick one main category that matches most of your work, then add accurate secondary categories
- Set your opening hours honestly, including any out-of-hours cover you really offer
Where you work
If you travel to customers and do not have a shop, set up as a service-area business and hide your address. List the towns or postcode areas you genuinely cover. Do not invent an address.
What you do
- List each service separately with a short description
- Write a plain description of who you are, what you do and where
- Mention qualifications and registrations you actually hold, such as Gas Safe, NICEIC or TrustMark
- Add the questions customers ask most, and answer them
Photos
Add clear photos: you, your van, your tools, finished work and before and after shots. Get the customer's permission and avoid showing house numbers. Add new photos regularly.
Verification: what to expect
Google usually asks you to verify that you run the business before your profile appears fully. The method depends on the business and the time, and can include a phone call or text, an email, a video recording or, in some cases, a postcard with a code. Follow the instructions Google gives you, and do not pay anyone who offers to verify it for you.
Service-area businesses
If you travel to customers and do not serve people at a shop or office, you can set your profile up as a service-area business and hide your address. List the areas you genuinely serve. Do not invent an address, use a virtual office or list a location you do not operate from, because Google can suspend profiles for it.
Choosing categories
- Pick the one main category that best describes most of your work, for example Plumber or Electrician
- Add a few secondary categories that match real services, and no more than you truly offer
- Do not pick a category just because it is popular
Writing your description
You have a limited number of characters, roughly 750, so be plain and specific. An example: Dave's Plumbing is a local plumber and heating engineer covering Leeds and Wakefield. We repair leaks, service boilers and fit bathrooms. Free quotes and a quick reply. Do not stuff it with keywords, phone numbers or links.
Things that can get a profile suspended
- A fake or shared address
- Putting keywords or a town in the business name
- More than one listing for the same business
- Using a virtual office or mailbox as a place you do not work from
- Misleading categories, or claiming services you do not provide
A 10-minute monthly routine
- Reply to any new reviews
- Add two or three new photos
- Check your hours, phone number and website
- Look for any suggested edits you did not make
- Post a short update about a finished job, if you like
Reviews
Get your direct review link, put it on invoices and send it after every job. Reply to every review. Our guide to getting more reviews has a full routine.
Keep it alive
- Update the profile when your services, hours or area change
- Post a short update about a finished job now and then
- Check your profile each month for wrong information or suggested edits
Common questions
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes, setting up and managing a profile is free.
Can I have a profile without a shop?
Yes. If you travel to customers you can set up as a service-area business and hide your address.
Can I use my home address?
You can use it for verification and hide it from the public listing if you serve customers at their locations.
Do I need a website for my profile?
No, but a clear website that matches your profile helps customers and gives you somewhere to send them.
Our website includes a printable review kit: your Google review link, a QR card and message templates. We build a free preview first.
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