When someone searches for a service near them, the map listings often appear above every website. Those listings come from Google Business Profile, it is free, and many small businesses have one they have never touched.
Claim and verify it
Search for your business name and look for the option to claim the listing. Verification can take a few days and may involve a postcard, phone call or video. Anyone can suggest edits to your listing. Once you are verified you are notified and can review them, so check your profile regularly.
Fill in every field
Choose the most specific primary category you can, add secondary categories, list your services, set your service area, and write a description in plain words. Complete profiles tend to show up for more searches.
- Primary and secondary categories
- Services with short descriptions
- Service area or address
- Hours, including holidays
- Website and booking links
Add real photos regularly
Photos of your work, your team and your space help people trust you before they call. Add a few each month rather than twenty once. Avoid stock photos, which people recognize quickly.
Ask for and answer reviews
Reviews are an important signal for local search and for the person deciding whether to call. Reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely.
A calm reply to a bad review is read by every future customer, not just the one who wrote it.
Half an hour a month on your profile often brings in more calls than any change to your website.