If people find you by searching for what you do near them, a Google Business Profile is the most useful free thing you can set up. Here is what it does and how to do it right.
Who needs a Google Business Profile?
Any business that serves customers in a place. That covers storefronts and offices, and it covers service-area businesses that go to the customer: plumbers, cleaners, contractors, appraisers, mobile repair. A company that only sells online with no local customers gets less from it.
What does it do for my business?
It puts you on Google Maps and in the local results that show above the regular links. It is also a source Google's AI answers and assistants like ChatGPT and Copilot draw on when someone asks who does what nearby. When your profile, your website, and your other listings say the same thing, you are easier to recommend.
How do I set one up?
- Claim or create the profile. Search for your business on Google first. If a listing exists, claim it instead of making a second one.
- Verify it. Google picks the method: video, phone, email, or a postcard. Follow it exactly. The profile does little until it is verified.
- Pick the primary category carefully. It matters more than anything else on the profile. Pick the most specific one that fits, then add a few secondary categories.
- List your services with prices. Each service with a short description and a price or a range. Prices get quoted.
- Add photos of real work. Your shop, your crew, your trucks, finished jobs. Skip stock photos.
- Set hours, including holidays. Wrong hours earn bad reviews.
- Write the description. What you do, who for, and where, in plain sentences.
- Post now and then. A new job, a seasonal service, an update. It shows the profile is alive.
- Ask for reviews and reply to every one.
Can I hide my home address?
Yes. A service-area business can hide its address and show a service area instead. Set the area to the cities or counties you serve. Your address still has to be real for verification, and Google does not show it to the public. A post office box or a virtual office address is against the rules and gets profiles suspended.
What mistakes get a profile suspended?
- Adding keywords or a city to the business name.
- Using an address you do not operate from.
- Two profiles for the same business at the same place.
- Reviews from employees, family, or paid services.
What does setup cost?
The profile is free from Google. A proper setup from me is $600: the category choice, services with prices, the description, photos, hours, and a check that your name, address, and phone match your website and other listings. If you want me to look first and tell you what is wrong, the one-hour check-up is $150. The AI search page has the rest of the work.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.