Guide

How to Get Your Trade Business on Google Maps: A Google Business Profile Guide for Ireland

When someone searches "plumber near me" or "electrician in Swords", the first thing they usually see isn't a list of websites. It's a map with three businesses pinned on it. Those three get most of the calls.

What decides who shows up there is mostly your Google Business Profile. It's free, it takes an afternoon to set up properly, and for a lot of trades and small businesses it brings in more enquiries than anything else online.

Here's how to get it right.

What is a Google Business Profile?

It's your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps. It shows your business name, phone number, reviews, photos, opening hours and the area you cover. You might still hear people call it Google My Business, which was its old name. It's the same thing.

Setting it up

  1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account you'll keep long term. Use a business account rather than a personal one if you can, so you're not locked out if things change.
  2. Search for your business name. If a listing already exists, claim it rather than making a second one.
  3. Pick your main category carefully. Be specific: "Plumber" or "Roofing contractor" rather than "Contractor". You can add a few extra categories after, but the main one matters most.
  4. Add your phone number and website. Use the same number that's on your website, written the same way.
  5. Choose how customers find you, which is the bit most trades get wrong. More on that below.
  6. Verify the profile. Google will ask you to prove the business is real before it goes fully live.

Service area business or a shop front?

If customers come to you, at a shop, showroom or office, you list your address as normal.

If you go to your customers, like most trades do, you should set it up as a service area business. You still give Google your address privately for verification, but you hide it from the public and list the towns or counties you cover instead. That way you're not showing your home address to the world, and Google understands you work across an area rather than at one spot.

We set our own profile up this way, and it's the right choice for most electricians, plumbers, builders, painters, roofers and landscapers.

Getting verified

These days Google often asks for a short video to verify you. It usually wants to see a few things in one continuous clip: something showing where you are, like the street or your van outside, proof you run the business, like branded workwear, tools, signage or paperwork, and proof you can manage the business, like a till, invoices or your work equipment.

Keep it simple, film in daylight and don't cut the video. If it gets rejected, look at what was missing and try again. It's common to need more than one go.

Filling it out so it actually works

A half finished profile won't do much. Once you're verified, go through these:

  1. Services. List every service you offer, with a short description for each. These help you show up for more specific searches.
  2. Service areas. Add the towns and counties you genuinely cover. Don't add the whole country if you only work in Dublin and Kildare.
  3. Description. Write a few plain sentences about what you do, where you work and why people choose you. Write it for customers, not for Google.
  4. Hours. Keep them accurate, including bank holidays.
  5. Photos. Add real photos of your work, your van and your team, and keep adding new ones every few weeks. Profiles with fresh photos tend to get more clicks.
  6. Website link. Link to your website, ideally to a page that matches what people are searching for.

Reviews are the big one

Reviews are one of the biggest things customers look at, and they matter to Google too.

The easiest way to get them is to ask at the end of every job, while the customer is happy. Send them your review link by text or WhatsApp the same day. You'll find the link in your profile under "Ask for reviews".

Reply to every review, good or bad. A short thank you on the good ones is plenty. On a bad one, stay calm, keep it short and offer to sort it out. Other customers read those replies and it says a lot about you.

Never buy reviews, swap fake reviews with other businesses or offer discounts in return for them. It's against Google's rules and can get your reviews removed or your profile suspended.

Common mistakes we see

  1. Stuffing keywords into the business name. Calling yourself "Best Plumber Dublin Cheap 24 Hour" can get your profile suspended. Use your real business name.
  2. Two or three profiles for the same business. This confuses Google and splits your reviews. Keep one.
  3. Different details in different places. If your name, phone number or address is written differently on your website, your profile and directories like Golden Pages, Google gets less confident about you. Keep them identical everywhere.
  4. Setting it up and forgetting about it. A profile with no new photos, no new reviews and no replies for months looks inactive to customers.
  5. No website behind it. Your profile gets people interested, but many of them will check your website before they ring.

How your profile and website work together

Think of your Google Business Profile as the shop window and your website as the shop. The profile gets you seen on the map. The website is where people go to check you're the real deal: your services, your photos, your reviews and an easy way to get in touch.

When the two match up, same name, same number, same services, same areas, Google trusts both more, and so do customers.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Google Business Profile free?

Yes. Setting it up and keeping it running costs nothing. You only pay if you choose to run Google Ads on top of it.

How long does it take to show up on Google Maps?

Once verified, your profile can appear within days. Climbing higher up the map takes longer and depends on your reviews, how complete your profile is, how close the searcher is and how much competition there is in your area.

Can I have a profile without a shop or office?

Yes. Set it up as a service area business and hide your address.

Do I need a website as well?

You can have a profile without one, but a good website backs up your profile, answers customers' questions and turns more of those map views into phone calls.

Want a hand with it?

If you'd rather we looked after this for you, or you want us to check your profile and website together, give us a call on 087 182 8745 or email info@sitefully.ie. You can also run a free check on your current website at websitecheckireland.ie.

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