Guide
Google Business Profile setup for trades
For a local trade, your Google Business Profile does more work than your website on day one. It is free, it takes an evening to do properly, and most of your competitors have half filled theirs in.
Claim it before you build it
Google often creates a listing for a business before the owner does. Search your business name first and see whether one already exists, then claim it rather than creating a duplicate.
Duplicates split your reviews and confuse the map results, and they are a nuisance to merge later.
Getting the basics exactly right
Your business name, address and phone number need to match your website and your listings everywhere else, character for character. This is the single most common thing we fix.
Use one phone number. Not the mobile on the profile and the landline on the site.
Service area or address
If you travel to customers and do not want people calling to the house, set yourself up as a service area business and hide the address. You can then list the towns and counties you cover.
If you have a premises people visit, keep the address visible. Do not invent an address in a town you want to rank in. It gets caught and it is not worth it.
Categories and services
Pick the most specific primary category that fits what you do, then add secondary ones for the rest. A plumber who fits boilers should say so rather than sitting under a general category.
Then fill in the services list with the actual jobs you take on, in the words customers use.
Photos and hours
Add real photos of your own work, the van, the team and finished jobs. Stock images do nothing for you and people can tell.
Keep hours accurate including bank holidays. A profile that says open when you are not costs you a customer who rings and gets nothing.
Keeping it alive
A profile that is set up and then left alone slides. Add photos as you finish jobs, answer questions, and keep asking for reviews.
On our monthly plan this is part of the ongoing local SEO work rather than something you have to remember.
Common questions
Do I need a physical address for a Google Business Profile?
No. If you travel to customers you can set up as a service area business, hide your address and list the areas you cover instead.
How many categories should I use?
One specific primary category that best describes your main work, plus secondary categories for the other services you genuinely offer.
Does posting on my profile help?
It keeps the listing active and gives customers something current to see. It is a small factor on its own but it adds up alongside photos and reviews.
Where to go next
Want us to sort this for you?
We build the site for free and look after the hosting, the updates and the local SEO for €59.99 a month on a 12 month minimum. Have a chat with us and see if it suits.
More guides like this
- Google Business Profile Guide for Irish TradesA plain English guide to setting up your Google Business Profile and showing up on the map in your area.
- How to Get More Google ReviewsThe asking part is the hard bit. Here is a routine that works without feeling pushy.
- How to Rank in Your Own TownWhy local rankings are so uneven, and what actually moves them in your favour.