When somebody searches “builder near me”, the first thing they see is a map with three businesses pinned on it. Those three get the majority of the calls. Getting into that box is free, takes about twenty minutes to set up, and most local businesses never bother.
Here is how to get your business on Google Maps properly, and how to give yourself a chance of being one of the three.
What you are actually claiming
It is called a Google Business Profile, and it used to be called Google My Business. It controls two things: the panel that appears beside the search results when somebody looks up your business name, and your pin on Google Maps.
It is separate from your website. You can have one without the other, although they work far better together.
Why the map box matters more than your website ranking
For a local trade, the map results sit above the ordinary blue links. Somebody searching on a phone for an emergency plumber often never scrolls past them. You can be sitting at number four in the normal results and still get almost nothing, while three businesses above you take the calls.
It is also the only part of Google where a brand new business can compete with an established one within weeks rather than years.
Step one: check whether you already exist
Search your business name and town before you create anything. Google often generates listings automatically from other sources, so there may already be one sitting there with the wrong opening hours on it.
If one exists, claim it rather than creating a second. Duplicate listings split your reviews and actively harm you. If you find a duplicate you cannot claim, report it to Google and ask for it to be merged.
Step two: claim and verify
Google needs to confirm you really are the owner. Depending on the business type you will be offered verification by postcard, phone call, email or a short video.
The postcard takes about a week and arrives with a code. Video verification is becoming the most common for trades and usually means filming your van, your tools and your work address in one continuous clip. Have those ready before you start and it takes five minutes.
Nothing you enter goes live until verification is complete, so do this first.
Step three: fill in absolutely everything
Half-finished profiles do not rank. Complete every field:
- Exact business name. Use your real trading name with no keyword stuffing. “Dave Smith Plumbing Slough Emergency 24hr” can get you suspended.
- Service area. If you travel to customers, list the towns you cover rather than showing a shop address.
- Categories. Pick the most accurate primary category, then add secondary ones. This matters more than almost anything else for which searches you appear in.
- Opening hours, including bank holidays. Wrong hours generate bad reviews.
- Every service you offer as a separate entry, each with a short description.
- At least ten photographs of real work, plus your van and your team.
- A link to your website. This is where the two work together.
Step four: get reviews, and keep getting them
Reviews are the main thing deciding which three businesses appear in the box. Not the only thing, but the biggest lever you control.
The trick is asking at the right moment, which is the day you finish the job while the customer is still pleased. Send a text with a direct link to the review form. Never ask somebody to search for you – most will not manage it.
A steady trickle beats a sudden burst. Ten reviews arriving in one afternoon looks exactly like what it is, and Google treats it accordingly.
Common mistakes
- Using a virtual office or a friend’s address you do not actually trade from
- Stuffing keywords into the business name
- Leaving the categories on whatever Google guessed
- Setting it up once and never touching it again
- Ignoring a bad review instead of replying calmly to it
Keeping it working
Add a photo every few weeks. Reply to every review, good or bad – a measured reply to a complaint reads better to future customers than the complaint itself. Post an occasional update. An active profile consistently outranks a neglected one, and almost all of your competitors will neglect theirs.
How it fits with your website
The map listing gets you seen. Your website is where people check you out before ringing, and the two feed each other: a profile that links to a proper site performs better, and a site that names the towns you cover backs up what your listing says.
If you have not got a site yet, ours are built with your trades and service areas already written in, and we will set up and verify your Google listing as part of the build. Have a look at what it costs or get in touch and we will take it from there.