Google Business Profile: the free listing most local firms underuse

When someone searches for a local service, the map results often appear above the normal list of websites. Those listings come from Google Business Profile. For many small businesses, that profile is the first thing a new customer sees, before they ever visit the website.

It is free. Most businesses claim it, fill in the basics, and never touch it again. That leaves plenty of room to stand out with a little regular attention.

Get the basics exactly right

Google compares the details on your profile with what it finds elsewhere: your website, directories, social pages. When they match, it has more confidence in you. When they do not, it hedges.

• Name: use your real business name, exactly as it appears on your sign, website and paperwork. Google does not allow extras such as taglines, town names or phone numbers in the name.
• Address or service area: if customers visit you, show the address. If you go to them, set a service area instead (see below).
• Phone and website: the same number and web address you use everywhere else. Check the website link goes to your site, not a social page.
• Opening hours: keep them current, including bank holidays. Wrong hours lead to annoyed customers and poor reviews.

Shop front or service area?

This is the setting most trades and home-based businesses get wrong. Google's rules depend on whether customers come to you.

A service area can include up to 20 towns, cities or postcodes. You cannot draw a radius around your base, and Google says the whole area should be within about two hours' drive. List the places you really cover, starting with the ones you most want work from.

Choose your primary category carefully

Google says local results are decided mainly by relevance, distance and prominence. Your primary category is a big part of relevance, because it tells Google what you are. Pick the most specific one that describes your main service. You can add secondary categories for other things you do, but keep them relevant. Ticking every loosely related box tends to dilute things rather than help.

Fill in services and products

This section is often left empty. Add each service you offer, with a short plain description and a starting price where you can. It helps people understand what you do without leaving the listing, and it gives Google more context about the searches you are relevant for.

Add real photos, regularly

Photos of your actual premises, team at work, and finished jobs build trust in a way stock images never will. They do not need to be professional. Good light and a steady hand are enough. Adding a few new ones every month also shows the profile is active.

Ask for reviews, and reply to all of them

Reviews matter to customers and to how your listing performs. The simplest approach is to ask, at the moment the customer is happiest: when the job is finished, the meal is over or the treatment has gone well.

Getting your review link takes a minute:

1. Open your Business Profile on a computer.
2. Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link, or right-click the QR code and save the image. Google says the QR code can only be made on a computer browser for now.

Put the link in your thank-you email or text, on invoices and receipts, and the QR code on a card by the till. Customers need a Google account to leave a review, but it does not have to be a Gmail address.

Then reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely. A calm, helpful reply to a poor review often reassures future customers more than another five stars would.

Add the links customers need

Your profile can do more than send people to your home page. Google lets you add one link for a menu or list of services, and up to 10 links each for bookings, reservations and ordering. Use the ones that fit your business:

• Bars, pubs and restaurants: a menu link, or build the menu inside the profile, plus a reservations link. See our guide to websites for bars, pubs and restaurants.
• Clinics and salons: a booking or appointments link that goes straight to your booking page. See websites for clinics.
• Trades: a services link to a page that lists what you do and the areas you cover. See websites for trades.

Check each link on your own phone. A booking link that lands on a general home page loses people at the last step.

Check what is working

Once your profile is verified, the Performance section shows what people do with it. The numbers worth a monthly glance:

The search terms are the most useful. If people find you for a service you barely mention, add it to your services and your website. If a service you want more of never appears, that is a gap to fill.

Make your website back it up

Your profile and your website should tell the same story. Mention the areas you serve on your site, use the same business details, and link back to the profile from your contact page. If the website is slow or unclear, people who click through from the map may still leave. Our six signs checklist covers the common problems.

A simple monthly routine

1. Check your hours, phone number and website link are still correct.
2. Add two or three new photos.
3. Reply to any new reviews.
4. Ask two or three recent customers for a review.
5. Glance at the profile performance numbers to see what people searched for.

It takes around twenty minutes. If you want help with the wider picture, including how your listing compares with competitors nearby, take a look at our Visibility Audit.