What Google Business Profile optimization covers
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local search results. Optimization is doing that well: every field filled in, accurate, and written for the customer.
It's the first month of most of our local SEO services work. Before we change anything, we write a short spec for each edit, then check that it's live on the profile afterwards. If your profile isn't verified yet, start with Google Business Profile verification.
Name, address, service area and phone
Google's profile guidelines are strict here:
- Name: your real-world name, as on your sign, truck and invoices. Adding extra information isn't allowed and can lead to suspension.
- Address: a real location. No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.
- Service area: service-area businesses should hide the address and list the areas they serve. Google says the area shouldn't extend beyond about 2 hours of driving from your base.
- Phone: a number that reaches your business, preferably local rather than a call center. You can add up to 2 more numbers.
- Website: your own site, not a page that redirects somewhere else.
An example of what not to do: a company called Smith Roofing listed as "Smith Roofing | Best Roofer Vancouver WA". It may look like a shortcut, but the guidelines treat those extra words as unnecessary information, and the profile is at risk. Use the name on your sign. If a service word is part of your real, registered name, that's fine.
Google Business Profile categories
Google says the categories you select affect your local ranking. You get one primary category and up to 9 additional ones. Google asks you to use as few as needed to describe your core business, pick the most specific option that fits, and not add a category for every service.
For a roofing company, that might mean "Roofing contractor" as the primary, then additional categories only for work it really does, like gutter installation. A quick check: search your main service in your town, open the top three map results, and note their primary categories. If all three use one you don't, find out why before you change yours. Choosing them is a big enough topic that it has its own guide: Google Business Profile categories.
How to add services
Services are where most contractor profiles are thin. Per Google's services help page, you add them from Edit services. Google suggests services based on your business type, and you can add custom ones. You can group them, and add descriptions and prices. Custom services that break policy are rejected automatically.
- Accept the suggested services that you actually offer.
- Add custom services in customers' words: "water heater replacement", "storm damage roof repair", "same-day AC repair".
- Write a one or two sentence description for each main service: what it includes and who it's for.
- Mirror them on your website. Each main service should have its own page, so the profile and site tell Google the same story.
Specific services give Google more to match. A profile that lists only "Plumbing" says less about "tankless water heater install" than one that lists it by name.
Description, hours, photos and reviews
- Description: up to 750 characters, with no URLs or HTML, per Google's editing help. Say what you do, where, and what makes you different. Keep promotions out of it.
- Hours: your real customer-facing hours, plus holiday hours. If you offer emergency service, make sure the hours match what happens when someone calls at night.
- Opening date: month and year. Google may use it to show how long you've been in business.
- Photos: real jobs, your crew and your trucks. Skip paying for geotagging, which tests found doesn't help rankings.
- Reviews: a steady flow, and a reply to each one. See how to get more Google reviews.
An example description for a plumbing company, not a client's: "Family-run plumbing company serving Plano, Allen and Frisco. We repair and replace water heaters, clear drains, fix slab leaks and repipe older homes. Licensed in Texas, with upfront pricing before any work starts." It says what, where and why in well under the limit, with no links or offers.
Google reviews your changes before they go live. Changing your name may require verifying again, and moving address always does, so don't make those edits casually.
What profile work alone can do
For a Vancouver, Washington roofer, fifteen weeks of Business Profile work, with no website rebuild, changed its map like this:
- Average Maps rank for "roofing companies": 14.81 to 5.66.
- Grid points outside the top 20: 59% to 0%.
- Top-3 coverage: 13% to 33%.
It isn't finished. The northern areas, Hazel Dell and Minnehaha, still rank 8th to 16th, and the roofing service page hasn't had its on-page pass yet. We scan the same geo-grid every month at the same time, so changes like these are measured the same way each time.
The lesson for owners: a well-kept profile can move rankings before you spend anything on a new website. It won't fix weak service pages on its own, which is why the profile and the site are best worked on together.