Google Business Profile for Tradespeople: A Plain-English Setup Guide

When someone searches “roofer near me” or “electrician in Yeovil”, the first thing they usually see is a map with three local businesses under it. Those listings come from Google Business Profile. It’s free, and for most trades it brings in more calls than anything else online.

This guide covers how to set one up properly, what to put on it, and the small habits that keep it near the top.

What a Google Business Profile actually is

It’s the listing that appears on Google Maps and in the map section of search results. It shows your business name, phone number, reviews, photos, opening hours and the area you cover. Customers can call you straight from it without ever visiting a website.

You don’t need a shop or office to have one. Most trades work at customers’ homes, and Google has a setting for exactly that: you list the areas you serve and keep your home address hidden.

Setting it up, step by step

• Sign in with a Google account you’ll keep long term. Ideally use your business email rather than a personal one.
• Search for “Google Business Profile” and choose to add your business. Use your real trading name. Don’t stuff extra keywords into it, as Google can suspend profiles that do.
• Pick your main category carefully. “Roofing contractor” or “Plumber” matters more than almost anything else on the profile. You can add a few secondary categories for other work you do.
• Choose “I deliver goods and services to my customers” and list the towns and areas you cover. Hide your address if you work from home.
• Add your phone number and website. Use the number you actually answer.
• Verify the profile. Google will ask you to prove you run the business. This might be a video showing your van, tools or signage, a phone call or another method. Your profile won’t show properly until this is done.

What to fill in once you’re verified

A half-empty profile looks like a business that might not be around next month. Fill in everything Google offers:

• Services: list each job you do, such as “Flat roof repairs” or “Boiler servicing”, with a short description.
• Description: a few plain sentences on what you do, where, and how long you’ve been doing it.
• Hours: include when you answer the phone, not just when you’re on site.
• Photos: real photos of your work, your van and yourself. Before-and-after shots work especially well. Avoid stock photos.

Keeping it near the top

Google favours profiles that look active and trusted. The three things that make the biggest difference:

• Reviews. A steady trickle of genuine reviews matters more than a big batch once. See our guide on how to get more Google reviews.
• Fresh photos. Add a couple from each finished job. It takes two minutes in the app.
• Reply to every review, good or bad. A short, polite reply to a bad review often reassures future customers more than the review itself puts them off.

Distance also matters. Google mostly shows businesses close to the person searching, so you won’t appear everywhere in your area for every search. That’s normal, and it’s why having a website with pages for each town you cover helps fill the gaps.

Profile or website: do you need both?

The profile gets you seen. The website is where people go to check you’re the real deal before they call: your past work, what you charge roughly, and whether you look established. Most customers look at both before picking up the phone. If you’re still deciding, our guide on whether sole traders need a website goes into this in more detail.