Try typing “hairdresser” or “electrician” plus the name of your town into Google. Before you see the first website, a map with three businesses appears. These three spots get the most calls and clicks – and who shows up there is decided mainly by the Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).
The profile is free and anyone can set it up. Yet many businesses either don’t have one at all or have only half filled it in. Here is how to do it properly.
Creating and verifying your profile
- Sign in to the Google account that will manage the profile. Ideally a company account – not the personal account of an employee who might leave one day.
- On business.google.com, enter your business name. If a profile already exists (Google sometimes creates one automatically), request ownership.
- Choose your primary category.
- Decide whether customers come to you (your address will be visible) or you go to them. In the second case, hide your address and set a service area – the towns or regions where you work.
- Add your phone number and website and verify the profile. Today Google most often asks for a short video of your premises; sometimes a phone call or e-mail is enough.
Business name: a mistake we made too
The name should only contain what your business is actually called. No “| best electrician in Bratislava”, no domain, no extra keywords. It is against Google’s guidelines, and a name like that can cost you rankings or get your profile suspended.
We’ll admit it – our own profile was called “seoforyou.sk | Marketingová agentúra” for a long time. Keywords belong in categories, services and the description, not in the name.
What to fill in so that the profile brings results
Categories. The primary category has the biggest influence of all on which searches you appear for. Choose the most accurate one and add secondary categories for the things you really do.
Services. Add each service separately and describe it in a few sentences. If you can show a price or a “from” price, do – customers decide faster.
Description. You have 750 characters, but mainly the first two sentences will be read. Say what you do, for whom and where. Skip promises like “we’ll get you to number one”.
Opening hours. Including public holidays. Someone who arrives at a closed door is more likely to write a review than someone who was happy.
Photos. Logo, cover photo, premises, people, examples of your work. Real photos from a phone work better than perfect stock images.
Website. Add UTM parameters to the link, for example ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp. In Google Analytics you will then see exactly how many people came from your profile.
Reviews
Reviews are probably the strongest local signal – their number, average rating and freshness all matter. A simple habit works best: after every completed job, send the customer a link to leave a review (you will find it in your profile under “Ask for reviews”). Most people are happy to write one; it just doesn’t occur to them on their own.
Reply to reviews, including the unpleasant ones – factually and politely, because you are mainly writing for future customers. And never buy reviews or write them yourself. Google can detect them, deletes them and restricts the whole profile for repeated violations.
Posts and up-to-date information
Add a post every now and then – news, an offer, an example of finished work. It shows that the business is active. And when your phone number, address or hours change, update them in your profile straight away, not when someone notices.
The same details everywhere
Your name, address and phone number (in SEO this is called NAP) should be identical in your profile, on your website and in directories. If one place shows an old address and another a different phone format, Google is not sure whether it is the same business.
Quick checklist
- The profile is verified and managed by a company account.
- The name contains only the real business name.
- The primary category fits; secondary categories complement your services.
- Services, description, hours and service area are filled in.
- The profile has at least 10 real photos.
- The website link has UTM parameters.
- You ask for a review after every job.
- Your address and phone number are the same everywhere.
If you would like us to look at your profile, it is part of our SEO service. You can also check your whole website with our SEO audit guide, or simply get in touch.