When someone searches for a service near them, the first thing they see is usually the map with three businesses on it. That box is Google Business Profile, it is free, and it sends more enquiries to local businesses than most websites do. Here is how to set it up and get into that box.
1. Claim or create your profile
Search your business name on Google. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, create one at business.google.com. Verification is usually by postcard, phone, email or video, depending on your business type. Complete it; unverified profiles barely show.
2. Get the basics exactly right
- Name. Your real trading name, nothing else. Adding keywords or locations to the name breaks Google's rules and can get the profile suspended.
- Address. Your real premises, or for service-area businesses, hide the address and set the areas you cover.
- Phone. A local number if you have one, answered during the hours you list.
- Website. Your home page, or the most relevant landing page.
- Hours. Accurate, including holidays. Nothing loses trust like arriving at a closed door the profile said was open.
3. Choose categories carefully
The primary category is the single strongest signal of what you should rank for. Pick the one that best describes your main business, then add secondary categories for other services. "Accountant" and "Tax Consultant" are different categories with different searches behind them.
4. Fill in everything else
Description (what you do, for whom, where, in plain words), services with descriptions, products if relevant, attributes (accessibility, payment types, and so on), opening date, and the questions-and-answers section, which you can seed with the questions customers ask most.
5. Add real photos
Your premises, your team, your work, your vehicles. Profiles with photos get more clicks and calls. Add new ones periodically. Avoid stock images.
6. Collect reviews and reply to every one
Reviews are the biggest factor you control, for both ranking and whether people choose you. Ask happy customers at the right moment, with a direct link to the review form. Reply to every review, positive and negative, briefly and courteously. A calm reply to a bad review reassures the next reader more than the review worries them.
7. Post occasionally
Short updates, offers, news and photos keep the profile active. Once or twice a month is plenty.
8. Keep your details consistent everywhere
Your name, address and phone number should appear identically on your website, social profiles and directories. Inconsistency confuses Google. Fix old listings with previous addresses or numbers.
9. Link it to your website properly
Your site should show the same address and phone, and ideally include LocalBusiness structured data. A location page for each area you serve, describing the service in that area, strengthens the connection.
10. Check the insights
Google Business Profile reports how people found you, what they searched, and whether they called, visited the website or asked for directions. Review it monthly alongside Search Console.
What ranks you in the map
Three things: relevance (categories, services, description), distance (how close you are to the searcher, which you cannot change), and prominence (reviews, mentions, links and overall online presence). Do everything above and you have done what is within your control. The rest of local SEO, from location pages to citations, builds on this foundation; our SEO for small business guide covers it.
If you want your profile set up and a local SEO plan around it, our marketing team does exactly this. Read about our digital marketing service or request a quote.
Key takeaways
- Google Business Profile is what puts you in the map results, which for local searches sit above the normal listings.
- Complete every field, choose accurate categories, add real photos and post occasionally.
- Reviews, and replies to them, are the biggest ranking and conversion factor you control.
- Consistency of your name, address and phone number across the web matters.
Frequently asked questions
Need help with digital marketing?
eSolution Hub is a UK company with its own engineering team in Lahore. Every project starts with a free 30 minute discovery call and a written quote. Read about our digital marketing service or request a quote.
Request a quote