Google Business Profile for tradespeople: the setup that gets calls
For most trades, the map results Google shows for searches like 'roofer near me' or 'electrician Truro' come from Google Business Profiles. Getting your profile right is free, and for local work it often matters as much as your website.
This guide covers the settings that make the biggest difference for a tradesperson, in the order worth doing them.
1. Service area, not a shop front
Most tradespeople visit customers rather than having customers visit them. Set the profile up as a service-area business and hide your home address if you work from home. Then list the towns and areas you genuinely cover. Listing places you never go only brings calls you will turn down.
2. Get the categories right
Your primary category is the single most important setting. Choose the one that matches the work you want most, such as Plumber, Electrician or Roofing contractor. Add secondary categories only for work you actually do. Then add services under each category, written the way customers describe them.
3. Link your website, and link back
Put your website address in the profile, and make sure your website shows the same business name, phone number and area. Google matches the two, and a profile that points at a website with a different name or number sends mixed signals.
If your profile still points at an old website, update it. It is one of the most common reasons a new site is slow to show up.
4. Photos of your own work
Add photos of real jobs regularly: finished work, before-and-after pairs, your van and you. Profiles with recent, genuine photos look active, and customers scroll through them before ringing. Stock images do the opposite.
5. Reviews, steadily
Ask every happy customer for a Google review, ideally the day you finish, with a direct link sent by text. Reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely. A steady trickle of recent reviews matters more than a burst of them once a year.
6. Keep it alive
Update your hours, add photos and post updates now and then. Check the profile every month or two: Google and the public can suggest edits, and occasionally details change without you noticing.
Common questions
- Do I need a Google Business Profile if I have a website?
- Yes. The profile drives the map results, the website supports it and catches people searching your name or services. They work best together.
- Can I hide my home address?
- Yes. Set up as a service-area business and you can hide the address while showing the areas you cover.
- My profile shows the wrong website. How do I fix it?
- Edit the profile's contact details and update the website field. If you cannot get into the profile, you may need to recover the account that manages it or request access.
- How do I get more Google reviews?
- Ask every satisfied customer, the day you finish, with a direct review link by text or WhatsApp. See the guide on getting Google reviews.
If you would rather somebody just did it
I build websites for self-employed tradesmen and small businesses across the UK: £249.99 to build, then £49.99 a month to host, maintain and update it. The sites I have built show on page one of Google for 103 searches between them, in Search Console.