How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile Properly

Your Google Business Profile is free, takes a few hours to set up properly, and is the single biggest lever for getting found by local customers — on Google Maps, in search results, and increasingly in AI recommendations. Most businesses have one. Almost none have set it up properly.

Why it matters more than ever

When someone searches for a plumber, electrician, café or any local business, the first thing Google shows is the “map pack” — three businesses in a box with their rating, address and phone number. Getting into that box doesn’t require an ad budget or years of SEO work. It requires a complete, well-optimised Business Profile.

It also feeds directly into AI recommendations. Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI use your profile data — your categories, services, reviews and location — when deciding who to recommend. A half-finished profile is a missed opportunity on both fronts.

Step 1 — Claim your profile

Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account. Search for your business name. If it already exists (Google sometimes creates profiles automatically from other data), claim it. If it doesn’t, create it from scratch.

Google will ask you to verify that you’re the real owner. This usually means receiving a postcard at your business address with a code, though some businesses can verify by phone, email or video. Don’t skip this — an unverified profile has limited visibility.

Step 2 — Choose the right primary category

This is the single most important decision in your profile. Your primary category tells Google (and AI) exactly what type of business you are. “Plumber” is very different from “HVAC contractor” or “Bathroom remodeling contractor.” Choose the most specific category that accurately describes your main service.

You can add secondary categories too — for example, a plumber might add “Heating contractor” and “Boiler installation service.” These expand the searches you appear in without diluting your primary focus.

Step 3 — Fill in every section

Most profiles are 40% complete. Google rewards completeness — and so do the customers who land on your profile. Go through every section:

• Business name: exactly as it appears everywhere else — consistency matters
• Address: your real address, or set a service area if you work at customer locations
• Phone number: the number you actually answer
• Website: your actual website, not a Facebook page
• Opening hours: accurate, including any regular closure days
• Services: add each service individually with a short description — this is what AI searches pull from
• Business description: 750 characters. Write naturally about what you do, who you serve and where. Include your trade and your town.
• Attributes: tick every relevant one — free estimates, on-site services, wheelchair accessible, etc.

Step 4 — Add photos

Profiles with photos get significantly more clicks than those without. You don’t need a professional photographer. Good phone photos of your work, your van, your team and your premises do the job. Aim for at least 10 photos to start, and add a few more every month or two.

The cover photo and logo are worth particular attention — they’re what people see first. Make the cover photo something that shows what you actually do.

Step 5 — Set up your review link

In your profile dashboard, find your review link — a short URL you can send to customers asking them to leave a review. Save it, add it to your email signature, and send it after every job.

When asking for reviews, be specific: “If you have a minute, it would really help if you could mention what we did and the area — it helps people find us.” A review that says “Joe fixed our boiler in Marlborough, turned up on time, fair price” does ten times more for your visibility than “great service!”

Step 6 — Post regularly

Google Posts are updates that appear on your profile — offers, news, completed jobs, tips. Most businesses ignore them. Posting once every two to four weeks signals to Google that you’re an active business. It takes five minutes and makes a measurable difference to how often you appear.

Don’t want to do it yourself?

If this feels like a lot of work, the £99 Google Profile Setup at WeLaunchd covers everything above — I do it for you, properly, in a day. And it comes off the price if you go on to a full website build.