Google Business Profile Setup for Trade Businesses
When someone's furnace dies at 9pm, they search Google and call whoever shows up. Your Google Business Profile is the single highest-leverage free marketing asset a trade business has. Here's how to set it up properly.
Create (or claim) your profile
Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you want to own the business. Search for your business name first — if a profile already exists (Google auto-creates them from public data), claim it instead of creating a duplicate.
Google Business ProfilePick your primary category carefully
Your primary category (e.g. 'HVAC contractor', 'Plumber', 'Roofing contractor') is the strongest ranking signal you control. Pick the one that matches what you most want to be found for, then add secondary categories for other services you offer.
Set a service area, not a storefront
Most trades work at the customer's location. Choose 'service area business,' list the cities and counties you actually cover, and hide your home address if you work from home. Don't list a huge area you can't serve — Google ranks you better where you're realistically local.
Complete verification
Google will verify you by video, phone, or postcard depending on the business. Video verification is most common for service-area businesses now — you'll show your work vehicle, tools, or licensing. Until you're verified, the profile doesn't show publicly, so do this immediately.
Fill in hours, phone, and website — completely
Profiles with complete information rank meaningfully better. Set real hours (and update holidays), the business phone you actually answer, and your website link. Consistency matters: your name, address, and phone should match everywhere they appear online.
Add real photos — and keep adding them
Photos of actual jobs, your truck, and your team outperform stock images every time. Add ten to start and a few every month. Before/after shots of real work are the highest-converting photos a trade profile can have.
Ask every customer for a review
Reviews are the other giant ranking factor — and the thing customers actually read. Build the habit from job one: finish the work, then text the customer your review link while you're still in the driveway. A steady trickle beats a one-time blast.
Check your work with a free report
Once your profile is live, run our free AI Growth Report — it reads your actual listing, compares your rating and reviews to other businesses in your trade nearby, and flags what to fix next.
Get the printable checklist
The PDF version of this guide — checkbox for every step, official links included. Stick it on the fridge, cross things off.
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Google Business Profile Setup for Trade Businesses