Google Business Profile optimisation for trade businesses.
You have a Google profile, but no real idea whether it is helping. For many trade searches it is the first thing a customer sees, before your website. Optimisation gives Google a clear picture of what you do and where you work, and gives a customer comparing three businesses enough reason to pick up the phone to you.
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Signs the profile is not pulling its weight.
- You set it up years ago and only touch it when your hours change.
- It lists one category and few or no services, even though you do a wide range of work.
- The photos are old, blurry or missing, or customers’ photos are the only ones showing.
- Competitors with fewer years in the trade appear above you in the Map Pack.
- You are not sure who else has access to it, or whether the details are still right.
Most profiles are set up once, then left.
That is understandable. You run a trade business, not a marketing department. Some owners post now and again or add keywords to the description, hoping something sticks. None of that is wrong, but it does not give Google a complete picture of what you do and where, and it does not give a customer comparing three businesses enough reason to choose you.
Optimisation is about closing those two gaps in a deliberate order, and keeping them closed.
The profile does two jobs.
It helps decide whether you appear. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot change how far a customer is from you. You can make it much clearer to Google what you do, where you work and how established you are, and the profile is where most of that starts.
It helps decide whether you get the call. Someone comparing three businesses in the Map Pack judges them on what they see in a few seconds: the reviews, the photos, the services listed, whether you are open, and how easy it is to ring you. An incomplete profile loses that comparison even when it does appear.
Every field, done properly.
Categories carry a lot of weight
The primary category tells Google what kind of business you are, and it is one of the first things worth getting right. I check the categories used by the businesses that already appear for your main searches, then choose the ones that accurately describe your work. A category for a service you do not offer might bring the wrong enquiries and can put the profile at risk.
Services should match your website
The services on your profile work best when your website has a page that backs each main one up. That is where service page SEO comes in: the profile says what you do, and the page proves it.
Profiles change without you
Google and members of the public can suggest changes to a business profile, and some of those changes go live. A wrong phone number, a new closing time or a changed category can cost you calls for weeks before anyone notices. Part of the work is checking for that and putting it right.
Four common starting points.
The work depends on the state of the profile today. Most trade businesses fall into one of these.
No profile yet
The profile is created and then verified. Google chooses the verification method, which can include a phone call, a text, an email or a short video showing the business and its tools or signage. Until verification is complete, the profile does not show publicly.
A profile you cannot get into
A previous web designer, agency or employee set it up and nobody has the login. Google has an ownership request process for this. It can take time, so it is worth starting early.
More than one profile
Duplicates happen after a move, a rebrand, or when someone creates a second listing by mistake. They split reviews and confuse customers. The fix is to report the duplicate to Google and keep one accurate profile.
A profile that is live but thin
The most common case. The profile exists and is verified, but has one category, no services, a handful of old photos and no updates in months. This is usually where the quickest gains are.
Showing the work, not stock images.
Photos are one of the first things people look at when they open a profile. For a trade business, the useful ones are the ones a customer cannot fake: finished jobs, work in progress, the van with your name on it, and the people who will turn up. If customers visit your premises, a clear photo of the entrance helps them find it.
Customers can add their own photos too, and Google may show them alongside yours. That is another reason to keep adding your own, so the best picture of your work is the one people see first.
Updates work the same way. A short post about a recent type of job, a seasonal reminder or a change to your hours keeps the profile current. Special opening hours for holidays stop customers ringing when you are closed. None of this needs to be daily. It needs to be regular and accurate.
What changes can trigger a review by Google
Editing important details, such as the business name, the address or the primary category, can lead Google to review the profile again and sometimes ask for fresh verification. That is not a reason to avoid necessary changes. It is a reason to make them deliberately, one at a time, and to check the result afterwards.
Benchmark, change, then measure.
- Benchmark first. Before anything changes, record where the profile appears across your area and how it compares with the businesses in the Map Pack. That way the effect of the work can be seen rather than assumed.
- Profile and website as one system. Categories and services on the profile are matched with pages on your website, so both tell Google the same story.
- Real material only. Your own photos, your own services, your own words. Nothing borrowed or invented.
- Measured across the map. Visibility is checked from a grid of points over your service area, not from one search on one phone.
What is needed from you
Manager access to the profile, a list of the work you do and want more of, the areas you cover, and some recent photos of real jobs. You stay the owner throughout.
How progress is judged
By the things that matter to the business: calls, website visits and direction requests from the profile, which Google reports, and where the profile appears across your area compared with the starting benchmark.
Want to know how your profile compares?
The free audit checks your Google Business Profile against the businesses already in the Map Pack for your searches, and tells you what to fix first.
What i will not do.
Shortcuts on a Google Business Profile tend to end in a suspended listing. This work stays inside Google’s guidelines.
No fake addresses
No virtual offices or borrowed addresses. If customers do not visit you, the address is hidden and service areas are used instead.
No invented services
Only work you actually do goes on the profile, described the way you would describe it to a customer.
No fake reviews
No bought, swapped or self-written reviews. Reviews are earned through the review strategy.
The profile is one part of the system.
A well set up profile still needs support from the rest of your presence online. Your business details should match everywhere they appear, which is what citation building takes care of. Reviews need a steady habit behind them. And the whole picture starts with a local SEO audit, so the profile work goes where it will make the most difference.
AKVelora is based in Cardiff. If that is where you work, see local SEO in Cardiff, or see all the areas we serve.
Common questions.
How soon will i see a difference?
There is no fixed timeline. Some changes, like correcting a category or completing missing services, can show up within weeks. Others build over months. Anyone who promises a date for a ranking is guessing.
Can you guarantee a top 3 position?
No. Google decides the results, and distance from the searcher is something nobody can change. What i can do is remove the things holding your profile back and keep it complete and active.
Do i have to give you my Google login?
No. You add me as a manager on your profile, and you stay the owner. You can remove that access whenever you like.
I do not have a shop or an office. Can i still have a profile?
Yes. Businesses that visit customers can have a profile with the address hidden and service areas shown instead. The profile still has to be verified with Google.
Can i have a separate profile for each area i cover?
No. Google allows one profile for each real business location. Profiles for areas where you have no premises break the guidelines. Areas you travel to are shown as service areas on your one profile.
Will you post on my profile every week?
Updates are part of keeping the profile active, and the right rhythm depends on your business. The aim is regular, accurate posts about real work, not posting for the sake of it.
See what your profile is missing.
The free audit includes a check of your Google Business Profile against the businesses already in the Map Pack for your searches.
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