The Google Maps Checklist for Trades: 20 Checks to Show Up Across Your Area

Your Google profile

01 Use your real business name Exactly as it is on your van and your invoices. Adding "Plumber Southampton" to the name breaks Google's rules, and it's one of the commonest reasons profiles get suspended.
02 Pick the most specific main category It is the biggest single thing you control. "Heating contractor" and "Plumber" show up for different searches, so choose the one for the work you want most.
03 Add extra categories only for work you really do Every one should match a service you would happily take a call for tomorrow.
04 Set your service area to the towns you cover If customers don't come to you, hide your address and list the areas instead.
05 Give a number that gets answered And make it the same number that is on your website.
06 Keep your opening hours right Including bank holidays. Wrong hours cost you calls from people who assume you are shut.
07 List your services Each one with a line in plain English about what it covers.
08 Write a description that says what you do and where Normal sentences. No links, no prices and no capitals, which Google does not allow there anyway.

The page it points at

09 Point the website link at the right page Send it to the page for your main service, not your homepage. A page built for the search is often what beats a competitor with more reviews.
10 Name the towns you cover on that page In the words people actually type, not just in a footer.
11 Make your number tappable at the top Most of these visitors are on a phone and want to ring, not scroll.
12 Match your details exactly Name, area and phone number the same on the page as on the profile.

Reviews

13 Ask every customer, the same day Send a direct link while the job's fresh. A week later, most people have forgotten.
14 Reply to every review within a couple of days Bad ones included. Keep it calm and short. You're really writing for the next customer reading it.
15 Don't buy reviews or offer anything for them And don't pick and choose who you ask. Both are against Google's rules, and either can cost you the profile.

Keeping it alive

16 Add real photos every month or so Your work, your van, your team. No stock photos.
17 Post now and then, but don't expect a jump Posts help people choose you once they've found you. They don't move you up the map, whatever anyone selling them says.

Everywhere else

18 Same name and number on every listing Checkatrade, Yell, Facebook and the rest. Mismatched details make Google less sure who you are.

Checking it works

19 Check your position from around your area Not from your own house. Your own postcode always flatters you, and five miles out can look very different.
20 Look at your calls every month The performance screen in your profile shows calls, messages and direction requests. That's the number that matters, not the ranking.

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