Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most underutilised free marketing tool for tradespeople. When set up and managed correctly, it puts your business in front of customers at exactly the moment they need you. Here is a complete setup guide.
Step 1: Create or Claim Your Profile
Go to business.google.com. Search for your business name. If it exists (Google sometimes auto-generates listings from public data), claim it. If not, create it from scratch. Verify it — Google will send a postcard with a code to your business address. This typically takes 1-2 weeks.
Step 2: Complete Every Single Section
Incomplete profiles rank lower. Fill in everything: Business name (exactly as on your website), phone number, website, address or service area, business hours, and services. For service-area businesses (which most tradespeople are), you can hide your home address and show only your service area.
Step 3: Choose the Right Categories
Your primary category is the most important. Be specific: “Plumber” not “Contractor”. “Roofer” not “Construction Company”. Add secondary categories for each type of work you do. The right categories directly affect which searches you appear in.
Step 4: Write a Keyword-Rich Business Description
You have 750 characters. Use them well. Describe what you do, where you operate, your key qualifications, and what makes you different. Include your main keywords naturally: your trade, your city, your key services. Avoid stuffing — write for humans first.
Step 5: Add Every Service You Offer
Use the Services section to list each service with a name and description. Include the service name and location where relevant: “Boiler Installation in Leeds”, “Emergency Plumbing Bradford”. Each service description is another opportunity for keyword relevance.
Step 6: Upload Photos Consistently
Add 20+ photos when you set up. Then add 2-3 new photos every week. Photos of completed jobs, your team, your van, before-and-after shots. Businesses with frequent photo updates see significantly higher profile views and engagement.
Step 7: Enable Messaging
Turn on Google’s messaging feature. Some customers prefer to message rather than call. Respond promptly — Google tracks your response time and it affects your ranking.
What to Do Every Month
- Post at least two updates (offers, jobs, tips)
- Respond to all new reviews
- Add new photos from recent jobs
- Check your profile information is still accurate
- Review your insights for which searches are finding you
The Weekly 10 Minute Routine
Profiles that get updated get shown. You do not need hours; you need a repeatable ten minutes on a set day each week. Ours looks like this: add one photo from a real job that week (before and after if you have both), answer any new questions, reply to every new review even if the reply is two sentences, and check the insights tab for which searches found you. Once a month, add a short update post: a job you are proud of, a seasonal reminder, an availability note. That is it. The habit matters more than any individual update, because Google reads a live profile as a live business.
Mistakes That Get Profiles Filtered or Suspended
Most profile problems are self-inflicted, and the three below cause the bulk of them.
Keyword stuffing the business name. If your registered name is “JL Electrical” then “JL Electrical | Best Electrician Leeds | EICR | EV Chargers” is a suspension waiting to happen. Google has been aggressive about this for years, and a rival can report you in about thirty seconds. Use your real trading name and let the categories and services do the keyword work.
A dodgy address. Virtual offices, co-working spaces and a mate’s unit you do not really work from all risk the filter. If you work from home and do not want the address public, that is exactly what the service-area business setting is for; use it honestly.
Review shortcuts. Buying reviews, review swaps with other trades, or gating (only asking happy customers) can all backfire badly. Slow and steady real reviews beat a suspicious spike every time. If the worst happens, we have a full guide to getting a suspended profile reinstated.
What to Do if Your Visibility Drops
Rankings wobble; do not panic at every dip. But if calls have clearly slowed for a fortnight, work through this in order: check the profile is still live and verified (search your business name directly), check nothing has been edited by Google or “suggested” by the public (the info tab shows pending changes), check a competitor has not suddenly overtaken you on reviews, and check you have kept the weekly routine going, because dormancy is the most common cause of slow decline. Then run through our local SEO checklist end to end; nine times out of ten the fix is in there.
Need help optimising your Google Business Profile? See our Local SEO service or book a free call.
Photos That Actually Work
Forget the myth about geotagging photos; Google has said for years it ignores embedded location data. What matters is that photos are real, recent and varied: finished jobs, work in progress, the van, the team, before and afters. Shoot landscape on a decent phone in daylight, add two or three a week, and name the files sensibly before uploading. Profiles with a steady flow of genuine job photos look alive to both Google and the homeowner comparing three sparkies at 9pm, and the comparison is where profiles win or lose work.
About the author
Jamie Laird is the founder of Grwthhub, a marketing agency for trade businesses in Leeds and Yorkshire. Before marketing he spent a decade on the trade side as a quantity surveyor, pricing and running jobs for builders and contractors, which is why the advice here leans practical rather than theoretical. Read more about Jamie and Grwthhub or get in touch.