If you run a local business, there is a good chance more people see your Google Business Profile than your homepage. It is the panel that shows up on the right side of search results and in Google Maps, with your hours, photos, reviews, and a call button.
It is free. It takes an afternoon to do properly. And most businesses do about forty percent of it and then forget about it.
Claim it, even if it already exists
Google often creates a listing for a business automatically. If you have never claimed yours, someone else's data is representing you. Search your business name, look for the "Own this business?" link, and verify.
Fill in every field
- Exact business name, no keyword stuffing
- Categories, primary one first and as specific as possible
- Hours, including holiday hours
- Service area if you travel to customers rather than the other way around
- Services list with short descriptions
- A link to your website, pointed at the most relevant page
Photos matter more than you would think
Listings with real photos get noticeably more clicks than listings without. Not stock images. Your actual truck, your actual storefront, your actual work. Phone photos in decent light are fine.
Add a few every couple of months. An active profile signals an active business.
Reviews: ask, and always reply
Most happy customers will leave a review if you ask directly and make it easy. Send the link. Ask right after you have finished a job and they are pleased.
Reply to every review, good and bad. A calm, specific reply to a negative review does more for your reputation than the review does against it. Future customers are reading how you handle problems.
Keep it and your website in sync
Your name, address, and phone number should be character for character identical on both. When you change your hours, change them in both places the same day.
It is a small habit, and it is one of the cheapest local ranking improvements available to you.