Type "garage", "bakery" or "machining" followed by the name of your town: even before the websites, Google shows a map and three businesses. What appears are their Google profiles (Google Business Profile). This profile is free, and it is often the first thing your future customers see. Here are the seven settings that make the difference.
1. Claim and verify your profile
Your business may already have a profile, created automatically by Google or by a customer. Go to business.google.com, search for your business and ask to manage it. Google then checks that you really are the person responsible for it (by video, by post or by another method, depending on the case). Until the profile is verified, you control neither the information nor the photos.
2. Choose the right primary category
This is the most important setting for showing up in the right searches. Pick the most precise category possible: "Auto body shop" rather than "Garage", "Machine shop" rather than "Industrial company". Then add a few secondary categories that describe your other activities, without adding ten of them.
3. Keep your real name, with no added keywords
It's tempting to write "Smith – Cheap Plumber Chicago". Google's rules forbid it: the profile name must be your trading name, as it appears on your shopfront and your documents. An over-"optimised" profile can be suspended. Keywords belong elsewhere: in the description, the services and the posts.
4. Exact contact details and opening hours, identical everywhere
Your name, address and phone number must be exactly the same on your profile, your website, directories and social media. This consistent information reassures Google that you are a serious business. Remember special opening hours too: a customer who finds the door closed on a public holiday rarely leaves a good review.
5. Real photos, and often
A profile with photos makes people want to click. Show your shopfront (so people can find you), your team, your premises, your work. Use your own photos rather than stock images. And add new ones regularly: one new photo a month shows that the business is alive.
6. Reviews: ask everyone, reply to each one
Reviews carry a lot of weight, for Google as much as for your customers. The right method is simple:
- Ask all your customers for a review, after a purchase or an appointment, with a short message containing the direct link to your profile.
- Reply to every review, thanking people for the good ones and answering the bad ones calmly: future customers mostly read your replies.
- Don't filter your customers so that you only ask the happy ones, and never buy reviews: it breaks Google's rules.
7. Keep the profile alive
A profile that changes is better promoted. Post news, an offer or a project a few times a month. Fill in the list of your products and services, with a one-sentence description for each. Finally, write the business description in your own words, naturally mentioning what you do and where you work.
And at ATARE?
We create or take over your Google profile (categories, opening hours, photos, description, link to your website), then we can keep it up to date every month: posts, replies to reviews, photos and offers, with a short report. We also set up automatic review requests after each purchase or appointment, for all your customers, as Google requires.
