Google Business Profile for Trade Businesses: Setup Rules That Matter

What does a Business Profile cost?

Nothing. Google’s help page says you can add or claim your Business Profile “at no charge.” If someone calls offering to “verify” or “guarantee” your listing for a fee, that is a third-party sales pitch, not Google. Google’s guidance adds: “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.”

Working from home or a shop customers don’t visit

Most trade businesses go to the customer. Google calls these service-area businesses, and its rules for them are specific:

• Hide a home address. Google says that if you serve customers at their location and don’t serve them at your address, you should remove the address and set a service area. Its own example is a plumber who works from home.
• Up to 20 service areas. You can list cities, ZIP codes or other areas, up to 20. Google doesn’t use a radius setting for this.
• Keep it realistic. Google says the overall area shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.
• No virtual offices. A mailbox, a virtual office or a location you don’t staff isn’t an eligible address.

If customers do visit you (for example, an auto repair shop), list the street address and keep it visible.

Your business name: no extra words

Google’s guidelines say the name on your profile should match your real-world business name as it appears on your signs, trucks and paperwork. Don’t add taglines, phone numbers, hours, service words or city names that aren’t part of your actual name. Google warns that adding unnecessary information to the name can get a profile suspended.

Picking a category

Google’s rule of thumb is to choose categories that describe what your business is, not everything it has or does. Pick the most specific primary category that fits (for example, a plumbing company picks the plumber category), then add a few additional ones only if they truly describe the business. List your individual services in the services section rather than as extra categories.

Phone number, website and description

• Google says the phone number should be under the direct control of the business.
• Link to your own website if you have one.
• The description is for what you do and where. Google’s guidelines say it shouldn’t include links or promotional offers.

Verify the profile

Google offers several verification methods, and which ones you see depends on your business. Google says verified businesses are “more likely to show up” in results on Maps and Search. Follow the steps Google shows in your profile, and use real, matching business details so verification goes smoothly.

How Google ranks local results

Google says local results are based mainly on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the searcher or the location in the search) and prominence (how well known your business is, including reviews and information about it across the web). Complete, accurate information helps with relevance. Reviews are covered in our guide to customer reviews and the rules behind them.

In our view, the most useful habit is simple: keep hours, services, photos and service areas accurate, and answer reviews politely.

Quick checklist

• Did I claim the profile myself, at no charge?
• If customers don’t come to me, did I hide the address and list real service areas (20 or fewer)?
• Is the name exactly my real business name, with no extra keywords?
• Does the primary category say what my business is?
• Is the phone number one my business controls?
• Is the description free of links and promotions?
• Is the profile verified?

Next: what a basic trade business website needs.