How to Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile: A Contractor's Guide

Your Google Business Profile is the listing homeowners see when they search for a contractor near them, and it's free. It puts you on Google Maps and in local results, lets people call or get directions without visiting your website, and shows your reviews before anyone picks up the phone. It's also required before you can run Google Local Services Ads.

This guide walks through claiming and verifying your profile, setting it up the right way for a service-area business, and keeping it current so it keeps bringing in calls.

Why does your Google Business Profile matter?

For most home-service searches, the profile is the first thing a homeowner sees, often before your website.

• It puts you on the map. Your profile is what shows in Google Maps and the local results for searches like "window replacement near me."
• People can call straight from it. Calls, directions and website visits all start from the listing.
• Reviews do the selling. Your star rating and the replies you post are right there when someone is deciding who to call.
• It's your first impression. Photos of real jobs and trucks tell people you're a real, active business.
• You control the facts. Hours, services, service areas and your phone number come from you, not a directory that guessed.
• It feeds everything else. Google now syncs your business name, address and hours from the profile into Local Services Ads, and an affiliated profile is required to run them.

How do you find and claim your profile?

Many contractors already have a profile they've never touched, because Google can create one from public information.

1. Go to business.google.com/add and search for your business name and address.
2. If your business shows up and nobody manages it, follow the steps to claim it.
3. If Google says someone else may already manage it, choose Request access and fill out the form. That might be a former employee, a past agency or a family member who set it up years ago.
4. The current owner gets an email and has 3 days to respond. If they don't, you may get the option to claim the profile yourself from the confirmation email, though Google says that option isn't always available.
5. If no profile exists, create a new one with your real business name and primary category.

Should you show your address or a service area?

If customers don't come to your shop, remove your address from the profile and set a service area instead. That's how Google wants service-area businesses like roofers, window installers and plumbers to set up, and it keeps your home address private if you work from home.

Google's rules for service areas:

• You can list up to 20 service areas, using cities, postal codes or other areas.
• Your overall area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.
• You can't set a radius around your business. Pick the actual towns and ZIP codes you serve.

Be honest about where you'll drive. Leads from a town you don't want to serve cost you time, and on Local Services Ads they can cost you money.

How do you verify your profile?

Until your profile is verified, your edits may not show and you can't run Local Services Ads. Google decides which verification methods you get, so you won't always have a choice:

• Phone or text: a code by call or SMS.
• Email: a code sent to a business email address.
• Live video call: a call with a Google support rep during your business hours.
• Postcard: a code mailed to your address. Most arrive within 14 days, and codes expire after 30 days.
• Video recording: Google recommends this one if you're eligible.

For video, Google asks you to show where you are (outside signs or a street sign), your business or equipment, and proof that you manage it, such as keys or employee-only areas. If you work out of a truck, plan the video before you hit record: the branded truck, your tools and something only the owner would have access to.

A few rules that prevent delays:

• Don't change your business name, address or category while you're waiting on a code.
• Don't request a second postcard. It cancels the first one.
• Google reviews a submission in up to 5 business days, sometimes longer.
• Never share your verification code, even with someone who helps manage your profile.

Which profile fields matter most for contractors?

A complete profile gets matched to more searches. Here's how to fill out each field.

What photos and videos should you add?

Photos are where contractors have the biggest edge. Your work is visual, and homeowners want to see it.

• Shoot: before-and-after shots, finished jobs, your crew at work, your trucks and your team.
• Skip: stock photos and heavy filters.
• Keep it fresh: add new photos every month, so your profile looks like a business that's busy.

Google's specs for profile media:

How do reviews fit in?

Reviews are the part of the profile homeowners read most. Ask every customer for one after every job, and reply to every review, good or bad. Google doesn't allow you to ask only happy customers or to offer anything in return.

We cover asking, replying and handling bad reviews in Google Reviews for Contractors.

How do you keep your profile current?

A profile that was perfect a year ago drifts. Put a monthly check on the calendar:

• Hours still match when someone answers, including holiday hours.
• Services match what you sell today.
• New photos from this month's jobs.
• Every new review has a reply.
• No edits from Google or the public changed your information without you noticing.

Are you ready for Local Services Ads?

If you plan to run Local Services Ads, use this as a final check:

• Profile verified, with the same name, address and phone as your website.
• Service areas and services match what you'll advertise.
• Hours match when someone answers the phone.
• Recent photos of real jobs.
• A steady flow of reviews, with replies.

Then follow How to Set Up Google Local Services Ads. For how the profile and LSA work together, read The Google Profile Flywheel.

How Gozango keeps your profile in shape

• Connected from setup: link your Google Business Profile, and the details you keep in Business Settings push out to it: business name, website, opening date, description, phone numbers, hours, address and service areas, and services.
• Mismatches flagged: your hours show side by side with what's on Google, so a change made directly in Google gets caught and re-synced.
• Services that get searched: Gozango recommends the highest-demand services that match what you do, so Google can match you to more searches.
• Calls tracked: put a tracking number on your profile, and every call from it lands in your CRM with its source.
• Reviews in one place: see and reply to every Google review, with AI-drafted replies in your brand voice, and send review requests after every job.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help, Request ownership of a Business Profile
• Google Business Profile Help, Manage your service areas
• Google Business Profile Help, Verify your business on Google
• Google Business Profile Help, Photo and video guidelines
• Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google
• Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals