Google Business Profile: fill it in properly and get more reviews

Why your Google profile matters so much

On a local search ("locksmith Vincennes", "hairdresser open Sunday"), the map and its three profiles appear before the websites. Many customers call straight from the profile without ever opening a website.

Google says that complete and accurate profiles are more likely to appear in these results.

The fields to get right, one by one

• Name: your business name exactly as it appears on your shopfront, quotes and van. No town or keyword added.
• Primary category: as precise as possible ("Plumber" rather than "Business"), then a few secondary categories if they're accurate.
• Address or service area: if you travel to customers without receiving them, set a service area and hide your address.
• Opening hours, including public holidays and exceptional closures: a customer who finds the door shut doesn't come back.
• Services, with one sentence for each.
• Photos: your work, your team, your vehicle, your premises. Real photos taken on your phone are enough.
• Description: what you do, for whom, where. Written for your customers, not for Google.

All these rules are detailed in Google's official guidelines.

Asking for reviews without feeling awkward

Google allows, and even encourages, asking your customers for reviews (Google's tips). The easiest way: a link or QR code that opens the review window directly.

• Ask right after the job, while the customer is happy.
• Send the link by text message: that's where it gets read.
• One reminder a few days later, no more.
• Ask all your customers, not only the ones you're sure about.

This message can go out automatically the day after every job: it's one of the first tasks worth automating.

What Google forbids

Google Maps' content policy forbids offering anything in return (discount, gift, free product) for a review, or to get a negative review changed or removed. Penalties can go as far as blocking new reviews and hiding existing ones for a while.

No "one review = one discount" contests, no fake reviews written by friends and family: the risk far outweighs the gain.

Replying to reviews, including bad ones

A short, polite reply to every review shows you're there. When facing a negative review, stay factual, offer to talk it over by phone, and don't over-justify: your reply is mainly read by future customers.

A well-kept profile is one of the four levers of local SEO. Your website is another: we create or optimise your profile alongside your website.