If your customers live near you, the first place many of them will look for you is a map. Before you spend a dollar on ads or a second on social media, make sure the free listing that appears there is accurate and complete. It is called a Google Business Profile, and it is one of the most useful things a local business can own.
Claim it and verify it. Search for your business name on Google Maps. If a listing exists, claim it. If not, create one. Google will ask you to verify that the business is really yours, usually by a code sent to your phone, email or a postcard. Do this with a login you control, not a freelancer's account, so you never lose access.
Choose your main category carefully. Google asks you to pick a primary category, such as "plumber" or "bakery." This tells Google what you are, and it matters more than almost any other field. Choose the one that most precisely describes your core work, then add a few secondary categories for the rest.
Make your details match everywhere. Your business name, address and phone number should be written the same way on your Google profile, your website, your social pages and any directories. Small differences, like "Street" in one place and "St." in another, are usually harmless, but a different phone number or an old address causes real confusion for customers and for search engines.
Keep your hours honest. Update your hours for holidays and schedule changes. Nothing frustrates a customer more than driving to a closed door that the map said was open.
Show real photos. Add photos of your storefront, your team, your work and your products. Real photos of your actual business are more trusted than stock images. If you serve customers at their homes, show finished jobs.
Describe what you do in plain words. Write a short description and list your services. Say what you would say to a neighbor: what you do, where you work, and what makes you easy to deal with. Skip the buzzwords.
Ask for reviews, and answer them. Reviews help new customers decide. Ask happy customers to leave one, at the moment they are happiest, and make it easy by sending a direct link. Never buy reviews or write your own; it violates the platform's rules and customers can usually tell. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly. A calm reply to a complaint often reassures future customers more than the complaint worries them.
Check in once a month. Set a calendar reminder. Look at your photos, hours, questions from the public and any new reviews. A profile that is current signals a business that is paying attention.
One caution
No one can promise you a top spot on the map. Rankings depend on many things, including how close the searcher is and how well your profile matches what they asked for. What you can do is remove the avoidable problems: wrong details, missing information and silence.
About us
Launch Your Small Biz is powered by Netsam, a technology company that has helped businesses show up on the Internet since 1996. Getting a business listed accurately and consistently, and connecting it to a website that backs it up, is the kind of practical work we do every day.
If you want help setting up or cleaning up your local presence, reach out at launchyoursmallbiz.ai.