Google Business Profile Optimization — Contractor Edition

Google Business Profile (GBP) — formerly Google My Business — is one of the highest-leverage free marketing assets a contractor has. A fully optimized GBP is a leading source of calls for many home service businesses, and it costs nothing per lead. Yet many contractors have it wrong: incorrect primary category, missing services, few recent reviews, and no replies to the ones they have.

This guide is the actual contractor optimization workflow: what Google says drives local ranking, the checklist to fix in week 1, and a 15-minute weekly routine. Where something is a common practitioner belief rather than a Google statement, we say so.

1. Set the right primary category (the single most impactful decision)

Your primary category determines which searches you can show up for at all. A plumber who picks 'Contractor' as primary category will not rank for 'plumber near me' — period. Always pick the most specific available category for your trade.

2. Add every secondary category that genuinely applies

Google allows up to 9 additional categories beyond your primary. Add the ones that describe services you actually offer; they widen the searches you're eligible for. Don't add categories for work you don't do just to fill the slots.

3. List every service you offer (in the Services section)

The Services section is widely underused. List each service you actually offer (a roofer might list repair, replacement, inspection, gutters, soffit and fascia, ventilation, skylights, leak repair and storm damage). It tells Google and customers exactly what you do, and it's quick to fill in.

4. Write a plain, specific business description

750-character limit. Mention your trade, the main areas you serve, your top services and one real differentiator (years in business, Google Verified status, a certification). It's written for customers; don't stuff it with keywords or add links and promotions, which Google's guidelines don't allow.

5. Verify the listing (if you haven't)

• Google decides which verification methods your profile is offered; video verification is now common for service-area businesses.
• Video verification: record one continuous clip showing your location or vehicle signage, business tools or equipment, and proof you manage the business.
• Phone, text, email or postcard verification may be offered instead, depending on the business.
• Until verified, your profile may not show publicly, so do this first.

6. Set up service area properly (for service-area businesses)

If you don't serve customers at your address, Google's guidelines say to remove the address from the public profile and set service areas instead (up to 20). Service areas tell customers where you work; they don't move the point Google measures distance from.

Reviews are the prominence lever you control most directly. Google says review count and review score factor into local ranking, and that more reviews and positive ratings can improve it. Recency also matters to customers deciding whom to call, so a steady flow beats a burst every two years.

An automated review request system

• After every completed job, fire an auto-SMS within 4 hours: 'Hey [Name], thanks for letting [Company] handle your [job]. If you have 60 seconds, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? [link]'
• Use a service like Podium, NiceJob, or GHL to automate this; manual asking tends to lapse when the team gets busy.
• Personalize the SMS with the customer's name and the specific job; personal asks get far more responses than generic ones.
• Send one follow-up SMS a few days later if they didn't respond. Ask every customer the same way; don't offer rewards for reviews or ask only happy customers (Google prohibits incentivised reviews, and the FTC's 2024 rule bans buying reviews).
• Reply to every review (5-star, 4-star, 1-star), ideally within a couple of days. Google recommends responding to reviews, and prospects read your replies.

Photos (what customers check first)

• Upload a solid batch of photos in week 1 — finished jobs, before/afters, your trucks, your team, your office.
• Add a few new photos a month going forward so the profile looks active to the people browsing it.
• Don't bother geotagging: there's no good evidence photo location data affects ranking, and Google doesn't document any use of it.
• Use real photos, not stock — Google's guidelines say photos should represent your business, and stock images can be removed; customers can also tell.
• Add cover photo + logo + interior + exterior + product photos as separate categories in your GBP dashboard.

Common questions (Q&A is being retired)

Google has been phasing out the public Questions & Answers feature on Business Profiles (its API was retired in November 2025), so don't build a plan around it. The questions customers ask still need answers: put them in your business description, your services and a FAQ on your website, where Google and AI assistants can read them. If your profile still shows Q&A, answer anything open.

Questions to answer on your website and profile

• What areas do you service? — list cities + zip codes
• Are you licensed and insured?
• What's your typical response time?
• Do you offer financing?
• What's your warranty policy?
• Do you charge for estimates?
• What's your typical [service] cost range?
• Do you handle emergency calls 24/7?

Posts (optional, but cheap)

• Posting weekly or so keeps the profile current for people who look at it; Google hasn't said posts affect ranking, so treat them as a customer-facing extra.
• Post types that work: Updates ('We just finished a 47-square roof in [neighborhood]'), Offers (limited-time discount), Events (community involvement), Products (new service launches).
• Include a photo on every post.
• Add a CTA button on every post (Call, Book, Order, Learn More).
• Offer and event posts end on the dates you set; update posts stay in your profile's post history.

Once you've done the foundational work in weeks 1–3, GBP becomes a 15-minute weekly task. Set the calendar block. Don't skip.

• 1. Wrong primary category. Picks like 'Contractor' or 'Construction' instead of trade-specific. The single biggest mistake.
• 2. Empty Services section. Customers and Google can't tell what you actually do.
• 3. No review requests and no replies. Google says review count and score factor into ranking, and prospects read your replies.
• 4. Out-of-date information: wrong hours, old phone numbers, services you no longer offer. Keep it accurate.
• 5. Stock photos / no photos. Real job photos build trust with the people deciding whom to call.

• 30 days: review requests going out after every job, and new reviews arriving each week.
• 60 days: check your main service queries with a local rank tracker; movement varies, and distance and competitors decide a lot.
• 90 days: compare calls, direction requests and website clicks in the Performance tab with the month before you started. There's no guaranteed timeline to the top 3; distance and your competitors decide a lot of it.
• 180 days: judge GBP by the share of calls and leads it now drives, tracked in your CRM. Marginal cost per lead approaches zero.