Guide · Google Business Profile · 7 min read
This is the exact order I fill out client profiles on paid engagements. Work top to bottom - the early items carry the most ranking weight.
Claim the profile, verify it, and confirm your business name matches the real world exactly - no keyword stuffing, no "24/7 Best Price" add-ons. Add your actual website (with UTM tracking so calls from the profile are measurable) and a phone number that a human answers.
Primary category first: the most specific version of what you most want calls for. Then secondary categories for everything else you legitimately offer. An HVAC company: primary "HVAC repair service", secondaries for "Air conditioning repair service", "Furnace repair service", "Heating contractor". This is the highest-impact field on the entire profile.
List each service individually with a 100-300 character description written in customer language. Not "we offer quality HVAC solutions" - "AC not cooling? We diagnose and repair all major brands same-day." Every blank service is a search you've opted out of.
Use the full 750 characters: who you serve, what you do, your city, one differentiator. Set hours accurately (including holidays - nothing burns reviews like a "closed" listing when you're open). Fill every attribute that applies: women-owned, veterans, free estimates, online booking.
Minimum: exterior (findable), interior, team, jobs in progress, equipment. Geotagged real photos, refreshed monthly. Stock photography is recognizable and it costs you trust.
Every engagement starts with a ground-up profile rebuild - exactly as above. The free audit shows you what your current profile is missing before you commit to anything.