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Essential
Marketing playbook

Google Business Profile

Claim and optimize your Google Business listing to appear in local searches.

What the profile signals

The listing has to answer the first four questions.

Service area

Make the covered neighborhoods, cities, and dispatch radius clear before customers call.

Contact path

Use the right office number, hours, and appointment path so local search turns into booked work.

Proof of work

Add photos, services, categories, and recent project context so the listing looks active.

Review motion

Build a steady review request process that follows completed jobs and customer approvals.

Complete setup guide

Claim, complete, and grow the profile.

Google Business Profile

Claim and optimize your Google Business listing to appear in local searches

Essential

Why Google Business Profile Matters

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the most important online marketing tool for local trade businesses.

Show up in "near me" searches

46% of all Google searches are for local businesses

Appear on Google Maps

Free visibility when customers search your service area

Build trust with reviews

93% of consumers read online reviews before hiring

100% Free

No cost to claim and maintain your profile

Getting Started - Step by Step

Follow these steps to claim and optimize your profile
1

Claim Your Business

Go to business.google.com and search for your business name. If it exists, claim it. If not, create a new listing.

Google will verify your business via postcard (5-7 days), phone, email, or instant verification if eligible.

2

Complete Your Profile 100%

Businesses with complete profiles receive 7x more clicks. Fill out every section:

  • Business name, address, phone (NAP - must match your website)
  • Category: Select primary (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrician) + 9 additional categories
  • Service areas: List all cities/zip codes you serve
  • Hours: Regular hours + special hours (holidays)
  • Website & booking link
  • Business description (750 characters max)
3

Add High-Quality Photos

Businesses with photos typically get more direction requests and website clicks than listings without photos (Google publishes engagement benchmarks on its business profile help center).

  • Logo: Square, 250x250px minimum
  • Cover photo: 1024x576px, showcases your work
  • Team photos: Your technicians, trucks, uniforms
  • Work photos: Before/after, completed projects (20-50 photos)
  • Interior/exterior: Office, shop, warehouse
4

Add Services & Products

List specific services you offer with descriptions and pricing (if applicable):

  • AC Installation, Repair, Maintenance
  • Emergency 24/7 Service
  • Water Heater Installation
  • Electrical Panel Upgrades
  • Include starting prices when possible ("From $89")
5

Get Reviews & Respond

Reviews are a primary ranking signal for local search. Aim for steady review volume and respond to every new review promptly.

  • Ask every happy customer for a review (via text/email)
  • Respond to ALL reviews within 24-48 hours
  • Thank positive reviewers, address negative reviews professionally
  • Never offer incentives for reviews (against Google policy)

Google Q&A

Customers can ask questions directly on your profile. Monitor and answer within 24 hours. Seed with FAQs like "Do you offer emergency service?" and "What areas do you serve?"

Click-to-Call Button

Mobile users can call directly from your profile. Track call volume in insights. Make sure your phone number is correct and answered during business hours.

Directions & Service Area

Customers get directions to your location. For service area businesses, hide your address and show service cities instead (better for privacy and broader reach).

Photo Posts

Share updates, promotions, completed projects as posts. Photos stay for 7 days, events show until the date passes. Post weekly for best results.

Review Management

Get notifications for new reviews. Responding increases trust and shows you care. Use templates for faster responses but personalize each one.

Business Hours & Attributes

Add attributes like "24/7 Emergency Service", "Licensed & Insured", "Free Estimates". Update special hours for holidays to avoid frustrated customers.

Pro Tips for Maximum Visibility

Post Weekly

Share project photos, promotions, tips. Posts expire after 7 days so stay active.

Use Google My Business App

Get notifications instantly, respond to reviews on the go, add photos from job sites.

Monitor Insights Weekly

Track views, clicks, calls, direction requests. See what search terms bring customers.

Consistent NAP

Name, Address, Phone must match exactly across website, citations, social media.

Keywords in Description

Include your services and service area naturally. "HVAC repair and installation serving [City, City]"

Video Content

Add 30-second videos of your team, your work, customer testimonials. Video performs better than photos.

Ready to Get Started?

Setting up your Google Business Profile takes 30-60 minutes and can generate leads for years.
Local search hygiene

Keep the profile useful after launch

A claimed profile is only the baseline. The listing needs accurate details, fresh proof, and a repeatable review workflow.

  • Confirm name, address, phone, and website match the rest of your local listings.
  • Set categories and services before sending paid traffic to the profile.
  • Review questions, messages, and photo updates weekly so the listing does not go stale.
Maintenance cadence

Treat the profile like an active storefront

A Google Business Profile performs better when the content, reviews, and service details keep up with the season and the work being sold.

Weekly

Review new reviews, questions, messages, photos, and service edits before the profile looks unattended.

Monthly

Refresh photos, service descriptions, coverage areas, and offer language based on what customers actually booked.

Seasonal

Update emergency, tune-up, maintenance, and replacement language before demand shifts.

Proof assets

Show the work that earns the click.

Before and after work

Show finished jobs, clean installs, equipment labels, and documented repairs without exposing customer details.

Team trust signals

Add branded trucks, uniforms, office photos, licenses, and service-area context so customers know who is coming.

Service clarity

Use specific service entries and descriptions that match how customers search, not internal category names.

Avoid these gaps

The profile should create clean demand, not noisy calls

Local search is only useful when customers see accurate coverage, trust the proof, and reach the right booking path.

  • Using a tracking number that breaks local citation consistency.
  • Listing a service area the dispatch team cannot reliably cover.
  • Collecting reviews without a response process for negative or detailed feedback.
Review board

Give the profile an owner and a review rhythm

A local profile stays useful when accuracy, activity, and conversion are checked on a visible cadence.

Accuracy

Check name, phone, hours, services, coverage, and website links against the rest of the web presence.

Activity

Review photos, posts, questions, messages, and review responses so the profile looks maintained.

Conversion

Watch calls, direction requests, bookings, and form fills against real scheduled jobs.

Customer journey

From search to a scheduled job.

Discovery

A customer finds the profile while comparing local providers, response times, and reviews.

Intake

The office captures the service need, location, urgency, and source before the lead is lost.

Follow-through

The request becomes a scheduled job, review request, or nurture task with context intact.

Campaign readiness

Make sure demand has somewhere to go

Marketing tools should connect to intake, scheduling, follow-up, and review workflows before spend or search visibility increases.

Lead owner

Name who responds when the campaign creates a call, message, or form fill.

Booking path

Confirm every inquiry can become a scheduled job without manual re-entry.

Proof loop

Connect completed work back to reviews, photos, and follow-up.

Operating handoff

Turn attention into booked and completed work

  • Track the source so marketing outcomes can be reviewed against real jobs.
  • Route urgent requests differently from low-intent browsing.
  • Review closed revenue, not only clicks, calls, or impressions.
Profile conversion system

A profile should create a traceable customer path.

Search signal

Services, hours, photos, reviews, and coverage make the business eligible for attention.

Intake signal

Calls, messages, and bookings need source context before the job reaches dispatch.

Revenue signal

Profile work should be reviewed against scheduled jobs and collected revenue.

Review response plan

Make reviews part of the service workflow.

  • Ask for reviews after completed, paid, well-documented work.
  • Respond to detailed feedback with specifics instead of generic thanks.
  • Feed review themes back into training, dispatch, and customer communication.
Built for operators

A shared operating layer behind every page

Whether a buyer starts on an industry, feature, migration, or tool page, Thorbis routes the conversation back to the same product system: jobs, money, customers, and team work in one place.

01

One workspace

CRM, dispatch, estimates, invoices, payments, and reporting stay connected.

02

Unlimited users

Bring owners, office staff, dispatchers, techs, and managers into the same system.

03

Guided switch

Migration planning, validation, and cutover support are built into the buying path.