The Google Business profile: a free tool most companies don’t use

A properly completed profile often brings the first inquiries before the website does. A step-by-step guide - from categories to answering reviews.

When someone searches for "bakery near me" or "AC repair + your city", Google first shows the map with three business profiles - and only then websites. If your profile doesn’t exist or is half-filled, you don’t exist where the decision is made.

Step 1: Claim and verify the profile

Check on business.google.com whether your profile already exists (Google often creates them itself). Claim ownership and pass verification - these days most often with a short video of your premises or by phone, and less often by postcard.

Step 2: The category is half the job

The primary category is the strongest signal. "Hair salon" and "barber" are not the same - pick the narrowest one that exactly describes what you live from, then add secondary ones.

Step 3: Fill in everything - literally everything

Step 4: Reviews - ask for them and reply

After every job well done, ask the client for a review (send a direct link). Reply to every one - including the bad ones, calmly and concretely. A profile with 30 reviews and replies looks like a trustworthy company; a profile with three stars and silence looks like a risk.