Google Business Profile for tradies: the complete guide

A finished Google Business Profile has an accurate category, your real hours, your services listed with photos, a description that says what you do, and a way to book. Most trade businesses have a profile that's technically there but half-finished, which costs them local search results they'd otherwise win for free. This guide goes through every part worth getting right.

If you haven't started, add or claim your profile and verify it first.

Category

Your category decides which searches you show up for and what features your profile can use, including booking buttons for some trades. Google says: "The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google" (Google).

Pick one primary category, as specific as your main trade allows: "Electrician" rather than "Contractor". Add a few more that genuinely apply, such as "Air conditioning repair service" for an electrician who also does that work. To change it: Edit profile, then next to Business category choose Edit.

Don't add categories you don't actually offer. It doesn't help you rank for them and can work against your relevance for the ones that matter.

Services

List every service you offer, not just your main trade. Google lets you add a description and a price to each (Google):

1. Open your profile and choose Edit services.
2. Add from Google's suggested list for your category, or add your own.
3. Give each a short description and, if you're comfortable, a price or starting price.

Keep service names plain: Google rejects names with prices, phone numbers or personal details in them.

Photos

Google recommends photos as JPG or PNG, between 10KB and 5MB, at least 250px on each side, with 720px by 720px as the sweet spot (Google). The types Google names specifically (Google):

• Exterior photos. Your shopfront, van or work site, so customers recognise it.
• Interior photos, if customers visit you.
• Product photos, your tools and equipment.
• Photos at work. You doing the job. This is the one most trade profiles skip, and it's often the most convincing to a customer deciding between businesses.
• Team photos. A face customers can put to the name on the invoice.

Add a handful of each, not fifty of one job. Photos should look like your actual work, not stock images.

Business description

You get up to 750 characters, and Google says not to include URLs or HTML code (Google). Use it to say what you do, where you cover, and what makes you the one to call:

Licensed electrician serving Narre Warren and surrounding suburbs. Switchboard upgrades, fault finding, and new installs for homes and small businesses. Fully licensed and insured, with same-day callouts for urgent jobs.

Skip the sales talk. Plain and specific reads better than "we pride ourselves on quality service".

Hours

Set your regular hours accurately, including if you close for lunch or work weekends. Add special hours for public holidays or planned closures: Google needs your regular hours set to "Open with main hours" first for special hours to show (Google).

A way to book

None of the above matters much if a customer who's interested still has to call and hope you pick up. Add a booking link so there's a Book button on your profile. See How to add a booking link to your Google Business Profile.

Reviews

A profile with 60 recent reviews reads very differently to one with 4 from three years ago. See How to get more Google reviews for how to ask, and How to reply to Google reviews for what to say back.

Keep it current

Google's own advice for ranking starts with keeping your information up to date (Google). An old phone number, outdated hours, or a service you no longer offer costs you both customers and ranking. Check your profile every few months, not just when you set it up.

For a shorter, repeatable checklist of exactly this, see Google Business Profile optimisation: a checklist for trades.

TapBook keeps your services, hours and address in sync with your booking page, and gives you a Google review link to send after every job. See how it works.