TapBook blog: guides for trade businesses

How to get your business on Google Maps

If your business isn't on Google yet, go to business.google.com/add and choose Add your business to Google. If it's already there but nobody's claimed it, search for its name and suburb, choose Claim this business, then Manage now. Either way, you'll then verify it before customers can fully see your details.

Check if you're already listed

Search Google for your business's name and suburb first. Sometimes a profile already exists, created from a directory listing or a past customer's edit, without anyone having claimed it.

• Found, unclaimed: choose Claim this business, then Manage now, and pick a verification method.
• Not found: go to business.google.com/add and choose Add your business to Google, then follow the prompts to enter your details.

(Google)

If you work from a van, not a shopfront

Most tradies are a service-area business: you go to the customer rather than the other way around. Google still asks for a business address to set you up, but you don't have to show it publicly.

Under Edit profile, then Location, turn off Show business address to customers, and add up to 20 service areas by suburb or postcode instead. Google says the area shouldn't reach further than about two hours' drive from your base (Google). You're generally allowed one service-area profile if you have no public shopfront with signage.

Fill in the essentials as you go

While you're setting it up, add:

• Category. As specific as fits your trade.
• Phone and hours.
• Services, even a short list to start.

You can add more later. The full detail is in Google Business Profile for tradies: the complete setup guide.

Verify it

Being listed isn't the same as being verified. Until you verify, your content might not show properly across Google, and you can't reply to reviews. See How to verify your Google Business Profile for the ways Google verifies a business and how to film a verification video from a van.

Once you're live

1. Add a booking link so customers can book, not just call. See How to add a booking link.
2. Start asking every customer for a review. See How to get more Google reviews.
3. Come back to it every few months and run through the optimisation checklist.

TapBook works with Reserve with Google, so once your profile's set up, customers can book a time straight from it. See how it works.

How to reply to Google reviews, with templates

Open your Business Profile, choose Read reviews, then Reply under the review, write a short, personal answer, and choose Reply again. Your profile must be verified first. Replies are public and the reviewer is told when you reply, so thank people by name, fix what went wrong, and never argue.

How to reply

1. Open your Business Profile and choose Read reviews.
2. Under the review, choose Reply.
3. Write your reply and choose Reply.

On a computer you can also reply in Google Maps: search for your business, scroll to Reviews, and choose Reply.

A few things Google says about replies (Google):

• You need a verified profile. "Before you can reply to reviews, you must verify your business." If yours isn't, see How to verify your Google Business Profile.
• Google checks replies first. Most show within 10 minutes, but a check can take up to 30 days.
• Replies are public and show your business's name, not yours.
• The reviewer is notified, and can change their review after reading your reply.
• You can edit or delete a reply any time from the same place.

What makes a good reply

Google's tips come down to a few rules (Google):

• Keep it short. Two or three sentences.
• Make it personal. Use their name and mention the job. Google warns against the same generic thank-you on every review.
• Reply promptly. A reply within a day or two shows you're paying attention.
• No promotions. Don't use replies for deals or discounts.
• For bad reviews, never share private details about the customer or make it personal.

Templates for good reviews

Thanks Jo. Glad the car's running smoothly again, and thanks for trusting us with the logbook service. See you next time.

Thanks Sam, we appreciate you taking the time. Hope the new hot water system keeps you in hot showers for years.

Thanks Priya. It was a tricky switchboard, so it's good to hear it all works. Call us any time.

Change the details each time. The specific bit, "the logbook service" or "the switchboard", is what makes a reply read as real.

Templates for bad reviews

Write the reply for the next customer reading it, not for the reviewer.

The job went wrong and it's your fault:

Sorry Alex, that's not the standard we aim for, and you're right that we should have called when we were running late. I've sent you a message so we can make it right.

You disagree with what they've said:

Thanks for the feedback, Chris. We quoted $380 before starting and the final invoice matched it, but we're sorry the job didn't feel like good value. Happy to talk it through: our number's on our profile.

You've no record of them:

Hi, we can't find a job under this name in our records. If we've done work for you, please get in touch so we can look into it.

If a review looks fake or breaks Google's rules, report it too. See Can you remove a Google review?.

What not to write

• No arguments. Even when you're right, a fight in public costs you more than the review did.
• No private details. Don't mention their address, what they paid, or their history with you beyond what they wrote.
• No blame on staff by name.
• No offers in exchange for changing the review.

Make replying part of the week

Set a time each week to reply to every new review. It keeps your profile looking looked-after, and Google lists replying to reviews among the ways to help your business stand out (Google).

More reviews make each bad one matter less. TapBook asks every customer for a review when you mark the job complete. See how it works.

How to verify your Google Business Profile

Sign in to the Google account that manages your business, search for your business's name, and choose Get verified. Google then offers one or more ways to prove the business is yours: a video, a live video call, a code by phone, text or email, or a postcard. Google picks which ones you get. Most reviews finish within 5 business days.

Why verify

Until your profile is verified, you can't reply to reviews, your changes may not show, and Google says content from an unverified profile "might not appear across Google" (Google). Verifying is also what lets you add a booking link that customers can trust.

Find your profile and start

• Your business is already on Google: open Google Maps, search for your business's name and suburb, choose Claim this business, then Manage now, and pick a verification option. In the Maps app, it's under About.
• Your business isn't on Google yet: go to business.google.com/add and choose Add your business to Google.
• You've claimed it but not finished: search for your business's name while signed in, and choose Get verified on your profile.

(Google)

The ways to verify

"Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed," Google says. What you're offered depends on your type of business, what's public about it, your region and your hours, and you may need more than one (Google).

If Google offers video, it recommends it.

Filming a video when you work from a van

Most tradies are what Google calls a service-area business: you go to the customer. Google uses a plumber and a locksmith as its examples, and says a video should show three things (Google):

1. Where you are. Street signs or landmarks near your business address. Working from home is fine: film your street.
2. That the business is real. The tools and equipment you work with.
3. That it's yours to manage. Unlocking your branded van, or you doing a job. A business invoice or utility bill in the business's name works too.

Film it in one go on your phone through the profile, with no edits. Don't show ID or bank numbers, or other people's faces.

If you travel to customers, hide your address

Google says a service-area business "should hide your business address from customers" (Google). Google still needs an address it can find to verify you. Customers just don't see it.

Under Edit profile, then Location, remove the address and add up to 20 service areas by suburb or postcode, within about two hours' drive of your base.

While you're waiting on a postcard, don't change your business's name, address or category, or the code won't work.

When it doesn't go through

• Get verified shows again. Google couldn't finish verifying you. Try again, or try another method if one appears.
• Your video is rejected. Open Review issues to see why. A common reason is missing proof you run the business: film yourself unlocking the van or show a business bill.
• No method works. Contact Google Business Profile support from the help centre.
• Your profile is suspended. Use Google's appeals tool: choose the profile, then Submit Appeal, and add documents like your ABN registration, licence or a utility bill whose name and address match the profile. Google says decisions can take up to 5 business days, and not to make a new profile or send more appeals while you wait (Google).

Once you're verified

Google emails you when it's done. Then:

1. Check your name, phone, hours and service areas.
2. Add a booking link, so customers can book from your profile. See How to add a booking link.
3. Start asking every customer for a review. See How to get more Google reviews.

TapBook works with Reserve with Google, so customers can tap Book online on your verified profile and book a time without calling. See how it works.