Your Google Business Profile: The Free Listing Most London Businesses Leave Half-Finished

When someone in London searches for a roofer, a dentist or a hair salon, they usually don't see your website first. They see the map and a short list of businesses under it. That box with your name, stars, photos and hours is your Google Business Profile. It's free, and for many local businesses it brings in more calls than the website does.

The trouble is, most profiles were set up once and then forgotten. Half the details are missing, the photos are years old, and nobody has answered a review since the pandemic. Google notices. So do customers.

Here's a simple checklist you can work through in an evening.

1. Pick the right main category

Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you show up for. Be specific. "Roofing contractor" beats "Contractor". "Family dentist" beats "Dentist" if that's what you are. Then add a few secondary categories for the other things you really do, and leave out anything you don't.

2. Fill in every field you can

Go through the profile from top to bottom:

• Business description: a few plain sentences about what you do, who you help and the areas you serve.
• Services or products: list them, with short descriptions and prices if you're comfortable sharing them.
• Service area: add the towns you actually serve, like London, St. Thomas, Strathroy or Komoka, not the whole province.
• Attributes: things like wheelchair access, online estimates or women-owned, if they apply.

Every empty field is a question a customer has to call someone else to answer.

3. Get your hours right, including holidays

Few things annoy a customer more than driving over and finding the door locked. Check your regular hours, then add holiday hours before Thanksgiving, Christmas, Family Day and long weekends. Google sometimes asks searchers whether a business was open, and a wrong answer can trigger changes you didn't make.

4. Add real, recent photos

Customers want to see what they're getting. Add photos of your work, your team, your storefront or vehicles, and the inside of your shop if people visit. Real photos taken on a phone are fine. Add a few new ones every month so the profile never looks abandoned.

5. Make sure it matches your website

Your business name, address, phone number and hours should be exactly the same on Google, on your website and on directories. When they don't match, Google trusts all of them a little less, and customers end up calling an old number.

6. Answer every review

Reply to good reviews with a short thank-you that mentions the job, and reply to bad ones calmly and helpfully. Future customers read your replies as much as the reviews. And keep asking for reviews after every job: a steady trickle of new ones tells Google you're active.

7. Post something every week or two

Google posts are short updates that show on your profile: a finished project, a seasonal reminder, a special, a new service. They take a few minutes and keep the profile looking alive. Use a real photo and a clear button, like Call or Get a quote.

8. Check it once a month

Anyone can suggest edits to a Google listing, and Google sometimes accepts them without asking you. Once a month, look over your profile for changes you didn't make: a different phone number, a new category, wrong hours. Fix anything that's off right away.

The short version

A finished, active Google Business Profile is one of the best free tools a local business has. Choose the right category, fill in everything, keep your hours and photos current, answer your reviews and post regularly. If that sounds like a lot to keep up with, that's exactly the kind of work we take off our clients' plates, along with a new website that matches.