How to set up a Google Business Profile for a new trades business

Step 1: Get your basics ready before you open Google

Gather the facts first, so everything you enter is consistent from day one. Changing your name, phone number or category repeatedly in the first weeks can cause verification trouble.

Have these ready:

• Your registered business name, exactly as your provincial registry has it. If you are not sure, the areas pages link to every province's and territory's business registry.
• A phone number you will keep for years. Ideally a separate business line that can take texts.
• Your main trade in one or two words, such as "electrician", "painter" or "landscaper".
• The towns or neighbourhoods you serve. Think in drive time: where can you reach in about 30 to 45 minutes without losing money on travel?
• Your hours. Be honest. If you answer the phone until 7 p.m., say so. If you do not take emergency calls, do not list 24 hours.
• A few real photos. You, your vehicle, a finished job or two.

Step 2: Use a Google account you control for the long term

Create the profile under a Google account that you, the owner, control. Do not let a nephew, a friend who "does websites" or a cold-calling sales rep create it under their account.

If you already use a personal Gmail address, that can work, but many owners prefer a separate account just for the business. Write the login details somewhere safe. If you later hire help, you can add them as a manager without ever giving away ownership.

Step 3: Enter your name exactly as it is registered

Type your business name precisely as it appears on your registration, invoices and vehicle. Nothing extra.

This is the single most important rule. "Lakeview Electric" is a name. "Lakeview Electric | Electrician | Cheap Panel Upgrades" is not. Adding keywords, towns or slogans to your name might look clever, but it goes against Google's guidelines and is a frequent cause of suspension. If your registered name is your own name, such as "Sam Okafor", that is fine; your category will tell people what you do.

Step 4: Choose one honest primary category

Pick the primary category that best describes your main trade, then add a small number of secondary categories only if they are genuinely things you do.

Some practical tips:

• Type your trade and read the suggestions slowly. There is often a more specific option, such as a specific type of contractor rather than a general one.
• Your primary category has a strong influence on which searches show your profile. Pick the work you most want, not every service you could possibly offer.
• Do not add categories for trades you are not qualified or permitted to do. What you may legally advertise can depend on your province; check with the official bodies linked from our areas pages.

Step 5: Hide your address and set a service area

If customers do not come to your location, choose the option that says you serve customers at their location and hide your address. Then add your service area.

Most trades are what Google calls service-area businesses. You may still need to enter an address privately for verification, but it does not have to appear publicly. That matters if you work from home: you do not want your home address on a map.

For the service area, list the cities, towns or neighbourhoods you really cover. A sensible area is better than a huge one. A plumber in a mid-sized city who lists every town within 200 kilometres rarely gets calls from the far edges, and the ones that come in are often unprofitable after travel.

Step 6: Add contact details, hours and your website

Add your phone number, your hours and, if you have one, your website. If you do not have a website yet, leave the field empty rather than linking to a social page you rarely update.

Many people on mobile tap the call button straight from the profile, so make sure the number goes to a phone you actually answer, or to a voicemail that says when you will call back. If you are often on a ladder or under a sink, consider a text auto-reply so callers know you will respond.

Step 7: Get through verification

Verification is how Google confirms you are a real business at a real place. Google chooses the method it offers you, and the options change over time, so read the instructions on screen carefully.

For new trades businesses, a short video is common. If that is what you are asked for:

1. Plan the clip before you start. It usually needs to be one continuous recording.
2. Start outside, showing your street or surroundings, then your vehicle with any signage.
3. Show your tools and equipment.
4. Show proof that you manage the business, such as a business document or an account you can log into.
5. Keep the camera steady and the clip short.

If verification fails, do not create a second profile. Read the message, fix what it says, and try again. If you are stuck after a couple of attempts, that is a good time to ask for help with your profile.

Step 8: Fill in the rest properly

Once verified, complete everything that is relevant. A complete profile gives customers more reasons to call you rather than the next name.

Step 9: Start collecting reviews from day one

Reviews are the main thing that separates a new profile from an established one. Ask every satisfied customer, at the end of every job, while they are still pleased.

Get your short review link from the profile, and save a text template on your phone. Something like: "Hi [Customer name], thanks again for having me out to [Street or town] today. If you were happy with the work, a short Google review would really help a new business like mine: [link]. Thanks, [Your name], [Business name]."

A few rules worth following:

• Never pay for reviews, swap reviews with other businesses, or write your own. Misleading reviews can breach Google's rules and Canada's rules on misleading representations.
• Ask everyone, not only the customers you expect to be delighted. Selective asking makes your rating less trustworthy.
• Reply to every review, briefly and personally.

To understand what steady reviews can do, look at GasBoilers.ca, a gas-boiler division built for CANRO Heat that holds a 5.0★ rating from 76+ Google reviews. It is a result from our HVAC work, not a promise for other trades, but the habit behind it applies to any trade.

Step 10: Keep it alive with ten minutes a week

A profile that is set up once and forgotten slowly loses ground to competitors who keep theirs active. Ten minutes a week is enough.

A weekly routine:

1. Add one or two photos from this week's jobs.
2. Reply to any new reviews and questions.
3. Check your hours are right, especially around holidays.
4. Note in your call log how many callers mention Google.

Once a month, look at the basic performance numbers Google shows you, such as calls and direction requests, and compare them with last month.

Common setup problems and what usually causes them

When something goes wrong with a new profile, it is usually one of a handful of causes.

• Suspended soon after creation: often a name with added keywords, a virtual office address or a category that does not match the business.
• Verification keeps failing: the video did not clearly show the business in one continuous clip, or the details entered do not match.
• Not showing up in searches: the profile is new and has few reviews, the service area is unrealistic, or the primary category does not match what people search for.
• Duplicate listings: an old profile from a previous business, or one created by someone else. Claim or remove duplicates rather than leaving them.

With your profile set up, the next step is to fill your calendar. Our guide to landing your first 20 customers picks up from here, and the DIY marketing plan for your first year shows how the profile fits into a weekly routine. More guides are listed on the guides page.