If you can only do one piece of marketing work this month, do this one. A fully optimised Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single highest-ROI hour you can spend on a UK local business - it directly drives map pack rankings, AI search citations, and the calls that actually pay your bills. Most of your local competitors have a profile. Almost none of them have one that's properly worked.
1. Setup, the right way
Sign in at business.google.com with the email address that should own the profile long-term - not your accountant's, not the previous webmaster's. Add the business name exactly as it appears on signage, vehicles and invoices. No keyword stuffing in the name (e.g. "Smith Plumbing - 24/7 Emergency Newcastle") - that's a suspension trigger in 2026.
Choose a primary category. Be specific: "Plumber", not "Contractor". "Hair salon", not "Beauty salon". The primary category has 5–10x the ranking weight of any secondary category. Add up to 9 relevant secondaries.
2. Fill every single field
Profiles where every field is populated outperform half-filled ones by a wide margin in our experience auditing accounts. Specifically:
- Services - list each one as a separate item, with description and price (or price range) where you reasonably can.
- Attributes - accessibility, payment methods, languages spoken, women-led, family-owned. These show up as filterable badges in search results.
- Hours - including holiday hours; outdated hours are one of the top customer complaints in Google's own surveys.
- Description - 750 characters, written for humans, mentioning your service and main areas covered (without keyword stuffing).
- Service area - list the towns and postcode districts you actually serve, not 50 random ones to fish for traffic.
3. Photos - quantity, originality and cadence
Photos directly correlate with both ranking and click-through in the local pack. The bar:
- Minimum 20 original, geotagged photos at launch.
- Five new photos uploaded per month thereafter.
- Mix: 40% completed jobs, 30% team and vans, 20% premises/equipment, 10% behind-the-scenes.
- No stock images. Google's image-recognition models can spot them and they devalue the profile.
4. Weekly Google Posts
Use this 4-week rotation:
- Week 1 - Job done. Photo of a completed piece of work, one-sentence caption, location named.
- Week 2 - Offer. Time-limited promotion or seasonal service.
- Week 3 - Reminder. Seasonal advice (boiler service before winter, gutter clear before autumn).
- Week 4 - FAQ. Answer one common customer question you got that month.
5. Reviews - the engine
Reviews are the second-highest ranking factor in the local map pack after relevance. Three rules that beat any review platform you might pay for:
- Ask in person, immediately. The 24-hour window after a job is when a customer is 5x more likely to leave a review.
- Make it one tap. NFC review cards, a custom short link, or a QR code on your invoice. Every extra tap halves your conversion.
- Reply to every single one. 5-star, 1-star, no comment, doesn't matter. The reply rate is itself a ranking signal.
Review response templates
5-star: "Thanks so much, [Name] - really glad we could sort the [job] for you in [Town]. Appreciate you taking the time to leave a review. Any of the [related service] team will be happy to help if you need us again."
1-star: "[Name], thank you for the feedback and I'm sorry the [issue] happened. That's not the standard we hold ourselves to. I've tried to reach you on the number we have on file - could you call me directly on [number] so we can put it right? - [Your name], owner."
6. Seed the Q&A section
Most owners don't realise they can ask and answer their own questions in the Q&A section. Seed 5–10 with the questions customers actually ask: pricing, response times, service areas, payment methods, accreditations. These appear high in your profile and feed AI search engines directly.
7. The metrics that matter
Inside GBP insights, watch these monthly:
- Calls. The only one that pays the bills.
- Direction requests. A leading indicator for a storefront business.
- Profile interactions split. If photo views are high but call clicks are low, your offer needs work.
Ignore "impressions" - they're a vanity metric.
Keep reading
- The complete local web design guide (pillar)
- The 30-point local SEO checklist
- Showing up in AI search as a local business
FAQs
How long does it take to verify a Google Business Profile in 2026?
Postcard verification still takes 5–14 days. Video verification (now the default for many UK service businesses) is usually approved within 72 hours. Have your branded van, signage and physical location ready to film in one continuous take - that's where most rejections happen.
Should I use a service area or a physical address?
If customers come to you, use the address. If you go to customers (plumber, electrician, mobile groomer), hide the address and define a service area instead. Listing a residential address as a 'storefront' is one of the fastest ways to get suspended.
How often should I post on Google Business Profile?
Once a week minimum. Profiles that post weekly outrank dormant ones with similar review counts. Posts don't need to be elaborate - a finished job photo with a one-line caption is plenty.
What's the best way to get more Google reviews?
Ask immediately after the job, while you're still on site. The 24-hour window is when a customer is most likely to leave a review. NFC review cards (we include one in every Built Local plan) cut the friction further - tap, leave review, done.
How do I respond to a 1-star review?
Within 48 hours, publicly, calmly, and with the customer's name. Acknowledge what went wrong if it did, offer a way to make it right, and never get into an argument in public. Future customers read your reply more carefully than they read the original review.