How to claim and verify your Google Business Profile, step by step
It is free, it takes about fifteen minutes, and it is the highest-return thing a local contractor can do online. Here is exactly how.
- google-business
- local-seo
How to claim and verify your Google Business Profile, step by step
It is free, it takes about fifteen minutes, and it is the highest-return thing a local contractor can do online. Here is exactly how.
Before you spend a dollar on marketing, claim your Google Business Profile. It is free, it controls how you appear in the map pack and in Google search, and an unclaimed profile means someone else - or no one - controls your name on Google. This is the highest-return fifteen minutes a contractor can spend online.
Step 1: Check if a profile already exists
Search your business name on Google. If a profile appears that you have never managed, it may have been auto-generated or claimed by someone else. Either way, you need to take ownership.
Step 2: Claim it
Go to Google Business Profile and search for your business. If it exists, claim it. If it does not, create it. You will need a Google account - use a business one you control, not a personal account tied to an employee who might leave.
Step 3: Verify
Google needs to confirm you are really the business. Depending on your situation, verification happens by postcard to your address, phone, email, or video. The postcard method takes several days, so start now rather than the week you need it.
Step 4: Complete everything
Once verified, fill it out fully:
- Primary category - "Plumber" or "Roofer," not "Contractor."
- Service areas - the towns you actually serve, honestly.
- Phone and a link to your site or booking.
- Hours, including whether you do emergencies.
- At least six real photos - your truck, your team, finished jobs.
- A plain description of what you do and where.
Step 5: Keep it alive
A claimed-then-abandoned profile does little. Post occasionally, respond to reviews, keep hours current. Google favors profiles that look actively run.
The common traps
- Using a fake address to appear in more areas - this gets listings suspended.
- Keyword-stuffing your business name - this gets penalized.
- Letting a marketing vendor own the profile instead of you - always keep control.
Where the website comes in
Your profile and your website work together: the profile wins the immediate map-pack call, the website wins the specific searches and backs up your credibility when a homeowner clicks through. Claim the profile first because it is free and fast - then make sure the site it links to actually converts the homeowner it sends.
<!-- related-reading -->Related reading
- Why isn't my plumbing business showing up on Google?
- How do I show up for "near me" searches?
- Website or Google Business Profile — which first?
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