As a home service contractor, you are dependent on new business. After completing a job, it may be months or even years before that same client will need your services again. Therefore, finding ways to get new leads and clients is the best way to grow your business and maintain a consistent stream of revenue.
In today’s world, most customers go online to find their home service providers rather than looking at signs or picking up a phonebook. And the number one place they go to online is Google. Whether they are looking for a roofer, HVAC professional, remodeling contractor, windows specialist, new siding, gutter cleaner, plumber, painter, architect, patio and deck builder, fencer, pool contractor, or mover, a Google Business Profile can point them your way.
But what exactly is a Google Business Profile? And how can you optimize it in order to get new business and rank higher than your competitors? In this guide, we’ll help you learn some helpful Google Business Profile tips for home services contractors that can take your small business to the next level.
What is a Google Business Profile?
Let’s start by discussing what a Google Business Profile is. A Google Business Profile, previously called Google My Business, is an online business listing that helps local businesses get discovered by people in their area, share key details, and provide information that helps attract new customers.
A Google Business Profile is highly interconnected with search results. When someone searches for “plumbers in my area”, the top results are Google Business Profiles. The Google algorithm will pick businesses that are in the immediate vicinity, have good reviews, and are fully optimized for display, and it’s these businesses that get the majority of new traffic from a Google search.
The profile will be displayed with a featured image and a map link to where your business is located. It will also have links to your website, phone number, or store. Other information displayed includes your current Google rating, a link to your full reviews, a short description of your business, your hours of operation, your service areas, and other key details.
Benefits of Having a Google Business Profile
Having a Google Business Profile provides many benefits to your home services company. Some of the top benefits include:
- Increased Visibility: Your home services company can get better rankings in local search results and appear higher on the search results page.
- More Reviews: Having a visible profile makes it easier to collect reviews from customers and increase your star rating.
- Free and Easy: A Google Business Profile is completely free and is designed to be user-friendly to help even the most inexperienced optimize their profile.
How to Set Up a Google Business Profile
Setting up your Google Business Profile is easy and only takes a few minutes to get started. Just follow these steps and you’ll be up and running in no time.
- Create a Google Account for your business or sign in with your business email domain
- Go to “create a profile”
- Enter the name of your business or claim it from a list of existing businesses
- Search and select your business category and click “next”
- Select whether or not you have a physical location for customers to visit, then enter your business address and position your marker
- Enter the service area of your business by selecting cities, zip codes, or communities you operate in
- Enter your phone number and your business website URL and click next
- Finish and verify your business
Once your Google Business Profile is created, you are all set to get started! You can always access your profile by going to Google and signing in, or just searching for Google Business Profile in Google and picking the first result.
Optimizing Your Google Business Profile to Attract More Customers
Now that you have a Google Business Profile set up, you can start to optimize it in order to start ranking higher and gaining new business. Here are a few helpful Google Business Profile tips for home services contractors that can get you started in the right direction.
Complete Your Profile
While the setup part of creating your Google Business Profile has you input some information about your business, there are still more areas that you can fill out in order to complete your profile. That includes things like your:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Location
- Attributes
- Hours
- Website Link
- Services
- Images
- Map Location
Verifying that all of these details are correct and filling in any sections that need more information is an important part of building a complete profile that resonates with potential clients. If your Google Business Profile is too bare, it might be overlooked in favor of a competitor’s profile that does have detailed information and fully filled-out sections.
Write a Compelling and Authentic Business Description
Your business description is another important part of your profile that needs to be filled out. This is a short snippet that needs to convey a lot about your brand. The description needs to be compelling and authentic to readers while making sure that you are accurately describing what your business does. Take the time to carefully craft your description rather than throwing a generic description on your Google Business Profile.
Upload Photos and Videos of Your Business
Another important aspect of your Google Business Profile is the photos and videos that are on display. If you don’t have any images or videos, your profile will look bare and plain to customers, or even look unprofessional compared to your competitors sporting a visually-rich Google Business Profile. You don’t need to get too complex, but a few photos of your work, your building, your team, or your community can help your profile look great. It also helps your business appear more human to your viewers rather than just a business name and address.
Respond to Customer Reviews
Reviews are an important part of any business. We tend to trust the opinions of others, so having high-quality, detailed reviews is important for your home services company. It’s equally as important to respond to reviews. You can thank customers for positive reviews and offer apologies or further context to negative reviews. Just make sure that you don’t get defensive in your replies. Be professional and grateful with every interaction you have with people on your profile. Remember, it’s all public, and if you start responding angrily, it won’t improve your reputation.
Answer Questions from the Questions & Answers Section
Many websites have an FAQ or common questions page. This lets businesses provide answers to the most common questions they get. A Google Business Profile has a similar tool with the Questions & Answers section. When customers ask questions about your business, like if you can do certain services or if you are familiar with a specific system, you can answer and leave the response public for all to see. This helps people find answers to their questions and also makes your business appear more active and more responsive than profiles that leave their questions unanswered.
Post on Google
Posting on social media is a great way to grow your brand’s reputation and be discovered by more people. Similarly, you can post on Google and help people searching for answers find them provided by your business. You can post information about your business, like new team members or awards and recognitions, share important educational information, or showcase special offers. Then, when someone is searching for related topics, they can come across your business profile. It also helps you showcase some of the unique features of your business and your area of expertise.
List Services or Products Your Business Provides
If someone is looking for a home services contractor, they might have only a single issue or a number of problems that need to be addressed. And some contractors offer more than one solution, while others are more specialized. In order to clear up the confusion so that you only get qualified leads, you should list the services your business provides. You can also list products if you sell certain brands or have your own line of tools.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform Demo
If you are a home services contractor who wants to find new business and improve your Google Business Profile while also improving your marketing strategy, then Surefire Local is the platform for you. Surefire Local is a business intelligence marketing software that you can use for a fraction of the cost of other agencies or tools. Using Surefire Local, you can manage all of the important online marketing activities you have within a single platform.
To learn more about how Surefire Local can improve your lead generation, book a demo of the platform today and discover how we can help your home services business grow.