How to set up your Google Business Profile.

When someone searches your business name — or “roofer near me” — the box with your hours, reviews, photos and map pin is your Google Business Profile. It’s free, and for a local business it’s often the first thing a customer sees. Here’s how to set it up right.

Before you start

• A Google account you’ll keep for the business — not one tied to an employee who might leave.
• Your business name exactly as it appears on your sign and website.
• Your address, or the towns you serve if customers don’t come to you.
• Your phone number, website and hours.

Step by step

1. Check whether a profile already exists. Search Google for your business name. If a profile shows up, claim that one instead of making a second — duplicates confuse Google and customers.
2. Start at google.com/business and sign in with your business Google account.
3. Enter your real business name. No extra keywords or towns, like “Smith Roofing – Best Roofer Billings.” Stuffing keywords into the name is against Google’s rules and can get a profile suspended.
4. Pick the most specific category. “Roofing contractor,” not “Contractor.” You can add a few more categories later.
5. Choose a location or a service area. If customers visit you, add your address. If you go to them — or you work from home — hide your address and list the towns you serve instead.
6. Add your phone number and website. Use the same number that’s on your website. Matching details everywhere help Google trust them.
7. Verify the business. Google will offer one or more ways to prove it’s yours — often a phone call or text, an email, or a short video of your business. The profile won’t show in search until it’s verified.

Fill it out completely

• Hours, including holiday hours, so nobody drives to a locked door.
• Services or products, in the words your customers use.
• A description of up to 750 characters: what you do, who you serve and where.
• Photos: your logo, your work, your storefront or truck, and your team. Real photos beat stock photos.

Get reviews the honest way

Reviews are one of the first things customers look at. Google gives you a short link for asking for reviews; text or email it to happy customers right after a job goes well.

• Reply to every review, good or bad. A calm, helpful reply to a bad review reassures the next customer.
• Don’t pay for reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them, and never post fake ones. It’s against Google’s rules, and Google removes them.

Common mistakes

• Two profiles for the same business.
• Keywords or town names stuffed into the business name.
• A home address showing when customers never come to it.
• A phone number that doesn’t match the website.
• Old hours, and reviews nobody answered.

Connect it to your website

Your profile and your website should back each other up: same name, same phone number, same towns, and a site that loads fast on phones. When they match, Google can trust both.