Setup guide · 30 minutes · free · October 2026

Google Business Profile for trades & local services.

When someone searches "plumber near me," the map with three names under it appears above every website. That map is Google Business Profile — it's free, it takes about 30 minutes, and for a local trade it's the single highest-value thing you can do online. Here's the setup, the mistakes that bury you, and how it fits with a website.

Set it up right, first time

Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to own the listing long-term — not your cousin's, not a staff member's.

Use your real business name. Not "Joe's Plumbing — BEST PLUMBER GEORGE 24/7." Keyword-stuffing the name is the #1 reason listings get suspended.

Pick the right category. Your primary category ("Plumber", "Electrician", "Building contractor") is the biggest ranking factor you control. Add two or three secondary ones that genuinely apply.

Service area, not a fake address. If you work from your bakkie, list yourself as a service-area business and add the towns you actually cover. Don't list your home address if customers don't visit it.

Verify. Google verifies by video, phone, or a postcard. Do it immediately — unverified listings don't rank.

Add photos that prove you're real: you, your bakkie, your tools, finished jobs. Listings with photos get noticeably more calls. Ten decent photos beat zero perfect ones.

Write the description like a human: what you do, where you work, how long you've been at it. Skip the buzzwords.

Reviews: the engine

After the setup, reviews decide who wins the map. Ask every happy customer, immediately after the job, while they're still smiling — send the review link from your profile's "Ask for reviews" button via WhatsApp. Reply to every review, good and bad, like a professional. Ten genuine reviews usually beat a competitor's fifty neglected ones.

The mistakes that bury you

Keyword-stuffed business name (suspension risk — see above).
Wrong or missing hours — including "open 24 hours" when you don't answer at 2am.
A phone number that rings somewhere you don't pick up.
Never touching it again. Google rewards signs of life: a new photo or a short update every few weeks.

Where a website fits in

Your profile gets you found; your website closes the deal. The profile lets you link one website — and customers who tap it are your hottest leads. Sending them to a proper page with your services, prices and photos converts far better than sending them to a Facebook page or, worse, nothing.

Want the pair done properly? We build the one-page website your profile should link to — services, prices, photos, WhatsApp button — for R1,500 once-off + R299/month, hosted and maintained. And if you already have a site, our free scan checks whether it's helping or hurting.

Get both sorted →

More straight answers: Google Search Console, explained · Free website analytics · Does my business even need a website? · What does a website cost in SA? · Facebook page vs website · All guides →