How to Set Up a Google Business Profile: A Step-by-Step Guide for UK Trades (2026)

Google says you can add or claim a profile “at no charge”. It also says it will never ask for payment information over the phone or guarantee you a special spot. If someone rings “from Google” wanting money, hang up and don’t press any buttons.

Get these ready first:

• A Google account (keep one per business, and don’t share the login)
• Your trading name exactly as it appears on your van and invoices
• A phone number you actually answer
• Your website, if you have one
• A list of the towns you cover

Step 1: Check you’re not already on Google

Search Google Maps for your business name and town. A listing may already exist. If it’s unverified, claim it rather than making a second one, because Google says there should only be one profile per business. If someone else has already verified it, you can request ownership.

Step 2: Name and category

Your name. Use the name on your signage and stationery. Don’t pad it with services or towns. “Smith Roofing” is fine. “Smith Roofing Heywood Emergency Roof Repairs” isn’t. Google says unnecessary extras in your name could get your profile suspended. That includes “Ltd”, unless it shows the same way on your van or paperwork.

Your main category. Pick the most specific one for what you do, such as “Plumber” rather than something general. Google asks for the fewest categories that describe your core business, so add another only if it’s genuinely a separate part of what you do.

Step 3: No shop? Hide your address and set your service area

When Google asks if you have a location customers can visit, answer No if you go to them. That’s roofers, plumbers, sparkies and cleaners. Google says if you don’t have a storefront where you receive customers, you must hide your business address.

Already added it? Go to Edit profile, then Location, and switch off “Show business address to customers”. Your profile then only shows your service area.

Service areas. You can add up to 20, by city, town or postcode. You can’t draw a radius. Google says to keep the whole area within about two hours’ driving time of where you’re based. Changes can take up to 48 hours to show.

For example, a Heywood roofer might list Heywood, Bury, Rochdale, Middleton, Prestwich, Whitefield, Radcliffe, Littleborough and Castleton. Only list places you’d really go to.

Got a yard or unit customers visit? That’s a “hybrid” business. You can show the address and add service areas, as long as it has permanent signage and your team is there in your stated hours. A virtual office or PO box doesn’t count. Either way, one business means one profile.

Step 4, website and hours

Use a number you answer, and set your hours as they really are. If you’re up a roof all day, missed calls are the real problem. The AI Till has a guide to missed-call text-back tools for UK trades worth a read.

Got a website? Add it. Need somewhere for the profile to send people? I build simple websites for local trades.

Step 5: Get verified

Google decides which verification methods you get, and you can’t change them. It could be a call, text, email, live video call, postcard or recorded video. If video is on offer, Google recommends it.

The video, for a mobile trade. Google’s rules for service-area businesses:

• One unedited recording with no breaks, about 30 seconds or more
• Recorded live on your phone, through your Business Profile. You can’t upload one filmed earlier
• Show where you operate: street signs or landmarks near your base. If you work from home, your immediate neighbourhood will do
• Show your business exists: tools, equipment, business cards or branded workwear
• Show you run it, for example unlocking a branded van, or an invoice matching the name on your profile

Keep out bank details, tax or ID numbers, private information and other people’s faces.

How long it takes. Google says a video review can take up to five business days. If it’s rejected, Google tells you what was missing. Record a new one with everything from the first plus the missing bit.

Step 6: Your first week on Google

Photos and videos only show once you’re verified. After that:

Photos. Use JPG or PNG files, ideally 720 by 720 pixels, and keep them real: Google says no heavy filters or AI. It asks for at least three photos of you at work and three of your team, even if the team is you. Google’s own 2026 guide says businesses with photos get 35% more clicks through to their websites. They can take 24 to 48 hours to appear.

A short video. Profile videos can be up to 30 seconds.

Description. You get 750 characters, with no links and no prices or special offers. The AI Till has a free description generator for a first draft.

Reviews. Ask every customer, the same day. In a big 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults by BrightLocal, 47% said they won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, 74% look for reviews from the last three months, and 68% only use businesses with four stars or more. That’s a US survey, not a UK one, but it shows why reviews matter.

In the UK, fake reviews and reviews with a hidden reward have been banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act since 6 April 2025, according to the CMA. So never pay for reviews and never write your own. The AI Till’s guide on how tradesmen get more Google reviews covers the how-to, and its review request generator writes the message.

Make the ask automatic. GetResponse (affiliate link) can send an automatic email after each job, with your Google review link in it. It has a 14-day free trial, then a free account with limits, so check what that includes. Only email customers who gave you their address for the job, ask once, and include an unsubscribe link. Rather have it set up for you? That’s what my automations page is about.

Copy it to Bing. Bing Places for Business is free, and Shopify’s guide says you can import your details from your Google profile.

Once calls start coming in, here’s how to send quotes faster.

• You’re not verified yet. Google says customers can only find your profile once you’ve completed verification
• You’ve been suspended. Common causes are a name with extras in it, more than one profile for the same business, or a virtual office as your address
• You’re showing, but not at the top. That’s a different question from setup. Google says local results mainly depend on relevance, distance and how well known you are. You can’t pay Google for a better spot

If you’ve got stuck at verification, or you’d rather someone else did it, get in touch. I’m a local business owner here in Heywood, not an agency. One techy thing, up to 30 minutes, done remotely, nothing to buy.

And if you want to see how you show up from the towns around you, my free Google report is free until 1 November.

Thanks,
James Gonzo

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