How to improve your Google Business Profile

For most local businesses the Google Business Profile brings in more enquiries than the website does. It's free, and it's usually half finished.

Get the primary category right, it's the single most influential setting. "Electrician" and "Electrical installation service" are not the same thing to Google, so pick the one that matches how customers describe you.

Fill in your services properly, with a sentence each. Set your service area to the places you actually travel to, not an ambitious radius.

Add real photographs of real work, regularly. Profiles with recent, genuine photos look active; stock images look like a business that isn't paying attention.

Keep hours accurate, including bank holidays. A customer who drives to a closed unit does not come back.

Use the messaging and quote request features if you can respond quickly, and answer the questions section yourself before somebody else answers it wrongly.

Above all, keep reviews arriving and reply to them. Activity is what keeps a profile visible.