When a homeowner searches "furnace repair near me" or "emergency plumber", the first thing they usually see is the map pack: three businesses pinned on a Google map. Those listings come from Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). For most contractors it is the most valuable free marketing asset they have, and it is where many of your phone calls start.

This guide walks through setting up a Google Business Profile for a contracting business the way Google's own guidelines expect, including video verification, then finishes with an optimization checklist and tips for plumbers, HVAC companies and roofers.

Step 1: Claim or create the profile

Search for your business name on Google Maps first. There may already be a listing created automatically or by a previous owner. If there is, claim it rather than creating a duplicate. Duplicate listings split your reviews and can get both profiles suspended.

If nothing exists, create a profile at business.google.com and follow Google's add or claim your Business Profile steps.

Step 2: Decide whether you are a service-area business

This is the setting contractors most often get wrong.

  • Service-area business: you travel to customers and they don't come to you. Most HVAC, plumbing, roofing and electrical companies fall here. Google's guidelines say to hide your address and list the areas you serve instead.
  • Hybrid business: you have a storefront or showroom with permanent signage that customers visit during staffed hours, and you travel to customers. You can show the address and also set a service area.

Working from home does not make your house a storefront. Listing a home address that customers can't visit is one of the most common reasons contractor profiles get suspended.

Step 3: Set your service area

In your profile, open Edit profile → Location → Service area and add the places you serve. You can add up to 20 service areas by city, ZIP code or county, and Google says the boundary of your overall area shouldn't be more than about two hours of driving time from where your business is based.

Tips:

  • List the places you actually want jobs from, starting with the towns closest to your shop.
  • Don't pad the list with far-away cities to "rank there". Distance to the searcher is a ranking factor either way, and an unrealistic area just produces calls you'll turn down.
  • If you serve a large metro, counties can cover more ground than a long list of suburbs.
  • To show up for towns farther out, use your website instead, with good service area pages.

Step 4: Choose categories carefully

Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you appear for. Pick the one that best describes your core business, such as "HVAC contractor", "Plumber", "Roofing contractor" or "Electrician".

Then add a few secondary categories for other work you genuinely do. Start typing in the category field to see what Google offers, and only add categories for services you do regularly. See the trade-specific tips below.

Step 5: Use your real business name

The name on your profile must match the name customers see on your trucks, invoices and signage. "Smith Plumbing" is fine. "Smith Plumbing – Best Emergency Plumber Denver" is not: it breaks Google's guidelines, competitors can report it, and a suspended profile loses its calls overnight.

If you want your city or main service in your name, the only legitimate way is to register that as your actual business name, for example with a DBA.

Step 6: Fill in everything else

  • Phone number: use a local number that rings a person during business hours. If you use call tracking, set the tracking number as primary and your main line as an additional number.
  • Website: link to your home page, or to a location page if you have several offices.
  • Hours: set real hours. If you offer 24/7 emergency service, say so only if someone actually answers at 2 a.m.
  • Services: add the specific services you offer, with short descriptions in plain language.
  • Business description: a few sentences on what you do, where and for whom. Don't stuff it with keywords or links.

Step 7: Verify your profile (including video verification)

Google has to verify the profile before it shows publicly. The methods available (phone or text, email, live video call, video recording or mail) depend on your business, and Google decides which ones you can use. Many service-area businesses are offered video verification.

Google's requirements for a verification video are strict:

  • It must be one continuous, unedited recording of at least 30 seconds, recorded and uploaded from a phone through your Business Profile. Pre-recorded videos aren't accepted.
  • Show where you operate. Film street signs or landmarks near the address you entered. If you run the business from home, landmarks and signs in your immediate neighborhood count.
  • Show that the business exists. Your tools, equipment, workspace, business cards or branded work clothes.
  • Show that you manage it. For example, unlock your branded van, start a job, or show a permit or invoice in the business name.
  • Leave out bank, tax or ID numbers, other people's private information, and other people's faces.

Plan the shot before you press record: start at a street sign, walk to your vehicle, open it to show your equipment, then show one business document. Most failed verifications miss one of the three proof points.

Step 8: Add real photos

Profiles with photos of real work tend to get more engagement than profiles with stock images. Good contractor photos include:

  • Your crew and branded vehicles
  • Before-and-after shots of real jobs
  • Equipment you install, such as furnaces, water heaters or roofing materials
  • Your logo and a cover photo

Add a few new photos every month. It is one of the easiest ways to keep a profile looking active.

Step 9: Build a steady flow of reviews

Reviews affect both how you rank and whether a homeowner picks you from the map pack. Ask every satisfied customer, make it easy with your Google review link, and reply to every review, including the bad ones. We cover the details, including what Google and the FTC prohibit, in our guide to getting more Google reviews.

Tips for plumbers, HVAC companies and roofers

Google Business Profile for plumbers. Use "Plumber" as the primary category. Emergency calls make up a large share of plumbing searches, so accurate hours matter: if you take after-hours calls, set hours that say so and make sure the phone is answered. List specific services (drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, leak detection) in the Services section so your profile matches those searches.

Google Business Profile for HVAC contractors. "HVAC contractor" is the usual primary category. Check whether heating- or air-conditioning-specific categories fit work you do often, and add them as secondary categories. Demand is seasonal, so post updates and photos before each season: furnace tune-ups in the fall, AC checks in the spring.

Google Business Profile for roofers. Use "Roofing contractor" as the primary category. Roofing buyers compare work before they call, so before-and-after photos and project photos with the roof type (asphalt shingle, metal, tile) do a lot of the selling. Reviews that describe the job and the cleanup are especially persuasive.

How Google ranks local results

Google says local results are based mainly on three things:

  1. Relevance: how well your profile matches the search. Complete categories, services and description help.
  2. Distance: how far you are from the searcher, or from the location in the search.
  3. Prominence: how well known your business is, including reviews, links and mentions across the web.

You can't change distance. You can improve relevance with a complete profile and prominence with reviews and a solid website. To extend your reach beyond the towns closest to you, see our guide to service area pages.

Google Business Profile optimization checklist

  • Profile claimed and verified, with no duplicate listings
  • Address hidden if customers don't visit you; service area set within about two hours' drive
  • Most specific primary category chosen; secondary categories only for regular work
  • Business name exactly as on your signage and paperwork
  • Local phone number that a person answers during listed hours
  • Accurate hours, including after-hours or emergency service if you really offer it
  • Services listed individually with plain-language descriptions
  • Business description written for customers, not stuffed with keywords
  • Real photos of your team, vehicles and jobs, with new ones added monthly
  • Review link shared after every job, and every review answered

Mistakes that get contractor profiles suspended

  • Showing a home address that customers can't visit
  • Adding keywords or city names to the business name
  • Creating several profiles for one business to cover more cities
  • Using a virtual office or mailbox as a "location"
  • Buying reviews, or offering discounts in exchange for them

Getting reinstated after a suspension can take weeks, and it is much easier to follow the guidelines from the start.