Why this is the first thing to fix
For most Australian trades the map pack sits above the organic results and takes the majority of local clicks. The profile is free, it can move within weeks rather than months, and you do not need a developer to change anything.
Despite that, most profiles we audit are half done: one category, a description written in 2021, eight photos, and no system for getting reviews. That is ground sitting there uncovered.
Categories
The primary category does more work than any other single field. Set it to the service you most want to be found for, not a general description of your trade. A business that wants emergency tree removal work should not have "landscaper" as its primary category.
Add every accurate secondary category, but do not add ones you do not actually perform — irrelevant categories dilute what Google thinks you are for. Check what categories the businesses ranking above you are using, because that tells you what the local field looks like.
Service area versus address
If customers come to you, show the address. If you travel to them, hide it and list service areas instead. Do not list twenty suburbs you would not actually drive to. Google places limited weight on the list and an inflated one makes the profile look generic.
Your verification address must be real. A mailbox, a virtual office or a friend's house is the most common cause of a permanent suspension, and recovering a suspended profile is slow and frequently unsuccessful.
Services and description
List your services individually rather than as one blob, and use the words customers use. "Hot water system replacement" rather than "plumbing solutions". Each service can carry its own short description, which is worth filling in because most competitors do not.
The business description should say what you do, where, and what makes you the obvious choice. Keep it plain. Nobody chooses a tradie because of the word "passionate".
Photos
Real photos of your own work, your vehicles and your crew, uploaded regularly rather than in one batch and then never again. Before-and-after shots convert particularly well for visual trades — detailing, landscaping, restoration and tree work especially.
Stock photography is obvious and it undermines the one thing the profile is supposed to establish, which is that you are a real business that has done this before.
Reviews, which is where the work is
Build an actual system rather than asking when you remember. Ask at the moment the customer is happiest, which is usually on completion. Send a direct link by text while you are still on site. Respond to every review, including the bad ones, briefly and without arguing.
Never buy reviews, never offer an incentive for one, and never have staff post them. Beyond the Google penalty, fake reviews are a false-representation problem under the Australian Consumer Law and the ACCC has taken action over them. It is not a marketing risk, it is a legal one.
Keeping it alive
A post a fortnight, photos monthly, reviews continuously, and answer the questions that appear on the profile before a stranger answers them for you. Seed a few of the questions you get asked constantly — that is allowed and it is useful.
Check the profile insights for what people actually searched to find you. It is the cheapest keyword research available and it often reveals a service you should be promoting harder.
Where it fits in the bigger picture
Profile work is step one of local SEO for tradies, and the website work that supports it is step two. If you would rather have it run for you, that is our local SEO service, and if you want enquiries while the slower work matures, pay-per-lead is the bridge.
To have your profile looked at, contact us or call 0468 062 773.
Frequently asked questions
Can I rank without a physical shopfront?
Yes. Most trades run as service area businesses, where you hide the address and list the suburbs you travel to. You still need a real address to verify, and it must be a genuine place of business rather than a mailbox or a virtual office. Using a fake address risks the profile being suspended permanently.
How many reviews do I need?
There is no threshold that switches rankings on. What matters is having more than the businesses ranking above you, gaining them steadily rather than in bursts, and having recent ones. Twenty reviews spread over two years beats forty that all arrived in one week and then stopped.
Do Google Posts help rankings?
Only marginally, and anyone claiming otherwise is overselling it. They do occupy space in your profile, show the business is active, and give you somewhere to put seasonal offers. A post a fortnight is plenty. Posting daily is a waste of an owner's time that would be better spent asking for reviews.
What if a competitor is keyword stuffing their business name?
It is against Google's guidelines and you can report it through the redressal form. It is often effective, though slow and inconsistent. What you should not do is copy them — name changes to stuff keywords are a common cause of suspension, and losing a verified profile costs far more than the ranking was worth.