The Dial AgencyInsights · 7 min read
Google Business Profile: how to get more calls from the map.
When people search for a service near them, the map with three businesses gets most of the clicks. Here is how to be one of the three.
Why the map matters
Search for a plumber, a clinic or a solar installer in your town and the first thing you see is a map with three businesses, their ratings and a call button. Many people never scroll past it. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you are one of those three, and it is free.
Set it up properly
- Name. Your real business name, nothing added. Keywords stuffed into the name get profiles suspended.
- Primary category. The one thing you do most, for example "Solar energy company" or "Roofing contractor". Secondary categories for the rest.
- Service area. If you travel to customers, hide the address and list the cities and districts you cover.
- Phone and website. The same phone number and website address you use everywhere else.
- Hours. Real hours, updated for holidays. A profile that says "open" when nobody answers costs you reviews.
- Services and description. Each service you offer, in your customers' words, with a short description.
Photos people actually look at
Add real photos: your team, your vans, finished jobs, the office. Phone photos are fine; stock photos are not. Add a few new ones every month, because an active profile ranks better than a profile that was filled in once and forgotten.
Reviews: ask, then reply
Reviews are the biggest ranking factor you control. Ask every happy customer, right after the job, with a direct link to your review form. Reply to every review, including the bad ones, calmly and briefly. People read the replies to see what you are like to deal with.
Keep the same details everywhere
Google compares your name, address and phone number across the web: your website, directories, social profiles. Mismatches lower trust. Pick one spelling and one phone number and use them everywhere.
The mistakes we see most
- The profile was created by a former employee and nobody can log in any more.
- Wrong category, so you show up for the wrong searches.
- No reviews in the last year, so the profile looks closed.
- Calls from the profile go to a number nobody answers after 17:00.
Measure it
The profile shows how many people called, asked for directions or visited your website from it. Check those numbers monthly. If calls are coming in and nobody picks up, read why the first reply usually wins.
More customers from the same enquiries?
Send us your website. Within two business days you get a five-minute video that shows where enquiries are lost, with three fixes ranked. Free, and yours to keep.