If you’re an Australian tradie and you don’t have a fully-optimised Google Business Profile (GBP), you’re invisible to 80% of your market. It’s that straightforward.
GBP is the map listing and business card that appears when someone searches “plumber Parramatta” or “electrician near me.” It’s free, Google owns it, and it outranks your actual website for local searches. Ignore it at your own cost.
This guide walks you through setup, optimisation, and the ongoing maintenance that wins jobs. Takes about 2 hours end-to-end.
Step 1: Claim or create your profile
Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Gmail account you use for business.
Search for your business name. Three things can happen:
- A listing already exists — someone (probably Google) has scraped your details from elsewhere. Click “I own or manage this business” to claim it.
- A listing exists but someone else owns it — request access. Google emails the current owner who has 7 days to respond.
- No listing exists — create a new one. You’ll need your legal business name, category (e.g. “Plumber”), service area (suburbs you cover), and phone number.
Step 2: Verify
Google has to confirm you’re legit. In Australia this usually means a postcard with a 5-digit code to your business address (5-14 days), a phone call, or video verification for newer listings. Complete whichever method Google offers — you can’t do anything meaningful until verified.
Step 3: Fill in every single field
Google ranks complete profiles higher. Every empty field hurts you. Specifically:
- Primary category — be specific. “Emergency plumber” outranks “Plumber” for emergency searches.
- Additional categories — add up to 9. Hot water installer, drain cleaning service, bathroom renovator, etc.
- Service area — every suburb you actively work in. Don’t list all of Sydney if you really work in 5 suburbs.
- Opening hours — including public holidays. Update them.
- Phone and website — use your real mobile. People tap the button to call.
- Appointment link — link to your lead form or booking page.
- Business description — 750 characters. Use all of them. Include keywords customers search for and your licence number.
- Services — list every service separately with a description and price range (“from $X”). Each one is a mini SEO page inside GBP.
Step 4: Upload photos (lots of them)
Profiles with 100+ photos get 520% more calls than profiles with fewer than 10. That’s not a typo.
Upload:
- Your logo (square, high-res)
- Cover photo (a good shot of work you’re proud of)
- 5-10 photos of your team/van/premises
- 20+ photos of completed jobs (before and after where possible)
- Photos of your tools, your ute signage, your uniform
No stock photos. Google’s image recognition is smart enough to detect them and ranks you lower. Even bad iPhone photos of real work beat perfect stock.
Step 5: Get reviews, respond to every single one
Reviews are the #1 ranking factor for local search. Also the #1 trust signal for a customer deciding between you and three other tradies.
Rules:
- Ask every customer, every time — SMS the day after the job with a direct link to leave a review. Conversion is about 20%.
- Respond to every review within 48 hours — positive or negative. Google sees this.
- For 5-star reviews — thank them by name, mention the specific job. “Thanks Dan, glad we got the hot water sorted same-day for you.”
- For negative reviews — respond calmly, take it offline. “Sorry this didn’t meet expectations — I’ll call you today to work this out. — [your name], owner.”
- Never fake reviews — Google detects them, your entire profile gets suspended, you lose years of work.
Step 6: Post weekly
Google’s posts feature is underused. Once a week, publish a 150-word update: a recent job, a tip, a promo. Every post pings Google “this business is active” and boosts your ranking.
Easy post ideas:
- “Fixed a blocked drain in Ryde this morning — took 45 minutes, $220 flat.”
- “Summer tip: if your hot water system is older than 10 years, it’s borrowed time. Get it checked.”
- “This week only: $89 emergency callout for anyone in Northern Beaches.”
Keep it human. Don’t write marketing copy.
Step 7: Answer every Q&A question
Anyone can ask a question on your profile. If you don’t answer, random strangers do — often incorrectly. Monitor the Q&A section weekly and answer anything that comes in within 24 hours.
Pro move: pre-seed Q&A with the 5-10 questions customers most commonly ask you. Add them yourself, then answer them. It’s like an FAQ built into your Google listing.
Step 8: Use Insights to see what’s working
Every profile has an Insights tab. Check it monthly:
- How many searches found you (and what search terms)
- How many phone calls came from the profile
- How many website clicks
- How many direction requests
If searches are growing but calls aren’t, your profile needs better photos or more reviews. If calls are growing but jobs aren’t, your sales process needs work. The data tells you where to focus.
Common mistakes that suspend your profile
Avoid these:
- Keyword-stuffing your business name (e.g. “Smith Plumbing — Emergency Plumber Sydney 24/7”)
- Using a fake address or PO box
- Creating duplicate profiles for the same business
- Asking for reviews via incentives (“$10 off for a 5-star review”)
- Faking reviews from family/friends
All of the above can get your profile suspended. Recovery takes weeks and sometimes never happens.
Want help setting this up?
If you’d rather not spend 2 hours fumbling through GBP settings, we do it as a one-off service for $190. Full setup, verification, optimisation, first month of posts. Start here or see our add-on menu.