When someone searches "plumber near me," three businesses show up on the map before any website does. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you're one of them — and most profiles are half empty.
Grade My Profile Free See All ServicesI've scanned hundreds of Austin and San Antonio listings. The gaps are the same ones, over and over.
The gap that most separates the listings that rank from the ones that don't. Google gives you 750 characters to say what you do and where — most businesses leave it blank or paste one sentence.
A "contractor" who is really a roofer won't show up for roofing searches. Primary and secondary categories are the biggest lever on the profile.
The services section is where Google learns you do water heaters, not just "plumbing." Empty means invisible for those searches.
Real trucks, real crews, real finished jobs. A logo and a stock photo from 2019 tells the customer — and Google — that nobody's home.
Almost nobody fills this in — which is exactly why doing it works. Your top ten customer questions, answered by you before a stranger answers them wrong.
A reply to every review, good or bad, tells Google and the next customer that someone is home.
It's the profile, not the website, that wins the map. So that's where the work goes.
Categories, description, services, photos, posts, Q&A, hours, review response rate — yours next to the three businesses currently in the 3-pack for your searches.
Right categories, a description that says what you do and where, every service listed, real photos, business hours that match your website. NAP consistency checked — the phone on your site must match the phone on your profile.
Regular posts, new photos, Q&A answered, every review responded to. Google rewards profiles that look like someone is running the business.
Which searches you show up for, how many people called or asked for directions from the profile, and where you sit against the same three competitors. Numbers, not vibes.
Run it through the grader — it checks the profile, reviews and website in about a minute. Then book a call if you want it fixed.
Book a CallThe questions people actually ask on the phone.
No. A well-built Google Business Profile ranks on the map with or without a website. If you do have one, the profile and the site reinforce each other — that's the local SEO package.
Foundation fixes — categories, description, services — are done in the first week, and Google usually reflects them within a few weeks. Climbing into the 3-pack against established competitors takes months of the profile staying active. I'll show you the before and after each month so you can judge for yourself.
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Google decides. What I can do is make sure nothing on your profile is holding you back and everything Google rewards is there — and show you the numbers monthly.
Absolutely, and if you have the time, do it — the profile is free. Most owners don't have the time, and the profile sits at 60% forever. That's the part I take off your plate.
Responding to them is part of this. Getting more of them is its own service — review generation — because it needs your customer list, not just your profile.