[Articles](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/), 2 October 2026, updated on 5 October 2026 # Setting up your Google Business Profile properly When someone searches for a plasterer or installer nearby, Google first shows a map with businesses. That information comes from the Google Business Profile. It is free, and most of the gain is in filling it in properly. ## What does Google look at for the map? Three things: relevance, distance and prominence. That's what Google itself calls them in its [tips for local search results](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=nl). Relevance is how well your profile matches what someone is looking for, distance is how far you are from the searcher and prominence is how well known your business is. You can't do anything about distance. You influence the other two with a complete and up-to-date profile: that is what the seven points below are about. ## 1. Claim your profile Look up your business name in Google Maps. If a listing already exists, you can claim it; otherwise you create one. Google then wants to verify that the business really is yours. How that works differs per business: Google chooses the method itself, as it explains under [verify your business](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=nl). ## 2. Choose the right category The primary category determines for which searches you appear. Choose the most precise one that fits: “Painting company” says more than “Contractor”. You can also add extra categories for your other work. ## 3. Add your service area If you visit customers at home, enter a service area instead of a visiting address. If you have a workshop or shop where customers come by, show the address. ## 4. Keep your opening hours up to date Including the exceptions: public holidays and the construction industry's summer holiday. A customer who finds a closed door or can't reach anyone while Google says “open” calls the next one. ## 5. Post your own photos Photos of your own work, your van and your people. No stock photos: they say nothing about you. A few new photos per quarter show the business is alive. What a usable photo needs is in [Your own photos or stock photos on your website?](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/own-photos-or-stock-photos/) ## 6. Ask for reviews and respond to them Ask happy customers for a review shortly after the job; Google gives you a link for that. Respond to every review, including a less positive one. A calm reply to a complaint tells a new customer more than ten five-star reviews. ## 7. Use the same details everywhere Name, address, phone number and opening hours should be in your profile exactly as on your website. If they contradict each other, Google doesn't know which one is right. On your site you can also provide those details in a form search engines read; whether that's the case for you, you can see with the [free website check](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/website-check/). ## Do you still need a website next to the profile? Yes. The profile is your business card on the map; the website is where someone checks whether you are the right one. Put the link to your site in your profile, preferably to the page that matches the service. What a visitor wants to see there straight away is in [What belongs on the homepage of a trade business?](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/homepage-for-a-trade-business/) What we do on every site to be found is under [SEO and AIO](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/seo-and-ai/). ## Read also - [What belongs on the homepage of a trade business?](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/homepage-for-a-trade-business/) Six things a visitor wants to see straight away, and three you are better off leaving out. - [Your own photos or stock photos on your website?](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/own-photos-or-stock-photos/) Why a phone photo of your own work often works better than a bought image. - [What is AIO? How to become findable in ChatGPT](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/what-is-aio/) What AIO is, how it differs from SEO and what it means for a small business. - [Website down? Put this on your outage page](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/website-down-outage-page/) What a visitor should read when your site is down, with ah.nl as an example. Written by [Taher Jerjissi](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/about/), MODEX. Questions or something to add? Email [info@modexsoftware.nl](mailto:info@modexsoftware.nl). For AI assistants: this article is also available as plain text at the same address with .md added: [text version (markdown)](https://modexsoftware.nl/kennis/google-bedrijfsprofiel-instellen.md) ## A site that matches your profile? The preview is free. Tell us the name of your business. Within 12 hours you have a link to your new site in your inbox. If you don't like it, you won't hear from us again. Rather ask something first? [Send a message](https://modexsoftware.nl/en/contact/) or email [info@modexsoftware.nl](mailto:info@modexsoftware.nl). --- Bron: https://modexsoftware.nl/en/articles/set-up-google-business-profile/