No customer types your business name. They type a trade and a suburb, like "plumber" and where they live.
Here is a fact from Google Business Profile Help. "Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who's searching". So what you see from your own street is not what others see.
This post gives you seven checks for your Google profile. Each has the fact behind it, the limit of that fact, and what it can do for you. Google can change how it works.
What it is: Search the way a customer does, then see who shows up.
Why it pays: Searching your own name shows only that Google knows you are there. Whitespark sent a survey to 47 local search experts, published 6 November 2025. They put the distance from the searcher second for the map. That is their view, not a test. No test on Australian tradies was found.
What to do: Type your trade and a suburb you work in, on your phone. Then search again from a job in the next suburb. Write down the first three names each time. One search from your own street can flatter you. Treat it as a rough look, not a score.
What it is: The one label that tells Google what trade you are.
Why it pays: Whitespark's experts put the main category first for the map. Extra categories came eighth. It is their view, not a test. Whitespark sells local search services. Google's own guidelines say to pick as few categories as you can. Use only what describes your main work.
What to do: Open your profile. Check the main category names the trade you want calls for. Search the list for the plain word, like plumber or electrician. Add a second only for work you really do. Do not put extra words in your business name to get found. Google's rules do not allow it.
What it is: The jobs you do, listed on your profile.
Why it pays: Google says a listed service may show on your profile. That happens when someone nearby searches for it. It does not say services change where you show up. Sterling Sky tested a lawyer and a skin clinic. They said the effect seems to vary by industry and market. They give no sample size and did not test tradies.
What to do: Use Google's list for your trade first. Add each job you really do. Add your own only for jobs not on the list, and be specific. Say blocked drain, not plumbing. Leave out prices and phone numbers. Do not list a job you do not do.
What it is: A profile with nothing left empty.
Why it pays: Google says full and correct profiles are more likely to show up in local results. It gives no size for the effect. It does not say which parts count most.
What to do: Go through each part, one by one. Note the empty ones. Add what is true: phone, website, hours, services and photos of your own jobs. Use real photos, not stock ones.
What it is: Hours that match the days and times you really take work.
Why it pays: Google's SearchLiaison spoke on this in December 2023. Google has long used whether you are open when it picks local results. That might change. BrightLocal studied 50 US business locations that month. It found they showed up higher on average during opening hours. It is small, ran three days and does not prove cause. Wrong hours can send a customer to someone else.
What to do: Open your profile and read your hours. Are they the hours you really work? Do not say you are open all day and night if you are not. Look again when your week changes, or after a busy spell or a break.
What it is: Asking every customer for a review, all year.
Why it pays: Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help where you show up locally. It gives no weight for it. Whitespark's experts put a steady flow of reviews 14th for the map. That is their view, not a test.
What to do: Find your review link and save it on your phone. Ask at the end of every job and send the link. Do not push. Ask every week, all year, not in one burst. Never pay for reviews or give gifts for them. Do not tell people what to write. Do not ask only your happy customers. Google's rules do not allow it.
What it is: A short reply under each review, good or bad.
Why it pays: This one is about trust, not where you show up. Google has a line on this. "Positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out". Google does not say replies change where you show up. No test on tradies was found. The next customer can read your replies.
What to do: Open your reviews and find any with no reply. Thank the good ones, use their first name and keep it short. On bad ones, stay calm. Say you want to put it right and ask them to ring you. Do not argue in public.
You now know seven checks for your Google profile, and the facts behind them. Most of the evidence is opinion or small tests. It is a place to start, not a promise. Knowing it is the easy part. The doing is harder. The free guide has all seven, a short list under each, and a sheet to tick off one fix a day.
Sources: Google Business Profile Help. Google's guidelines for representing your business. Google's manage your services page. Whitespark. Sterling Sky. Google's SearchLiaison, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable. BrightLocal. Google's review policies.
