Google Business Profile checklist for Miami service-area businesses
If you go to your customers instead of them coming to you, Google treats your profile a little differently. Think cleaners, contractors, mobile detailers, and studios like ours. Google calls these service-area businesses, and this is the checklist we work through when we set one up.
Before you start
- Use a Google account your business owns, rather than a personal one you might lose.
- Write your business name exactly as it appears on your sign, invoices and website, without extra keywords.
- Pick one main phone number and use it everywhere.
The checklist
Basics
- Your business name, exactly as you use it.
- A main category that describes what you do, rather than what you sell. A company that fixes pipes picks “Plumber”, not “Plumbing supply store”.
- A few extra categories, as long as they are true.
- Your phone number and website.
- Your hours, plus holiday hours when they change.
Address and service areas
- Enter your real address, because Google needs it to verify you.
- Hide it if customers don’t come to you.
- Add the cities or counties you serve, such as Miami, Miami-Dade County and Broward County.
Services
- Add every service you offer, each with a short description.
- Use the same service names as your website.
Description
Say what you do, who it’s for and where, in a few sentences. Leave out links, prices that might change, and promises.
Photos
Add your logo, a cover photo, and real photos of your work, your team or your vehicle. Stock photos don’t tell anyone what you actually do.
Verification
Follow Google’s steps. Google chooses the method, which is often a short video or a phone check. Don’t edit your name or address while you wait.
After you are live
- Post an update or an offer from time to time.
- Ask your customers for a review, all of them rather than only the happy ones. See how to ask for Google reviews.
- Reply politely to every review, good or bad.
- Check your profile monthly, since anyone can suggest edits to it.
Common mistakes
- Adding city names or keywords to the business name.
- Showing a home address you didn’t mean to show.
- Different phone numbers on Google, your site and Yelp.
- Creating a second profile instead of fixing the first.
A complete, accurate profile also helps AI tools describe you correctly. See how to get your business to show up in ChatGPT.
Questions
Should I show my home address?
Not if customers don’t come to you. Enter it so Google can verify you, then hide it and list your service areas instead.
How long does verification take?
Google decides how long verification takes, and it can be a few days.
Does a profile help with AI answers?
It can, because AI tools read business listings and a complete profile with the same details as your website leaves them less to guess.
Want us to handle it? We set up and clean up Google profiles as part of Meridian Presence. See our Google Business Profile setup, read whether you need a website too, or book a call.