Google Business Profile Checklist for Tradies

You’ve spent years earning your name. Then a stranger searches for someone like you, and Google shows them your profile: the wrong hours, your home address on display and a phone number that goes to voicemail. They scroll past, and you never find out.

The good news is that most of this is fixable in an afternoon. Here’s a checklist built from Google’s own guidelines for businesses, written for tradies and other service businesses that travel to their customers.

The short answer

Use your real business name, choose the fewest and most specific categories, keep one profile per business, hide your home address if you work from home and travel to customers, set your service area, keep your hours and contact details accurate, and keep earning reviews.

The ten-point checklist

Use your real business name. Google says it should match the name on your signage, website and paperwork. Don’t add taglines, keywords, phone numbers or locations. Unnecessary additions can get a profile suspended.
Pick the fewest, most specific categories. Google says categories should describe what your business is, not every service you offer. A tradie picks a trade category, not one for each job.
Keep one profile per business. Duplicate profiles can cause problems and may be treated as a violation.
Hide your home address if you have no shopfront. Google’s own example is a plumber who works from home: remove the residential address from the profile.
Set your service area. Google says the area generally shouldn’t stretch more than about two hours’ drive from your base, though larger areas may be acceptable for some businesses.
Get your hours right. If you work by appointment or your hours vary, Google says not to list regular hours. If you’re closed for a period, mark the business temporarily closed instead of leaving old hours up.
Use a phone number and website that belong to you. They should lead to your own business, not a call centre or a referral page. Google prefers a local number you control.
Write an honest description. Describe your services and history clearly. Leave out links, prices and promotions.
Grab your review link. Open your profile, go to Read reviews, then choose Get more reviews. Copy the link or save the QR code. Google says QR codes can currently be created only from a computer browser.
Reply to your reviews. Google recommends it, and it shows the next customer how you treat people. Our reply templates make it quick.

A note on rankings

Google says verified, complete and accurate profiles are more likely to show up, but it doesn’t guarantee a position, and nobody else can either. Ticking these boxes keeps you inside the rules and gives you a fair shot.

The one item you never finish

Look at the list. Nine of those you can finish this week. The tenth, reviews, is the one you never finish, and it’s the one customers read first.

Your happy customers are out there. They said they’d leave a review and never did, and you never found the time to remind them. Meanwhile the profile you just tidied sits there with the same few reviews it had last year.

BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey of 1,002 US adults found that 74% only care about reviews written in the last three months. Those are US figures, so treat them as a guide for Australia rather than a measurement of it, but the point stands: a one-off burst of reviews goes stale. It has to be a steady drip.

Imagine opening your phone to new reviews you never chased, from customers who were glad to help. Imagine the evenings you get back because the asking happens without you. That’s what a steady routine feels like.

The Review Accelerator

You give us your past customers. Each one gets a friendly text or email from your business with your Google review link, plus one gentle reminder. Everyone gets the same request, whatever they thought of the job, because that’s what Google’s rules require. You get on with the work.

Want to see it work before you pay a cent? Apply for the free 14-Day Google Review Challenge. No card, no contract, five businesses per weekly intake, and every review is yours to keep. Or see how the Review Accelerator works.

P.S. Tidied your profile and want to see how it compares? The free Local Trust Score checks your public Google profile against the businesses ranking near you.

Common questions about Google Business Profiles

Can I have a Google Business Profile without a shopfront?

Yes. Google says a business that travels to its customers can have a profile. If you have no storefront with clear signage, Google says to hide your address and set a service area instead.

Should I hide my home address?

If you work from home and have no shopfront, yes. Google’s guidelines use a plumber working from home as the example and say to remove the residential address from the profile.

How many categories should I choose?

Google says to choose the fewest categories that best describe your core business, and to pick the most specific option available. Categories describe what you are, not each service you offer.

Can I put keywords in my business name?

No. Google says the name should match your real-world business name, and unnecessary additions such as taglines or service descriptions can lead to suspension.

How do I get my Google review link?

Open your Business Profile, go to Read reviews, choose Get more reviews, then copy the link or save the QR code. Google says QR codes can currently be generated only from a computer browser.

The Google Business Profile Checklist
Every Tradie Should Tick Off.