When someone in Land O' Lakes or Wesley Chapel searches for what you do, the map results usually come first. This checklist covers everything Google looks at, in the order we set it up for our own profile and for clients.
The short answer
Google ranks local businesses on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how close you are to the person searching), and prominence (how well known you are, including reviews and links). You can't change distance. Everything below improves the other two, and all of it is free.
Your profile name should match the name on your sign, truck, website, and invoices. Adding keywords or cities ("Smith Plumbing Wesley Chapel Best Plumber") breaks Google's guidelines and can get your profile suspended. If you want a city in your name, it has to actually be part of your registered business name.
This is where Pasco County businesses most often go wrong, because so many are run from home.
Categories have a big effect on which searches you show up for. You get one primary category and up to 9 additional ones.
You have 750 characters, and only the start is shown before "More", so put the important part first:
Leave out links, sales, and phone numbers. Offers belong in posts (step 10).
Add every main service with a short description, such as "AC repair", "AC installation", and "Duct cleaning" rather than just "HVAC". Services help Google match you to more specific searches, and customers see them when they compare businesses.
Reviews are the biggest part of prominence, and they are usually what makes someone choose one business over another.
Posts show customers you're open and active. Share seasonal tips, recent jobs, offers, and events, with a photo and a button such as "Call", "Book", or "Learn more".
One tip from our own profile: keep phone numbers out of the post text. We've seen posts with a phone number in them get rejected. Let the call button do that job.
Your profile works best alongside a website that backs it up, with the same name, phone number, and service areas. See our website design service.
Google compares your profile with what it finds elsewhere. Use exactly the same name, phone number, and website on Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Facebook, Yelp, Nextdoor, and any directories you're in. A listing on your local chamber of commerce website is a good local link too. In Pasco County, that means the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce.
Once your profile is in shape, ads can bring in even more calls. Our guide on what Google Ads cost for a Tampa Bay contractor covers budgets. See how we work with home service businesses, restaurants, and salons and med spas in Land O' Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Lutz, and Odessa.
Straight answers
A new, verified profile can appear for searches of its own name within days. Showing up for broader searches like "plumber Wesley Chapel" usually takes months of steady reviews, photos, and posts, especially if competitors have been around for years.
Service areas tell customers where you go, but they don't guarantee rankings there, because distance is one of Google's three ranking factors. Reviews from customers in those towns, and a page on your website for each town you serve, give you the best chance.
Yes. Many Pasco businesses are run from home. Use your real address to verify, then hide it and list your service areas instead. Google does not allow P.O. boxes or virtual offices.
Be careful. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Calls promising to "verify" your listing or guarantee first place are usually sales pitches or scams. Everything in this checklist is free to do yourself.
Our free marketing review includes a look at your Google Business Profile, with the fixes that matter most. No pressure.