Setting up a Google Business Profile: how local customers in South Limburg find you
Published · 5 min read
When someone searches ‘gardener Sittard’ or ‘hairdresser Heerlen’, the first thing they see is a map with three businesses. You only get onto it with a Google Business Profile. It’s free, and it takes about an hour.
Why this comes before your website
For local searches, Google puts a map with a few businesses at the top, above the ordinary results. Those spots come from Google Business Profiles, not from websites. So a good-looking site without a profile misses the first thing people see. The other way round works: a complete profile that links to a fast website is the strongest combination a small business can have.
Step 1: create or claim it
Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you use for work. First search for your business: sometimes Google has already made a listing. If it exists, claim it. If not, create a new profile with exactly the name on your van, invoices and website. Don’t add place names or keywords to it: that’s against the guidelines and can cost you the profile.
Step 2: pick the right category
The primary category matters most. Choose the one that says most literally what you do (‘Landscaper’, ‘Hair salon’, ‘Website designer’), then add a few secondary ones at most. Not sure? Look at which category the businesses currently ranking for your search use.
Step 3: address or service area
Do customers come to you? Then add your address. If you go to the customer, like a gardener, painter or web designer, you can hide your address and set a service area instead, for example Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen and Kerkrade. If you work from home, that’s the tidy option.
Step 4: verify
Google wants to know you’re real. Usually that means a short video showing your business name, your tools or workplace and a bit of the surroundings. Sometimes it’s a code by post or phone. Your profile only shows up after verification, so do it straight away.
Step 5: fill it in properly
- Opening hours, even if you work by appointment.
- A description in plain words: what you do, for whom, and where. Name your town naturally in a sentence.
- Your services, each with a short explanation.
- Real photos of your work: ten good photos say more than a logo.
- A link to your website, ideally to the page that matches what people search for.
Step 6: reviews, and how to ask
Reviews count towards how high you rank, and they convince the customer who’s on the fence. Ask when someone is happy: at handover, or in the thank-you message after. Send the direct review link from your profile, so it takes them ten seconds. Reply to every review, including the critical ones. Never buy reviews or trade discounts for stars: it isn’t allowed, and Google removes them.
Is everything the same everywhere?
Make sure your name, service area and phone number are exactly the same on your website, your profile, your Chamber of Commerce (KvK) record and your socials. Small differences make Google less sure who you are. Then add the same details to Bing Places and Apple Business Connect: a few more minutes, and you show up properly on iPhones and Bing maps too.
Need a hand?
A profile works best with a website that loads fast and says clearly what you do and where. If you’re not sure yours does, a Website Check shows what to improve. Or send us a message and we’ll take a look.