Google Business Profile for contractors: the 12 fields that matter

Most contractors set up their Google Business Profile once, years ago, and never look at it again. That is a waste, because the profile is often the first thing a homeowner sees when a pipe bursts or the AC quits. Google says plainly that “businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results” (Google). It also says there is “no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” So the profile is one of the few levers you control for free.

Below are the twelve fields that matter for a business that drives to the customer, in the order we would fill them. Every rule and limit comes from Google’s own help pages, read on October 4, 2026.

Before you start: claim and verify

You can only edit a profile you have verified. Google picks the verification method for you, and it “can’t be changed”: phone or text, email, a live video call or a postcard. If video is offered, Google recommends it. For a contractor, that call means showing “branded equipment, marketing materials, or tools you use to serve customers”, so a lettered truck and your tools do the job. Reviews of a verification take up to 5 business days (Google).

One warning that shapes everything below: Google reviews your edits before they go live, and some changes can trigger a new verification (Google).

The 12 fields

1. Business name

Enter it “exactly as it appears on your real world business signage, stationery, and other branding” (Google). The guidelines list what does not belong in a name: taglines, hours, phone numbers, service or product information, location information and, unless your signage proves it, legal terms like LLC. Google warns that unnecessary information in the name “could result in the suspension of your Business Profile” (Google).

So “Reyes Plumbing” is a name. “Reyes Plumbing 24/7 Emergency Drain Cleaning Dallas” is three violations. If you change the name after verification, you might need to verify again.

2. Primary category

This is the single most important box after the name. Google says “the categories you select affect your local ranking on Google” (Google). Choose the most specific one from the list that describes your main trade. You can’t create your own. The test Google gives: categories should complete the sentence “This business IS a” rather than “this business HAS a” (Google). Type your trade into the field and pick from the suggestions; if you are torn, look at what the top local competitors show under their name on Maps.

3. Additional categories

You can add up to 9 more (Google). That is a ceiling, not a target. Google’s guidelines say to “use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business” and not to use categories “solely as keywords” (Google). A plumber who also runs a real water heater installation line has a case for a second category. A list of every job you have ever done does not. Adding or editing a category can also prompt a new verification.

4. Address, or no address

If customers do not come to your shop, the address comes off. Google’s own example: “if you’re a plumber and run your business from your residential address, clear the address from your Business Profile.” Virtual offices are not eligible. A business that travels to customers gets one service area profile, not one per town; a separate profile is only for a separate location with its own staff and its own service area (Google). If you have a real shop with permanent signage where staff receive customers during posted hours, you can show it and add a service area as well.

5. Service areas

You can set up to 20 service areas by city, zip code or other area, and you can no longer draw a radius. The overall area “shouldn’t be more than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based” (Google). List the towns you actually take calls in. Approved changes can take up to 48 hours to show.

6. Hours

Google asks for your regular hours, the ones customers can reach you, and lets you set special hours for holidays (Google). Our advice: only show 24 hours if someone actually picks up at 3 a.m. A homeowner who calls a profile marked open and reaches voicemail remembers it.

7. Phone number

Google wants a number “under the direct control of the business”, local rather than a call center where possible, and no numbers that redirect to anyone else (Google). You can add up to 2 more numbers, mobile or landline, but not fax (Google).

8. Website and booking links

Enter the full URL with https. Some categories can also add links for appointments (Google). Where the booking option exists for your profile, Google allows up to 10 links per category and lets you mark one as preferred (Google). If you use online booking, put that link here.

9. Services

Service businesses can list what they do. Google’s own example: a plumbing business might be offered “Install faucet” or “Repair toilet”, and you can add custom services with descriptions and prices. Custom service names with prices or phone numbers in them are rejected automatically (Google). Google says a service may be highlighted on your profile when someone searches for it, so list the jobs you want more of.

10. Business description

“Do not exceed 750 characters in the description field”, and do not include URLs (Google). The guidelines also rule out content that focuses on “special promotions, prices, and offer sales” (Google). Say what you do, where, for how long, and what makes you different: licensed, family run, the brands you service, emergency calls or not.

11. Photos and videos

Photos must be JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, with 720 by 720 pixels recommended. Videos can run up to 30 seconds. Google wants images that “represent reality”, and nothing shows until the profile is verified (Google). For a contractor, that means your truck, your crew, finished work and clean installs, not stock photos.

12. Attributes

Attributes are the small facts under your profile. Some are subjective and come from customers; others you set yourself. US contractors should look at the business identity attributes, such as veteran owned or women owned, and small business, which Google limits to businesses under $10 million a year and excludes franchises. Google says adding an identity attribute tells “everyone that your business is owned by someone of that identity”, so only tick what is true. Attribute edits usually take about 10 minutes to review, sometimes up to 30 days (Google).

The rest, briefly

An opening date (month and year) can let Google show how long you have been in business. Chat by text or WhatsApp, social media links and Q&A exist only in select regions or categories. Products is a retail feature (Google). None of these will make or break a contractor’s profile.

How to do it in one sitting

1. Search your business name and city while signed in to the Google Account that owns the profile, and select Edit profile.
2. Fix the name, category and address first, all at once, since each can trigger a new verification.
3. Set service areas and hours, then the phone and website.
4. Add services and write the description in a text file first, so you can count to 750.
5. Upload ten real photos from your phone: truck, crew, before and after.
6. Check back in a few days to confirm every edit went live.

Then put the profile to work. Reviews are the other half: Google says “more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking” (Google). Start with how many reviews a plumber needs, learn how to ask by text, stay inside Google’s review rules and know how to answer a bad review. More on this topic: Google profile and ranking.