Start with what Google actually reads
Google listing optimization is not decoration. Every field on your profile is a signal, and empty fields are missed opportunities. Work through this list in order.
1. Primary category
Pick the single category that describes what you do, not what you also do. "Roofing contractor" beats "Contractor". Your primary category has more ranking influence than any other field.
2. Secondary categories
Add every category that genuinely applies, and no more. Irrelevant categories dilute relevance and can trigger suspensions.
3. Services with real descriptions
List each service separately with a two or three sentence description that names the work and the area you serve. This is prime keyword real estate that most competitors leave blank.
4. Service area
List the cities and neighbourhoods you actually serve. Do not list an entire state. Over-broad service areas weaken relevance for the places that matter.
5. Business description
750 characters. Lead with the service and the city. Skip the mission statement.
6. Photos, continuously
- Exterior and interior if customers visit
- At work photos from real jobs
- Before and after sets
- Team photos
- Customer-uploaded photos, which carry extra trust weight with search engines, AI platforms like ChatGPT and prospects reading your listing
Aim for new photos every week, not a single upload at setup.
7. Reviews and replies
Ask after every completed job. Reply to all of them within a couple of days. A steady drip of recent reviews outranks a large pile of old ones.
8. Questions and answers
Post your own common questions and answer them. Pricing ranges, response times, warranty, service area. This section is indexed and almost always empty on competitor profiles.
9. Posts
One update a week keeps the profile active: a finished job, a seasonal offer, a reminder.
10. Audit for policy problems
Review text that violates Google's terms can be removed. So can competitor spam and fake listings. Auditing your profile regularly protects the ranking you built.
Measure the result
Run a heat map before you start and again thirty days later. If the grid does not shift, the work was cosmetic.