Google Business Profile: The Setup Guide for West Midlands Small Businesses

If you run a local business in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, or anywhere across the West Midlands, your Google Business Profile is more important than your website.

That’s not an exaggeration. The “local pack” — the box of three businesses that appears at the top of Google when someone searches for a service near them — is driven almost entirely by Google Business Profile. Most new local enquiries come from that box.

Here’s how to set it up correctly, from scratch.

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What is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business) is the free listing that makes your business appear on Google Maps and in local search results. It shows your business name, phone number, address, opening hours, photos, and reviews.

It’s separate from your website. You can have an excellent website and still be invisible on Google Maps if your Business Profile isn’t set up.

Claiming and completing it properly is free. It takes around two hours to do properly. The impact is immediate and lasting.

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Step 1: Claim your listing

Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account.

Search for your business name. If a listing already exists — which is common for businesses that have been trading for a few years — click “Claim this business.” If nothing comes up, click “Add your business.”

Important: Use a Google account you’ll always have access to. Don’t use a personal account if there’s any chance you’ll close it. If you already have a Google Workspace account for your business (e.g. you@yourbusiness.co.uk), use that.

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Step 2: Verify your business

Google needs to confirm you actually operate at the address you’ve listed. The verification method varies:

• Postcard: Google posts a card with a 5-digit code to your business address. Takes 5–14 days.
• Phone or email: Available for some businesses — faster.
• Video verification: Google may ask you to record a short video of your premises.

Don’t skip this step. Unverified listings don’t appear in the map pack.

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Step 3: Choose the right primary category

This is the most critical step most businesses get wrong.

Your primary category tells Google what type of business you are and determines which searches you appear in. It needs to match exactly what people search for — not what you call yourself.

Examples:

• Electrician → “Electrician” (not “Electrical Services” or “Contractor”)
• Accountant → “Accountant” (not “Financial Services” or “Business Consultant”)
• Plumber → “Plumber” (not “Heating Engineer” or “Maintenance Service”)
• Web designer → “Web Designer” (not “IT Company” or “Digital Agency”)

To find the best category for your business: search for the top three competitors in your area on Google Maps and check what categories they’re using. Match them.

You can also add secondary categories for additional services. A plumber might add “Heating Contractor” and “Emergency Plumber” as secondary categories.

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Step 4: Complete every section

Don’t leave anything blank. Google treats profile completeness as a ranking signal. Work through each section:

Business name: Use your real trading name exactly as it appears on your signage or website. Don’t add keywords (e.g. “Smith Plumbing — Birmingham Emergency Plumber” is against Google’s guidelines and can get your listing suspended).

Address: Use your actual business address. If you work from home and don’t want to display your address, you can hide it and show a service area instead. Set your service area to the specific towns and postcodes you cover.

Phone number: Use a local landline or mobile you actively answer. Not a call centre number.

Website: Link to your homepage or, if you have a specific location landing page, link there.

Opening hours: Be accurate. If you’re available evenings and weekends by appointment, say so. Update these for bank holidays.

Business description: 750 characters. Write in plain English. State what you do, who you help, where you are, and what makes you different. Don’t keyword-stuff — write for a human reader.

Services: Add every service you offer. Google uses this to match your listing to specific searches. An accountant might list: Self-Assessment Tax Returns, Corporation Tax, Bookkeeping, Payroll, VAT Returns.

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Step 5: Add photos

Profiles with photos get significantly more clicks than those without. Aim for:

• Exterior photo: Your premises or, if you’re mobile, your vehicle or equipment
• Interior photo: Your workspace or office
• Team photo: A photo of you — people prefer dealing with a face they’ve seen
• Work in progress: Tradespeople — photos of jobs in progress are particularly effective
• Logo: Your business logo

Upload at least 10 photos when you first set up. Aim for 20–30 within the first month. Keep adding — Google rewards profile activity.

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Step 6: Get your first reviews

Reviews are one of the top three ranking factors in the local map pack. More importantly, review velocity matters — Google wants to see new reviews arriving consistently, not a burst of 20 in one week followed by nothing.

How to get reviews:

• After every completed job or satisfied client, ask directly: “Would you mind leaving us a Google review? I’ll send you the link.”
• Create a short link to your review page: in your Google Business Profile dashboard, go to “Ask for reviews” — Google generates a direct link you can share by text or email.
• Don’t ask for reviews in bulk or offer incentives — Google can penalise this.

Target: 2–4 new reviews per month. At that pace, you’ll have 24–48 reviews within a year — more than most local competitors.

Respond to every review. Responding to reviews is a ranking signal and it shows prospective customers you’re attentive.

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Step 7: Post weekly updates

Google treats posting activity as a signal that your business is active and engaged. Post once a week — it takes two minutes.

What to post:

• A recent job photo with a one-sentence caption (“New boiler installed in Solihull this week”)
• A seasonal service reminder (“Self-assessment deadline in 4 weeks — still taking clients”)
• A tip or piece of advice (“Three signs your website isn’t showing up on Google”)
• A promotion or offer

The posts don’t need to be polished. They just need to be consistent.

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How long until you see results?

For businesses in less competitive areas or niches, a properly completed and verified profile can start appearing in the local pack within 2–4 weeks.

For more competitive searches (e.g. “accountant in Birmingham” where there are hundreds of firms), it takes longer — typically 2–4 months of consistent activity before you consistently appear.

The profile you set up today will be compounding in authority 12 months from now. The businesses in the local pack in 2026 are the ones who started doing this in 2025.

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Need help getting this set up?

At mybitness, Google Business Profile setup and optimisation is included as standard in our £799 website package. We create it, write the description, add your services, and upload your initial photos — you don’t have to figure any of this out yourself.

If you’d like us to take a look at your current setup and tell you what’s missing, the review is free.

Get a free review of your Google Business Profile →