Before your website even enters the conversation, most local customers meet your Google Business Profile — the panel with your hours, reviews, photos and phone number. It's free, it takes half an hour to set up properly, and most businesses treat it like a parked car.
Claim the profile at google.com/business and verify. Choose your primary category with care — it's the single strongest ranking input, so "Deck Builder" beats "Contractor" if decks are the business. Fill every field: hours, services, service area, description written the way customers talk. Then add real photos — your work, your space, your face. Profiles with genuine photos get dramatically more clicks than logo-only listings, because people buy from people.
A profile isn't a set-and-forget listing; it's a feed. Post monthly — a finished job, an offer, a tip. Answer every review, including rough ones, with grace; you're writing for the hundred future customers reading, not the one reviewer. Ask for reviews systematically: job done, link sent, that day. And check the Q&A section — strangers can answer questions about your business if you don't.
Google cross-checks the profile against your website, so matching info and a fast site multiply each other — the full picture is in my local SEO checklist. Setup is included when you join any care plan, or grab the free audit and I'll tell you what your current profile is missing: (847) 387-0244.
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