If you’re a tradesperson in Kent — a plumber, electrician, heating engineer, or builder — the single most powerful thing you can do for your business online isn’t build a website. It’s get your Google Business Profile right.
When someone searches “plumber near me” or “electrician Maidstone,” what appears first isn’t a list of websites — it’s a map and three local businesses underneath it. That’s your Google Business Profile. And if yours isn’t showing up, someone else’s is.
Here’s what actually makes the difference.
Keep your listing complete and accurate
This sounds obvious, but most tradespeople in Kent have a Google Business Profile with half the fields either empty or out of date. Google rewards completeness — the more information you give it, the more confident it is showing your listing to potential customers.
At minimum, make sure you have:
- Your correct business name, address, and phone number
- Your website URL
- Your opening hours — including whether you do emergency callouts
- Your primary business category (e.g. “Plumber” or “Electrician,” not just “Contractor”)
If any of these are wrong or missing, fix them today. Inconsistent information across your listing and your website is one of the most common reasons local businesses don’t show up where they should.
Get more Google reviews — and respond to every one
Reviews are one of the biggest factors in local search ranking. A plumber with 47 reviews and a 4.8 star rating will almost always outrank one with 6 reviews and a 5.0 — volume and recency both matter.
The simplest way to get more reviews: ask for them. After a job is done and the customer is happy, send them a direct link to your Google review page. Most satisfied customers will leave one if you make it easy — they just don’t think to do it unprompted.
Equally important: respond to every review, good or bad. A professional response to a critical review says more about your business than the review itself. Google also notices active listing management and factors it into how often your profile appears.
Post regular updates to your listing
Most tradespeople in Kent have never posted a single update to their Google Business Profile. This is a missed opportunity — Google lets you post updates, offers, and news directly to your listing, and active listings get shown more often than dormant ones.
You don’t need to post daily. Even once or twice a month makes a real difference. A quick update with a photo of a recent job, a seasonal offer (“boiler service from £X before winter”), or a useful tip for local homeowners keeps your listing looking alive and engaged.
Add photos — regularly
Google Business Profiles with photos get significantly more clicks than those without. For tradespeople, before-and-after photos of completed jobs are ideal — they show real work, build trust, and give potential customers a sense of what you do and how well you do it.
Upload photos of:
- Completed jobs (before and after where possible)
- Your van or team
- Any equipment or specialist work that sets you apart
Aim to add at least one new photo a month. It takes two minutes and it’s one of the easiest things you can do to keep your listing looking current.
Want someone to manage this for you?
Keeping a Google Business Profile active and optimised takes consistent effort — which is hard to fit in when you’re busy on the tools. At Maidstone Web Services, Google Business Profile management is included in our Local Starter package from £79/month, alongside hosting and a free 5-page website.