When someone in Stonebridge or Lawson Heights searches "furnace repair near me," the first thing they usually see isn't a website. It's the map pack: three businesses, star ratings, and a call button. Those listings come from Google Business Profile (GBP).
For most home-service businesses, the profile drives more calls than the website does. It's also free, and most profiles are only half filled in. Here's a checklist you can work through in an afternoon.
1. Claim and verify the profile
Search your business name on Google Maps. If a profile exists, claim it; if not, create one at business.google.com. Verification may be by postcard, phone, email, or a short video showing your vehicle, tools, and signage. Do this first: nothing else sticks until you're verified.
If you find duplicate listings (an old address, a previous owner's name), request to have them merged or removed. Duplicates split your reviews and confuse Google.
2. Get the name exactly right
Use your real business name as it appears on your signage and invoices. Don't add keywords like "Best Saskatoon Plumber 24/7" to the name. It breaks Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended. Rankings aren't worth that risk.
3. Choose the right primary category
This is one of the most important settings. Pick the category that describes your main money-maker: "HVAC contractor," "Plumber," "Electrician," "Roofing contractor," and so on. Then add secondary categories for other real services (for example, "Furnace repair service" or "Water heater installation service").
Check what categories the top three map results use for your main search. You can see them on their listings.
4. Set your service area properly
If you go to customers rather than having them come to you, set yourself up as a service-area business and hide your street address. Add the areas you really serve: Saskatoon, plus nearby places like Warman, Martensville, Osler, Clavet, or Dalmeny if you travel there. Keep it realistic. Listing the whole province won't help you rank in places you don't actually work.
5. Hours, including after-hours
Fill in regular hours and holiday hours. If you take emergency calls, say so: use the "Open 24 hours" setting only if someone (or something) actually answers. If the profile says open and the phone rings out at midnight, that's a bad first impression and a lost job.
6. Phone number and website
Use a local number that's answered. If you use call tracking, put the tracking number as primary and your main number as an additional phone so the name, address and phone stay consistent across the web. Link the website field to your most relevant page, often the homepage or a Saskatoon service page.
7. Services and descriptions
Add every service you offer under "Services," with a short plain description for each. Then write the business description (up to 750 characters): what you do, where you work, what makes you different. Mention Saskatoon and the main services naturally, once. No links, no all caps.
8. Photos that show real work
Profiles with real photos tend to get more engagement. Upload:
- Your logo and a cover image
- Your vehicles with branding
- Before-and-after shots of real jobs (no customer faces or addresses without permission)
- Your team at work, if they're comfortable with it
- Your shop or yard
Add a few new photos each month. Skip stock images; people can tell.
9. Reviews: ask, then reply
Reviews affect both ranking and whether people call. Build asking into your process:
- Get your review link from the GBP dashboard ("Ask for reviews").
- Text it to the customer the same day the job is done, while it's fresh.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely. For a bad one, acknowledge it, keep details private, and offer to fix it offline.
Never pay for reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them. That's against Google's policies.
10. Questions & Answers and messaging
Check the Q&A section. Anyone can post questions, and anyone can answer them. Add a few common questions yourself and answer them: "Do you do emergency calls?" "Do you service Warman?" If you turn on messaging or chat features, make sure someone responds quickly; slow replies show on the profile.
11. Posts and updates
Use GBP posts for seasonal reminders: furnace tune-ups in September, sump pump checks in March, AC servicing in May. They don't need to be fancy. A photo, two sentences, and a "Call" button is enough.
12. Keep your info consistent everywhere
Make sure your business name, phone and address (or service area) match across your website, Facebook, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, HomeStars, and local directories. Inconsistent info is a common reason profiles rank lower than they should.
How to tell if it's working
GBP's "Performance" tab shows searches, views, calls, direction requests and website clicks. Write down this month's numbers before you start, then compare in 60–90 days.
And remember: more calls from your profile only help if someone answers them.
Quick checklist
- Claimed, verified, no duplicates
- Real business name, correct primary + secondary categories
- Service area set (address hidden if you travel to customers)
- Accurate hours, including holidays and emergency availability
- Answered local phone number, correct website link
- Services list and 750-character description
- Real photos, refreshed monthly
- Review requests sent same day; every review answered
- Q&A seeded; monthly seasonal posts
- Name/phone consistent across directories
Want us to look over your profile? Book a free 15-minute call.
Ascent X
We help Saskatoon home-service businesses (plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing) answer every call and book more jobs. Field Notes is where we write down what we learn.
