When a homeowner searches "bathroom renovation near me" or "deck builder Burnaby," the first thing they see isn't a website — it's the map with three local businesses. Getting into that map pack is free, and for local trades it can generate as many calls as a website. Yet most contractor profiles are half-empty, unphotographed, and unclaimed since 2019. Here's how to fix yours in an afternoon and feed it in five minutes a week.

01 The Map Pack

Why the Map Pack Matters for Trades

"Near me" searches are high-intent — the person searching has a project and wants someone local, now.

Google fills the map pack based on three things: relevance (does your profile clearly say what you do), proximity (are you near the searcher), and prominence (reviews, activity, and completeness). You can't move your shop, but the other two are entirely in your control.

Relevance Proximity Prominence

02 One Afternoon

The Afternoon Setup

Everything in this section is done once. Block an afternoon and work down the list.

  • 01Claim and verify your profile at google.com/business if you haven't. Unclaimed profiles rank poorly and can be edited by strangers.
  • 02Choose categories precisely. Your primary category is the strongest signal — "Bathroom Remodeler" beats "Contractor" if bathrooms are your bread and butter. Add every legitimate secondary category, but don't add ones you don't serve; it dilutes the signal and attracts calls you'll decline.
  • 03Set your service area honestly. List the municipalities you actually work in — Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam — rather than "all of BC."
  • 04Complete every field. Hours, phone, website link, services with descriptions, and the business description — put your trade and cities in it naturally.
  • 05Load real project photos. Profiles with genuine photos earn dramatically more clicks and calls than logo-only profiles. This is where professional photography pays a second dividend: the same gallery that powers your website powers your profile.
Claim & verify Precise categories Real photos

03 Five Minutes

The Five-Minutes-a-Week Habit

Setup gets you on the board. Activity keeps you there.

Four small habits, none of which take longer than a coffee:

  • 01Post a project photo or before/after pair weekly. Google Posts keep the profile active — an activity signal — and give searchers fresh proof of work. Recycle your social content; it doesn't need to be new.
  • 02Ask every happy client for a review, immediately. Reviews are the heaviest prominence factor and the first thing homeowners read. Text the client a direct review link the day the project wraps, while enthusiasm is highest. A steady trickle beats a one-time batch.
  • 03Reply to every review — including the rare bad one, calmly and professionally. Future clients read your replies as a preview of working with you.
  • 04Answer the Q&A section. Seed it yourself with the questions you get on every quote call — service area, free estimates, timeline. Anyone can ask, and you should be the one answering.
Weekly posts Review trickle Reply to everything

— The System

Profile and Website: Two Halves of One Machine

Your profile wins the "near me" search; your website closes the lead it sends. A homeowner who taps through from the map pack to a dated, slow, photo-less site bounces back to the next contractor on the map. The profile gets you the click — the website has to be worth clicking. (Wondering if yours is? Score it against the contractor website checklist.)

For a local trade, Google Business Profile is the highest-ROI marketing surface that exists: it's free, it targets people actively hiring, and most of your competitors are neglecting it. Want your whole local presence working together — profile, website, photography, and reporting? Start a conversation for a free analysis of what a homeowner sees when they search your trade in your city.

An afternoon of setup plus five minutes a week puts you ahead of the pack — literally, in the map pack.