The Chatham-Kent Business Owner's Guide to Google Business Profile

When someone in Chatham-Kent searches "plumber near me" or "bakery in Chatham," the map results at the top come from Google Business Profile listings. It is free, it out-ranks websites for local searches, and most local businesses have either never claimed theirs or abandoned it years ago. Fixing that is one of the highest-return hours you can spend on marketing.

Step 1: Claim or Create Your Listing

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account you will not lose track of.
2. Search for your business name. If a listing already exists (Google often creates them automatically), claim it. If not, create it.
3. Verify ownership. Google usually mails a postcard with a code to your business address, or offers phone or video verification. Do not skip this. Unverified listings barely appear.

Step 2: Fill In Everything (Most Businesses Stop Halfway)

Google rewards complete profiles. Go through every section:

• Category. The primary category matters more than almost anything else. Be precise: "Plumber," not "Contractor," if plumbing is the business.
• Hours. Keep them current, including holidays. Wrong hours generate angry reviews.
• Phone and website. Obvious, and frequently missing or outdated.
• Services and descriptions. List what you actually do, in the words customers use. "Furnace repair," not "HVAC solutions."
• Photos. Real ones: your storefront, your work, your team. Listings with real photos get dramatically more clicks than listings with none. Phone photos are fine.

Step 3: Reviews, Without the Stress

Reviews are the biggest ranking factor you can influence.

• Ask at the moment of thanks. When a customer says "this is great," that is the moment: "Would you mind putting that in a Google review? It really helps us." A text with a direct link works best.
• Reply to every review. Two sentences is plenty. Future customers read the replies as closely as the reviews.
• Handle bad ones calmly. Reply once, politely, with facts and an offer to make it right, then stop. You are writing for the audience, not the reviewer.

Step 4: Post Occasionally

A short update every few weeks (a finished job, a new product, holiday hours) signals to Google that the business is alive. Five minutes, real impact.

The Honest Summary

An hour of setup, then fifteen minutes a month. For most Chatham-Kent businesses this beats any paid advertising you could buy with the same money. If you would rather have your whole local presence handled (profile, reviews, and a website that backs it up), that is part of what we do for businesses across Chatham-Kent and Southwestern Ontario, and the Business Health Check will tell you where your visibility stands today.