Google Business Profile — still commonly called Google My Business — is the single highest-leverage free marketing asset most contractors own. It's also the most consistently neglected.
Start with the primary category. Get this wrong and nothing else you do will fully compensate. Roofers should be 'Roofing contractor.' Kitchen remodelers should be 'Kitchen remodeler,' not 'General contractor.' Your primary category tells Google which searches you're eligible to appear for.
Add every relevant secondary category. Google allows about ten. Use them.
Fill in the service list completely, with descriptions. Each service should read like a short paragraph a homeowner could actually understand, not a two-word bullet.
Set an accurate service area. If your crew doesn't cross Prospect Park, don't claim to serve Coney Island. Overreaching hurts more than helping.
Upload real project photos monthly. Not stock. Not logos. Actual finished work with recognizable Brooklyn context when possible.
Post to the profile weekly. Google Posts don't directly move rankings but they keep the profile in an 'active business' state that adjacent signals reinforce.
Seed the Q&A section with the questions homeowners actually ask you on estimates. Answer them yourself. Otherwise the questions will get answered by strangers, incorrectly.
Build a review-request habit. Every completed job, by text, within 24 hours, with a direct link. Ten new reviews in a month will move rankings. Two won't.
Respond to every review, publicly, in a professional tone. Reply to negatives especially — prospects read your response more carefully than the review itself.
None of this is technical. All of it is discipline. The contractors that win the map pack in their neighborhood aren't smarter — they're consistent.
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