Set Up Your Google Business Profile

If you do one thing for your business this month, do this. A free Google Business Profile is what makes you show up when someone in Selmer pulls out their phone and Googles “tire shop near me” or “hair salon Adamsville.” It puts you on Google Maps, in the local results, and on the right side of Google search with your phone number, hours, and a button to call you. It costs nothing and takes about half an hour.

Step 1 — Go to the right place

Open a browser and go to business.google.com/create. Sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have one, click Create account; the whole point of a Google account is that it’s free.

You may see a search box that says “Find and manage your business.” Type your business name in there first. If Google already has a listing for you (because someone else created it, or Google generated one from public data), claim that one instead of making a new one. Two listings for the same business will hurt you in search.

Step 2 — Fill in the basics

Google will walk you through screens. Take your time and answer accurately — this is the data that decides whether you show up for the right searches.

Business name

Use your real, legal-ish business name — the same one on your sign, your invoices, and your Facebook page. Don’t stuff keywords in here like “Joe’s Plumbing — 24/7 Emergency Service Selmer TN.” Google will catch it and either reject it or suspend your listing. Just “Joe’s Plumbing.”

Business category

Pick the most specific one that fits. Not “Store” but “Hardware Store.” Not “Restaurant” but “Barbecue Restaurant.” You can add a few extra categories later, but your primary category does the most work for your ranking. If you’re not sure, search how your competitors describe themselves on Google Maps and match.

Do you have a location customers can visit?

Three possibilities:

• Yes — you have a storefront, shop, or office. Enter the street address.
• No, I go to customers — like plumbers, electricians, lawn care. Enter your address but mark it as a “service-area business” and pick the towns or zip codes you serve (Selmer, Adamsville, Bethel Springs, etc.). Your address will be hidden but you’ll still show up.
• Both — a shop people can visit AND you go to customers. Pick “yes” and add service areas in the next step.

Contact details

Phone number and website. If you don’t have a website yet, leave it blank for now — you can add it later. Use the same phone number that’s on your sign and your business cards. Consistency matters.

Step 3 — Verify your business

This is the step everyone gets stuck on. Google needs to confirm you’re really the business at that address. They’ll offer one or more of these options:

• Postcard by mail — takes 5–14 days. A postcard arrives with a 5-digit code. Most common for McNairy.
• Phone call or text — instant. Google calls or texts your business phone with a code.
• Email — only offered to some businesses.
• Video — you record a quick video showing your business, your tools, and yourself. Newer option, often the fastest if it’s available.

While you wait for the postcard

Don’t move on yet — an unverified profile can’t be edited much, but you can keep tabs open and prepare. Do not ask for the postcard a second time before the first one arrives. That can extend your wait.

Step 4 — Finish the profile (after verification)

Once verified, log back into business.google.com and complete every field. The more you fill in, the higher you rank.

• Hours — including special hours for holidays. Update these when they change. Showing up “closed” when you’re open is the fastest way to lose a customer.
• Services or products — list everything you offer. Each one is a chance to match a search.
• From the business — a short 750-character description. Write it like you’d describe your business to a neighbor. Don’t stuff keywords.
• Photos — cover photo, logo, exterior shots, interior shots, your team, your work. Aim for at least 10 to start.
• Attributes — things like “wheelchair accessible,” “veteran-owned,” “family-owned,” “accepts credit cards.” Check everything that applies.
• Appointment link, menu, or booking — if it fits, add it.

Step 5 — Photos that actually help

Google ranks businesses with more photos higher, and customers click them. You don’t need a real camera; your phone is fine. Get at least:

• The front of your building, in good daylight
• The inside — counter, dining room, workshop, whatever applies
• You and your team (people trust faces, especially in McNairy)
• 3–5 of your actual work — finished roofs, plated food, before/after
• Logo, square, transparent if possible

Skip stock photos. Customers can spot them and they make you look fake.

Step 6 — Ask for your first reviews

Reviews are the single biggest ranking factor after distance. Once your profile is live, ask 5–10 of your best customers to leave one.

The easiest way: Google gives you a short review link. Find it in your Business Profile dashboard under “Get more reviews.” Text it to customers right after you finish a job: “Thanks for trusting us — if you’ve got 30 seconds, would you mind leaving a review? Helps a lot.”

Don’t offer discounts or freebies for reviews. Google will catch it and remove them, and it can get your whole profile suspended. Just ask.

Step 7 — Use it weekly, not once

The biggest mistake people make: set it up, walk away, forget it exists. Google rewards active profiles. Spend 5 minutes a week:

• Reply to every review — even the bad ones, calmly and briefly
• Post an update or photo (think Facebook-style: a finished project, a new product, a holiday closing)
• Answer questions in the Q&A section before customers answer them for you
• Check your “Insights” tab to see what people search to find you

If something goes wrong

Postcard never arrived? Log in and request a new one after 14 days. If two postcards in a row fail, contact Google support through your dashboard — common culprits in McNairy are rural mail addresses Google’s system doesn’t recognize.

Listing says “suspended”? Usually means you tripped a name-stuffing rule or a duplicate listing rule. Fix the issue (clean name, single profile) and submit an appeal through the dashboard.

Someone else “owns” my listing? Click “Request access” from the listing — Google notifies the current owner. If they don’t respond in 7 days, you can take it over.

What it looks like when it’s working

Within a couple of weeks of an active, verified profile with 10+ photos and 5+ reviews, you’ll start showing up in the Google Maps box at the top of search results — the “3-pack” that gets the most clicks. Track your Insights tab: views, calls from Google, and direction requests should all climb. If they don’t after a month, the usual fix is more reviews and more photos.

Next steps

Once your Google Business Profile is rolling, the next-highest-leverage thing for a McNairy business is a Facebook page (most locals still discover businesses there). Then make sure your hours, phone, and address match exactly across your Google Profile, your Facebook page, and your listing on the Hub — consistency is a real ranking signal.