Set up your profile for your trade
20 guides, last checked 13 Nov 2026
The right primary category does more for a profile than almost any other field, and the rules that bite differ by trade: plumbers and roofers usually hide their address as a service-area business, dentists and lawyers can have practitioner listings, restaurants have menus.
Each checklist gives categories to consider, attributes, typical services and the setup turns for that trade, checked against Google’s own guidelines.
- Google Business Profile setup for contractors: Pick the one category that says what your firm is, add a few true secondary ones, list your services, and set a service area. Hide the address unless clients visit an office with signage.
- Google Business Profile setup for plumbers: Use Plumber as the primary category, set it up as a service-area business with your home address hidden, list up to 20 towns, and add the plumbing services Google suggests that you do.
- Google Business Profile setup for electricians: Choose Electrician as the primary category, add only secondaries your licensed crew performs, keep the name to what's on your van, and set a service area instead of showing a home address.
- Google Business Profile setup for HVAC companies: Use HVAC contractor as the primary category, add heating or cooling secondaries that match your work, set a service area, and list installs, repairs and tune-ups as services.
- Google Business Profile setup for roofers: Make Roofing contractor your primary category, add gutters or siding only if you install them, and keep one service-area profile tied to your actual base, not a temporary address in a storm zone.
- Google Business Profile setup for landscapers: Pick Landscaper or Lawn care service as primary depending on what you mostly sell, add true secondaries like Tree service, set a service area, and handle the off-season so the profile stays accurate.
- Google Business Profile setup for cleaning services: Choose House cleaning service for homes or Janitorial service for offices as primary, run it as a service-area business with your home address hidden, and list each type of clean you offer.
- Google Business Profile setup for restaurants: Pick the most specific cuisine category, build your menu in the menu editor, set dine-in hours as regular hours with takeout and happy hours under More hours, and add your ordering and reservation links.
- Google Business Profile setup for cafes and coffee shops: Choose Coffee shop if drinks lead or Cafe if food matters as much, give a cafe inside a gym or store its own profile, and add Wi-Fi, drive-through hours and a one-page menu photo.
- Google Business Profile setup for dentists: With several dentists, create one practice profile and, if you want, one per public-facing dentist under their name only. A solo dentist at a branded practice shares one profile named 'Practice: Dr. Name'. Never confirm anyone is a patient.
- Google Business Profile setup for doctors and clinics: In a multi-doctor clinic, give the clinic one profile and each public-facing physician their own under their name only. A sole physician at a branded practice shares one profile named 'Brand: Dr. Name'. Never confirm a patient relationship in a reply.
- Google Business Profile setup for chiropractors: Use Chiropractor as the primary category, add Physical therapist or Massage therapist only if those providers work in your office, connect your booking tool, and list treatments as services.
- Google Business Profile setup for real estate agents: An agent who meets clients publicly can have their own profile under their name, or 'Brokerage: Name' if they're the only agent at a branded office. Individual listings and model homes can't have profiles.
- Google Business Profile setup for lawyers and law firms: At a multi-attorney office, give the firm a profile and each public-facing attorney their own under their name alone. A solo attorney at a branded firm shares one profile named 'Firm: Name'. Virtual offices don't qualify.
- Google Business Profile setup for accountants and tax preparers: Pick Certified public accountant, Accountant or Tax preparation service as primary, give public-facing CPAs their own profiles, and treat a tax-season-only office as seasonal: permanent signage and closed off-season.
- Google Business Profile setup for hair and beauty salons: Pick the most specific category, such as Hair salon or Nail salon rather than Beauty salon, connect your booking tool, list services with prices, and post photos of real work.
- Google Business Profile setup for barbershops: Use Barber shop as the primary category, post hours walk-ins can trust, mark payment and accessibility attributes, list cuts with prices, and set up a service area only if you cut at clients' homes.
- Google Business Profile setup for auto repair shops: Use Auto repair shop as primary, add specialty secondaries like Brake shop for work you advertise, show your garage address and add a service area if you do roadside or mobile repairs.
- Google Business Profile setup for gyms and fitness studios: Pick Gym or the specific studio type that fits, keep a separately run cafe or spa off your profile, follow the brand's name if you're a franchise, and don't create profiles for classes held where you don't control the space.
- Google Business Profile setup for photographers: Choose the specialty category clients search, such as Wedding photographer, set up as a studio only if clients visit one, otherwise hide your home address, and fill the profile with your own photos within Google's file limits.