Set up your Google Business Profile.
Step one for every member. It is free, you can do it from your phone, and it is what puts you on the map when a homeowner searches for a floor.
Why it matters
When a homeowner searches for an epoxy floor near them, the map and the short list of businesses under it are built from Google Business Profiles and their reviews. Your website helps Google trust the business, but without a profile you are not on the map at all.
Your website takes the lead once somebody lands on it. Your profile is what gets you in front of them. A new website has no history with Google, and search builds over months as real jobs, photos and reviews come in. The profile is where you start.
The steps
Create or claim it
Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account you will keep, not one you might lose. Search your business name first. If it is already listed, claim it. If not, add it.
Use your real business name only
Type the name exactly as it is on your truck and your invoices. Do not add your town or words like "garage floor" to it. Profiles with stuffed names get suspended.
Set it up as a service-area business
When Google asks if customers visit a location, answer No. You go to them. Then add the towns you work in. Google needs a real address to verify you, and it is hidden from customers. No P.O. box and no virtual office.
Pick your categories
Type "epoxy" and pick Flooring contractor. If Epoxy flooring contractor is offered, pick that as your main one. Add other categories only if they really fit what you do.
Add your phone, website, hours and services
Use the phone you answer. Use your XPS website address. Add each finish you install, in plain words, like metallic, flake and solid color.
Verify it with the video
Google usually asks for one short video, about 30 to 60 seconds, in one take. Show your area, like a street sign or the neighborhood. Show proof of the business, like a marked truck, your tools or a sample board. Then show that you run it, with things only the owner or crew would have, like paperwork with the business name on it or a job in progress. Google lists what it accepts on the screen before you record, so follow that list. Some people are offered a text, a call or a postcard instead.
Add 10 or more real photos
Once you are verified, add finished floors, before and afters and your crew at work. Use real photos of your own jobs, not stock pictures.
Get your review link
In your profile, open Ask for reviews and copy the link. Paste it into Settings in your XPS dashboard. When you mark a job as won, a review request goes out to that customer. Ask every customer, not only the ones you think were happy.
Good to know
Can I buy reviews or ask friends to write them?
No. Never buy reviews, fake them or write your own. Do not have family or friends review you either. Ask real customers after real jobs. Google removes fake reviews and can suspend a profile over them.
Who owns the profile?
You do. It sits under your Google account and stays yours, whether you stay with us or not.
Can you set it up and manage it for me?
Yes. Add [email protected] as a Manager on your profile. That is our paid Get Found service, $399/month with a 3-month minimum. We help with your profile, town pages and review requests. Details.
Will this put me on the map?
It is the first thing that has to be in place. Nobody can promise a spot on the map or on Google, and we do not. Google decides who shows up. Real photos, real reviews and real jobs are what move you up over time.
Questions? Ask a person.
Call (855) 591-1112 or email [email protected].