How Do I Get More Calls From My Google Business Profile?

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A lot of local businesses create their Google Business Profile, fill in the basic information, and then leave it alone.

A few months later, they wonder why it isn't producing many phone calls or enquiries.

The problem is that simply having a Google Business Profile doesn't necessarily mean Google will show it as often as it could — or that potential customers will choose you when they do see it.

There are some relatively simple things you can do to improve your local visibility, give Google more confidence in your business, and make it easier for potential customers to contact you.

In this article, I'm going to cover four areas:

1. Add the right Google Business Profile categories
2. Build a consistent flow of useful customer reviews
3. Give people more ways to contact you
4. Keep feeding Google useful information about your business

These are all areas you can check yourself without immediately spending more money on advertising.

Table of Contents

• Add More Relevant Business Categories
• Make Sure Your Website Supports Those Categories
• Get Reviews More Consistently
• Make It Easier for Customers to Contact You
• Keep Your Google Business Profile Active
• What Should You Do Next?

1. Add More Relevant Google Business Profile Categories

One of the first things I would check is your business categories.

Many businesses set up their profile with one primary category and stop there.

Let's use a plumber as an example.

Their main category might simply be:

Plumber

But that same company may genuinely provide several other services.

They could also be a:

• Gas fitter
• Drainage contractor
• Hot water system installer
• Water treatment or softener installer

Google allows businesses to select additional categories where they genuinely apply.

The important word there is genuinely.

Don't start adding unrelated categories simply because you want to appear in more searches.

Instead, look at all the different services your business actually provides and check whether there are relevant Google Business Profile categories for them.

Think of Categories as Extra Fishing Nets

Imagine your plumber category gives Google 30 opportunities each day to potentially show your company to somebody searching locally.

If you're genuinely relevant to another three categories, you have created additional opportunities for Google to match your business with those searches.

You're effectively putting more fishing nets into the water.

You aren't necessarily ranking higher for the original search.

You're giving Google more legitimate reasons to consider your business for more types of searches.

2. Make Sure Your Website Supports Those Categories

There is an important second part to adding categories.

You need to back them up.

If you tell Google that you're a gas fitter but your website doesn't mention gas fitting anywhere, you're sending mixed signals.

If you offer drainage services, for example, ideally your website should contain useful information explaining those services.

That could mean having a dedicated drainage page showing:

• What drainage work you provide
• Areas you service
• Examples of previous work
• Photographs
• FAQs
• Customer reviews relating to drainage
• 
  

Think of it this way:

Your Google Business Profile makes the claim.

Your website provides the supporting evidence.

The more consistently the two match, the clearer your business becomes to Google and, just as importantly, to potential customers.

If you want to go through the main areas of your profile yourself, I've put together a Google Business Profile Checklist you can use.

Image suggestion: Split-screen graphic showing a Google Business Profile category on one side and its matching website service page on the other.

3. Get Google Reviews More Consistently

The next major area is reviews.

Reviews aren't something you should collect 15 of one month and then forget about for the next two years.

You want a steady, natural flow of reviews from real customers.

Why?

Because reviews aren't only there for Google.

They're there for the customer who is deciding whether to call you.

Someone might originally discover your company through your website, an advert or Google Maps.

But before contacting you, many people will still look at your reviews.

They're asking themselves:

Can I trust these people?

Reviews Are Your Digital Word of Mouth

I often describe good reviews as digital word of mouth.

Traditional word of mouth might happen when somebody asks a friend:

"Do you know a good plumber?"

Google reviews put that word of mouth directly in front of the customer while they're making the buying decision.

But there is a big difference between:

"Great service. Five stars."and a review explaining:

• What the original problem was
• What work you completed
• How you solved it
• What the customer thought of the service
• 
  

Those detailed reviews are considerably more useful to another potential customer.

They can recognise their own problem in somebody else's experience.

That builds confidence.

You should therefore have a simple system for asking satisfied customers to leave feedback rather than relying on people remembering to do it themselves.

4. Make It Easier for People to Contact You

Getting seen is only half the job.

Once somebody finds you, you need to make contacting you easy.

And not everybody wants to communicate in the same way.

Some people want to phone.

Others would rather send a text.

Some prefer WhatsApp.

Others want to fill in a form or book an appointment without speaking to anybody.

Where the relevant options are available to your business, look at the contact methods you're providing through your Google Business Profile.

Depending on your profile and region, that can include options such as:

• Phone
• Website
• Text or messaging
• WhatsApp
• Booking links
• 
  

A booking link doesn't necessarily need to lead to a sophisticated booking system.

For some businesses, it could simply lead to the website contact page where somebody can send an enquiry.

The principle is simple:

Make it easy for customers to contact you in the way they prefer.

Every unnecessary hurdle gives somebody another opportunity to abandon the enquiry and choose a competitor.

5. Keep Feeding Google Useful Information

Your Google Business Profile shouldn't be something you set up once and forget about.

Keep it current.

Check basics such as your:

• Opening hours
• Special hours
• Services
• Photos
• Business information
• 
  

You can also regularly add evidence of the work you're actually doing.

For a local service business, that might include photographs of:

• Recent jobs
• Before-and-after results
• Your vehicles
• Your staff
• Your equipment
• Your premises inside and outside
• 
  

You can also publish updates about completed jobs and useful information for customers.

The idea isn't to post simply for the sake of posting.

You're continually giving Google and potential customers fresh evidence that this is a real, active local business doing the services it claims to provide.

If you're unsure whether your existing profile is giving Google the right signals, you can start with a FREE Google Business Profile Audit and see where the main gaps are.

Watch the Original Video

VIDEO EMBED: How Do I Get More Calls From My Google Business Profile?

Embedding the original video here gives you the option to watch me explain these points rather than reading through the entire article.

What Should You Do Next?

If your Google Business Profile isn't bringing in as many calls as you'd like, don't immediately assume you need to spend more money.

Start with the basics.

Check whether you've selected all the relevant categories your business genuinely qualifies for.

Make sure those services are properly supported on your website.

Build a system for getting useful customer reviews consistently.

Give customers several easy ways of contacting you.

And keep providing Google with fresh information showing that your business is active and working locally.

None of these individually is a magic switch.

Together, however, they give Google a clearer understanding of your business and give potential customers more reasons to choose you.

If you want to go further, I've also created a FREE Google Business Profile Masterclass showing you more of the areas you can work on.

And if you find these sorts of practical Google Business Profile tips useful, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos aimed at helping local businesses generate more enquiries from Google.