Google Business Profile Setup Guide for South Florida Small Businesses

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the single most important free tool for local business visibility. Full stop. When someone in Fort Lauderdale searches "AC repair near me" or "best restaurant in Pompano Beach," the results that show up in the map pack -- the three businesses pinned on the map at the top of the page -- are pulled directly from Google Business Profiles. If you do not have one, or it is sitting there half-filled with a blurry logo and no reviews, you are invisible to the people who are actively looking to spend money with a business like yours.

The good news: setting up and optimizing your Google Business Profile is completely free, and you can do it yourself in an afternoon. This guide walks you through every step, with tips specific to South Florida businesses. No fluff, no upsell -- just the exact process we use for every client at 954 Web Co.

Step 1: Create or Claim Your Profile

Start at business.google.com. Sign in with the Google account you want to manage the profile (use your business email if you have Google Workspace, or a dedicated Gmail account -- not your personal one). Search for your business name. Two things can happen:

• Your business already appears: Someone (maybe Google itself, maybe a previous owner) already created a listing. Click "Claim this business" and follow the verification steps.
• Your business does not appear: Click "Add your business to Google" and fill in the basics -- business name, category, and whether you have a physical location customers can visit.

Google will ask you to verify that you actually own or operate this business. Verification methods vary -- you might get a postcard mailed to your address (takes about five days), a phone call, an email, or instant verification if you have already verified your domain through Google Search Console. For South Florida businesses, make sure your address is accurate down to the suite number. If you are in a shared office space or co-working building, use your actual unit -- Google can reject listings with vague addresses.

Step 2: Fill Out Every Single Field

This is where most businesses drop the ball. They create the profile, confirm their address, and walk away. Google rewards completeness. The more information you provide, the more confident Google is about showing your business for relevant searches. Here is what to fill in:

• Business name: Use your exact legal business name. Do not stuff keywords in here (e.g., "Joe's Plumbing - Best Plumber Fort Lauderdale 24/7 Emergency" will get your profile suspended). Just "Joe's Plumbing."
• Primary category: Pick the most specific category available. "HVAC Contractor" is better than "Contractor." "Sushi Restaurant" is better than "Restaurant." You can add secondary categories later.
• Phone number: Use a local 954 or 786 number. Avoid toll-free numbers -- they look less local to Google and to customers.
• Website: Link to your homepage or a dedicated landing page. Make sure the site is mobile-friendly and loads fast. If you need help with that, check out our web design services.
• Hours: Fill in regular hours, holiday hours, and special hours. Keep them updated. Nothing kills trust faster than a customer showing up to a closed door because your GBP said you were open.
• Business description: You get 750 characters. Use them. Describe what you do, who you serve, and where you operate. Work your keywords in naturally -- "We provide Google Business Profile setup in Fort Lauderdale and full-service HVAC repair across Broward County" reads well and tells Google what you do.
• Attributes: These are the checkboxes like "wheelchair accessible," "free Wi-Fi," "veteran-owned," or "women-owned." Fill in everything that applies. South Florida tip: if your staff speaks Spanish, Creole, or Portuguese, add language attributes. Bilingual businesses have a real edge in this market.

Step 3: Add Photos (and Keep Adding Them)

Google's own data says businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions and 35% more click-throughs to their website than businesses without. Photos are not optional. Here is what to upload:

• Logo: A clean, square version of your logo. This shows up in search results and on Google Maps.
• Cover photo: Your best shot of your storefront, your team, or your work. This is the hero image people see first.
• Exterior photos: Help people recognize your building when they arrive. Shoot from the street, from the parking lot, and of your signage.
• Interior photos: Show the space. If you are a restaurant, show the dining room. If you are a salon, show the stations. People want to know what they are walking into.
• Team photos: Introduce your staff. Real people build trust.
• Product or service photos: Finished jobs, plated dishes, completed renovations -- whatever you deliver, photograph it.

Aim for at least 10 photos at launch. Then add new photos every quarter. Seasonal updates work great in South Florida -- show your patio during the dry season, your hurricane prep setup before storm season, your holiday decorations in December. Fresh photos signal to Google that your business is active.

Step 4: Set Your Service Area Correctly

This step matters most for service-area businesses -- the ones that go to the customer instead of the customer coming to them. If you are an HVAC company, a plumber, a mobile detailer, a roofing contractor, or a lawn care service, pay attention here.

Instead of pinning your profile to a single address, set city-level service areas that cover everywhere you actually work. For most Broward County businesses, that means adding:

• Fort Lauderdale
• Hollywood
• Pompano Beach
• Coral Springs
• Deerfield Beach
• Boca Raton
• Plantation
• Davie
• Weston
• Sunrise

You can add up to 20 service areas. Be honest -- only list cities you actually serve. Google does not like it when you claim to serve Miami but never take a job south of Hallandale. If you also reach into Palm Beach County or Miami-Dade, add those cities too. The key is accuracy.

Step 5: Get Reviews (and Respond to Every One)

Reviews are the engine of your Google Business Profile. They influence your ranking in the map pack, they influence whether someone clicks on your listing, and they influence whether that person actually calls you. Here is the playbook:

• Ask every happy customer. Do not be shy about it. After you finish a job, send a follow-up text or email with a direct link to your Google review page. You can generate this link from your GBP dashboard under "Ask for reviews."
• Make it easy. The fewer clicks, the better. Send a direct link -- not "go to Google and search for us and then click reviews."
• Respond to every review. Every single one. Thank people for positive reviews. For negative reviews, respond professionally, acknowledge the concern, and offer to make it right. Google rewards engagement, and future customers are reading your responses.
• Aim for 50+ reviews in your first year. That is roughly one per week. It is very achievable if you build the ask into your workflow.

One thing to avoid: do not offer incentives for reviews. "Leave us a review and get 10% off" violates Google's policies and can get your reviews stripped. Just ask. Most happy customers are glad to help if you make it simple.

Step 6: Post Regular Updates

Most business owners do not know this feature exists. Google Business Profile has a "Posts" feature that lets you share updates, offers, events, and news directly on your profile. Think of it like a mini social media feed that shows up right in Google Search and Maps.

Post at least twice a month. Here is what works well:

• Special offers: "20% off AC tune-ups this month" or "Free consultation for new clients."
• Events: Grand openings, community events, open houses.
• News and updates: New services, expanded hours, team hires.
• Blog content: Share links to your blog posts (if you have a website with a blog -- our Launch and Growth plans include one).

Posts expire after seven days (except event posts, which stay until the event date). Consistency matters more than perfection. A quick two-sentence update with a photo is better than a polished post you never get around to writing.

Step 7: Connect Your Website and GBP

Your Google Business Profile and your website should reinforce each other. They are two sides of the same coin. Here is how to connect them properly:

• NAP consistency: NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone. Your business name, address, and phone number must be identical on your GBP and your website. Not similar -- identical. "123 Main St" on one and "123 Main Street" on the other is a mismatch in Google's eyes.
• Add a Google Maps embed: Put an embedded Google Map on your contact page. This reinforces your location to Google and helps customers find you.
• Link both ways: Your GBP links to your website (you set this in the profile). Your website should also link to your GBP or at minimum display your address and local schema markup.
• Use LocalBusiness schema: This is structured data on your website that tells Google exactly what your business is, where it is located, and how to contact you. If that sounds technical, it is something we handle for every site we build at 954 Web Co.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

We see these over and over again with South Florida businesses. Every one of them is fixable, and every one of them is costing you visibility and customers:

• Keyword stuffing your business name. "Joe's Plumbing | Best Plumber Fort Lauderdale | 24/7 Emergency Plumber" will get your profile suspended. Use your real business name.
• Choosing the wrong category. "Consultant" when you should be "Marketing Consultant." "Contractor" when you should be "Roofing Contractor." Specificity matters.
• Ignoring negative reviews. An unanswered one-star review tells every future customer that you do not care. Respond calmly and professionally, every time.
• Letting your profile go stale. No new photos in two years, no posts, no review responses. Google notices inactivity, and so do customers.
• Using a PO Box or virtual office. Google's guidelines require a real physical location. If you are a service-area business that works out of your home, you can hide your address and just show your service area -- that is perfectly fine and very common.
• Duplicate listings. If you have moved locations or changed names, old listings may still be floating around. Search for your business and claim or remove any duplicates.

The Payoff: What Good GBP Optimization Looks Like

When your Google Business Profile setup is done right, here is what happens: your business starts showing up in the map pack for relevant local searches. "Near me" queries start driving real traffic. Your phone rings more because people can tap "Call" directly from the search results. You get more direction requests, more website visits, and more walk-ins.

We have seen Fort Lauderdale businesses go from zero map pack visibility to consistent top-three placement in 60 to 90 days just by following these steps. The businesses that maintain their profiles -- adding photos, responding to reviews, posting updates -- stay there. The ones that set it and forget it slowly slide back down.

At 954 Web Co, we include full Google Business Profile setup and optimization in our Launch and monthly managed plans. We handle the initial setup, the ongoing posts, the review response strategy, and the website-GBP connection so you can focus on running your business.

Ready to Get Found on Google?

Your Google Business Profile is free, it is powerful, and it is one of the fastest ways to get your South Florida business in front of people who are ready to buy. Follow the seven steps in this guide, stay consistent with photos, reviews, and posts, and you will be ahead of most of your competitors before the month is out.

If this feels like a lot, or if you would rather hand it off to someone who does this every day -- we get it. We handle Google Business Profile setup for Fort Lauderdale businesses as part of every web project we take on. Reach out for a free consultation, and we will take a look at your current profile, tell you exactly what needs fixing, and get it done.